Frequently asked questions

Is Thinking Hub a critical thinking website?

Yes, and no!

Although the development of critical thinking skills is one of our central aims, we wouldn’t describe ourselves as a critical thinking site – we’re trying to go beyond that. We’re a ‘4C’ site, which means that we also want to help you develop students’ skills in creativity, communication, and collaboration. So you’ll see those skills mentioned just as much as critical thinking, as we (and a lot of other people) think they’re just as vital.

Also, critical thinking resources and tools tend to just focus on just the skill of critical thinking, without providing much of a context to apply that skill. We believe (and, again, we’re not alone) that the context is vital – which is why Thinking Hub applies the 4Cs to the subjects that students study, and to the latest real-world situations, to make what we do as relevant and as engaging as possible for learners.

How can we ‘deploy’ Thinking Hub in our school?

The resources on the site are designed to be as flexible as possible, so it’s completely up to you how much you draw on them, and use them with your students. If you want to just glance over the Thinking Hub newsletter and chat with them once a month about the real-world issues they focus on, then that’s fine. If you want to set up a dedicated department in your school, and timetable a couple of lessons each week in which you deliver our Aspects of Knowledge lessons, and support your students to create a 4C portfolio, then you can go that far.

Our huge range of resources – from the 72 teacher-led or self-guided lessons, Investigating Issues, Knowledge Heroes, and Thinking Hub & TED – can be used in whatever way you want, to whatever level you think will most benefit your students. Check out our suggestions on this page of the site, and if you’d like to chat with us about the most appropriate way to deploy the course in your school, we’ll be happy to respond to your questions.

I’m a teacher. Won’t using your resources just mean more work for me?

The short answer is, no; but they can if you want them to!

Thinking Hub has been designed by a teacher who knows how overworked all educators are, but also how much they are always looking around for easily-applicable ways to enrich and improve their lessons. As we’ve said above, the resources on the site are designed to be as flexible as possible, so it’s completely up to you how much you draw on them, and use them with your students.

How will Thinking Hub help our students (in other words, why should we bother)?

There’s a lot of rhetoric surrounding the 4Cs – critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration – with schools often acknowledging their importance, but not offering much tangible evidence of how they actually develop them.

Thinking Hub offers you a set of resources that have been extensively classroom tested, are proven to work incredibly well, and which culminate in the production of a ‘4C’ portfolio which physically showcase their skills in these four areas, and which can form a part of their application to university, making them more attractive candidates.

Unlike other critical thinking courses, we seek to develop students’ skills and understanding within the real world, via the most up-to-date, interesting, and significant issues and events currently going on. This means that they can see for themselves the relevance and the usefulness of what they are doing, and will be much more motivated to work with you to extend their learning.

Who are you – and does your organization have a bias or agenda?

Thinking Hub’s founder is Michael Dunn, an international educator who has been teaching in various countries around the world for more than two decades. In 2009, he set up theoryofknowledge.net, which is now the world’s biggest online resource for the IB Diploma’s TOK course, which has paying members in well over 100 different country, and which is used by virtually all DP schools in some shape or form.

Our mission is not to spread any message or agenda, other than that of thinking authoritatively, which means being able to offer a strong justification for ones claims and beliefs. We also want to promote an international outlook, and encourage students to think beyond their own personal, local, and national paradigms. Find out more about us here.

How does Thinking Hub fit into what we are already learning?

The resources on the Thinking Hub site are designed to be as flexible as possible, and ‘plug-in’ to whatever educational programme you are running in the school – be they GCSEs, A-Levels, AP, or the national qualifications of your country.

They enable teachers to apply a meta-cognitive approach to knowledge within their own subjects

What’s the difference between being a member of Thinking Hub, and using the site as a free member?

How are you different from other critical thinking resources already available?

Does Thinking Hub work with any educational programme?

What age group of students can use Thinking Hub?