Thinking Critically | Freire Institute

Paulo Freire’s philosophy of education has had a profound impact on people throughout the world working for social change. His work has been applied not only to formal educational settings but to many diverse social movements.

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Price: GBP 250.00

Thinking Critically

Deepening understanding and analysis

Develop analytical skills to   challenge and inspire   change 

Professionals are continually required to interpret information, assess competing claims, solve problems, and make decisions in situations where the evidence may be incomplete, contested, or presented from different perspectives. The challenge is not simply to acquire more information, but to develop the capacity to question how information is framed, examine the reasoning behind claims, recognise assumptions and bias, compare interpretations, and reach judgements that can be explained and defended. This participatory workshop develops practical skills in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problematization, dialogue, and reflective judgement . Participants will work with realistic...

How much stronger might our professional judgement become if we learnt not only to question the information in front of us, but also the assumptions through which we interpret it?

Drawing upon Paulo Freire’s problem-posing pedagogy, the workshop treats critical thinking as more than finding errors in other people’s arguments. Participants are also encouraged to question their own categories, interpretations, professional assumptions, and habitual ways of defining problems . Dialogue becomes an important means of testing ideas: disagreement is approached not as something to avoid or win, but as an opportunity to clarify reasoning and encounter perspectives that may expose weaknesses in our own analysis. The workshop moves ultimately towards informed judgement and action. Participants will apply critical-thinking approaches to a real professional, organisational, or...

What you learn

Problematize and analyse professional or educational issues by identifying how framing, language, assumptions and context shape the definition and interpretation of a problem.
Analyse and evaluate claims, arguments and information from different sources in terms of reasoning, relevance, credibility, evidence, causal inference, possible bias and uncertainty.
Generate and critically compare alternative interpretations, examining how perspective, professional experience, cognitive bias and institutional context may influence judgement, and using dialogical questioning to test reasoning.
Develop and justify a proportionate professional judgement or course of action based on the available evidence, making assumptions, limitations and uncertainties explicit and identifying how the judgement could be reviewed and revised.

Availability

For organizations: This workshop is available in virtual, in-person, or hybrid formats to meet diverse organizational needs and preferences. We can tailor the focus to your specific institutional context.
For individuals: We will run occasional virtual workshops, and you are encouraged to join the notification list to be informed of upcoming dates.

Registration Options

Current ways to join this course

Email Signup

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Registration Options

Custom workshops for organizations

Duration

You will continue to be registered in the course area for 3 months following the workshop.

Course Certificate

You will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

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