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How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

Move from reactive thinking to strategic decision-making as you gain critical thinking skills to unlock your team’s potential.

An illustration of a 2 face head in orange on a yellow background, with 2 grey hands coming out from the open head, trying to put the jig-saw puzzle together, also some bee and fish icons floating around the head.

Why is critical thinking important?

Critical thinking ensures employees don’t make the wrong decisions that could waste time, money, or resources.

On this one-week course, you’ll develop your critical thinking skills to enable you to make decisions from a place of wisdom and clarity. With this knowledge, you’ll also be able to unlock the full potential of your team.

This CQ Original course from BoxPlay will arm you with essential critical thinking tools in a matter of hours, allowing you to confidently adapt to most issues in the workplace or your personal life.

Understand the benefits of critical thinking

With critical thinking, you’ll be able to correctly assess the information you receive and successfully present an argument. You’ll also be able to move beyond your prejudices and cognitive biases that can prevent you from dealing with difficult situations effectively.

You’ll learn how to apply the different steps of critical thinking including setting an intention, carrying out information analysis, and implementing a plan of action.

Promote management, collaboration, and communication skills in your team

You’ll learn about different thinking styles and how you can use critical thinking in your team to enhance management, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

Hone your critical thinking style and decision-making skills

Now that you understand critical thinking, you’ll be able to take a greater role in the decisions you make to reach clear and strategic conclusions.

Following along with engaging activities, you’ll finish the course with the confidence to make better decisions in your professional and personal life.

I found the course a very valuable introduction to critical leadership skills.

Julie McGee, Operations Business Partner Accenture

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Critical Thinking

    • What Is Critical Thinking?

      Introducing CQ originals, basic definitions and key terms related to critical thinking, and the ways that critical thinking can help to improve decision-making.

    • Understanding the Critical Thinking Loop

      This activity explains Conscious Creative Critical Thinking (CCCT) and what is the CQ Thinking Loop, covering the steps and skills required for effective critical thinking.

    • Approaches to Critical Thinking

      An overview of the different types of thinkers and AI impressions of thought processes, as well as a chance for learners to discuss moments when they have embodied each of the four types.

    • Taking the First Steps in CCC Thinking

      By the end of this activity, you will be better able to explore the initial steps of the critical thinking loop, which focus on identifying the task and gathering information.

    • Strategy Planning and Implementation

      By the end of this activity, you will be better able to produce a strategy that has been tested and evaluated, while cultivating accountability and awareness of bias

    • Consolidating and Applying Critical Thinking

      Check what you learned, and explore ways to immediately apply your critical thinking skills.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the key components and skills of CCCT.
  • Identify the CCCT thinking types, including your own thinking type.
  • Explore the initial steps of the critical thinking loop, which focus on identifying the task and gathering information.
  • Produce a strategy that has been tested and evaluated, while cultivating accountability and awareness of bias.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their critical thinking skills in the workplace or in your personal life.

I have completed the active listening and the critical thinking courses. I thought they were really good – box media is an enjoyable way to learn with strong real-life scenarios and representative characters.

Sita Toolan, Accenture Senior Innovation Lead

Who developed the course?

BoxPlay

BoxPlay is democratizing career success by making learning a new habit and trade through creating the most compelling, relevant, and engaging streaming educational content to help with employability and career success. Our products combine education and entertainment. We create immersive, bingeable experiences with characters, narratives, and moving visuals.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.

CQ: Communication Quotient™

Based on psychology, neuroscience, and communication research, CQ: Communication Quotient™ assesses your habits and tendencies, to help you better understand who you are and how you communicate. Using tested methodologies, these programs are designed to improve essential skills and supercharge your career. Learn practical, step-by-step solutions of how to bridge your IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient), leading to better conversations and relationships - at work and at home.

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

  • Unlimited access to this course
  • Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
  • Tests to validate your learning
  • Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
  • Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Still want to know more? Check out our FAQs

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Get a taste of this course

Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:

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