ABSTRACT
Critical thinking takes conscious effort, persistence and commitment, and, like other skills, will continue to develop in these types of cognitively driven conditions. In terms of learning and performance in higher education, learners’ ability to apply critical thinking confidently to a range of twenty first century skills can be facilitated through: explicit instruction of these skills; modelling and relevant examples; opportunities for practice and feedback. As learners enhance their ability to think critically they are better able to manage complexity, ambiguity and challenging demands in effective ways by using the right type of skill at the appropriate level. Creativity relates back to questions: and when learners ask questions in a creative, interesting or engaging way they are actively participating in their learning. The environment also needs to be designed to offer an atmosphere of trust, collaboration and energy where learners feel supported to engage with this skill in a critical way.
