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"Thinking critically is one thing, but being able to teach it can be quite another. Katie Kirkpatrick, dean of instruction at KIPP King Collegiate High School, developed the school's Speech & Composition class, a requirement for all students. In the class, students learn basic critical-thinking skills. The class has been so effective that she now trains teachers how to leverage critical-thinking skills in their classrooms as well. We sat down with Katie to learn about how she trains staff. Here are her answers to some of our questions. "

"Years ago, I wrote a piece suggesting that computer coding should be a basic requirement in junior high schools. I compared it to a required class I myself took in grade school: Typing, a skill that helped throughout my life. I brought up the idea again last week while moderating a panel at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. One of the panelists, MIT Media Lab Senior Research Scientist Kipp Bradford, challenged me on the idea. Bradford acknowledged the importance of coding classes. But he argued that given today's complex programming landscape (there are well over 100 languages in use), basic coding isn't the right course to prepare students for the job market of the future. He suggested teaching "computational thinking" skills instead."

"Ideally, teaching kids how to think critically becomes an integral part of your approach, no matter what subject you teach. But if you're just getting started, here are some concrete ways you can begin leveraging your students' critical-thinking skills in the classroom and beyond. "