REPORTING HISTORY

Teacher training pilot in scientific critical thinking with STANSW

May 16, 2025 | Education

The GAP Critical Thinking Education Initiative, led by Global Access Partners (GAP), seeks to strengthen critical thinking education across Australian schools. Following a recommendation from the 2023 Nobel Prize Dialogue Sydney, GAP brought together experts from education, science and policy sectors to explore ways to enhance the Australian Curriculum’s Critical and Creative Thinking general capability. The GAP Taskforce on Critical Thinking Education reviewed UC Berkeley’s Sense & Sensibility & Science course and its high-school adaptation, Scientific Thinking for All: A Toolkit, assessing alignment with the Australian Curriculum and identifying practical strategies for teacher training.

In response to the Taskforce’s recommendation, the Science Teachers Association of NSW (STANSW) piloted a scientific critical thinking programme for science teachers, focusing on evaluating evidence, reasoning through complex issues and applying scientific thinking in real-world contexts. The pilot was aligned with the new NSW Science syllabus. Over 100 teachers participated in an initial series of four online sessions delivered between March– June 2025. Early evaluation indicates strong teacher engagement and positive student outcomes, including improved misinformation awareness, decision-making skills and metacognitive reflection. Surveyed teachers reported being ‘very likely’ to apply the content in their classrooms, with confidence in teaching decision making rising significantly after the sessions.

GAP is collaborating with state teacher associations to expand the critical thinking education pilot to additional states and subjects.

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