B.C. Socrates engendered critical thinking through thoughtful questioning. Socrates was adept at posing questions that challenged his learners' statements. Socratic questions stimulate interaction between the teacher and learner and challenge the learner to defend his or her cognitive position. Students should be led to infer the organization and significance of the information they are handling. To see this process in action, give students numerous pieces of information and suggest they meaningfully organize it.
Strong students know how to organize and value information.
Analogies and metaphors require the learner to enter the land of synthesis and evaluation. Critical thinking in these creative terms may be the ultimate information-processing skill. Forced metaphors or analogies are particularly effective in instigating higher level thinking. Questioning Teachers who neglect cooperative engagement miss a valuable accountability tool and waste time. The average teacher tends to teach a concept, ask various individuals assessment type questions, and then provides corrective feedback to the individuals supposedly for the benefit of the class.