Strategies and Course Components to Foster Critical Thinking

Most business schools are currently redesigning their courses to incorporate critical thinking in MBA studies. They are introducing courses that relate to liberal arts, which usually analyze complex and broad problems that require value-laden trade-offs. Liberal arts courses usually offer a better understanding of global and historical context and perspective, a greater focus on leadership and social responsibility. Critical thinking courses are necessary for business students to develop a multidisciplinary approach when solving problems.

Critical thinking courses have not only been introduced on MBA courses but also on the popular undergraduate business degrees. Courses such as “The Global Context of Management and Strategic Leadership” and “Critical and Analytical Thinking” have been introduced by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Rotman School has also incorporated “Fundamentals of Integrative Thinking” as a course for students to develop the ability of students to think critically when faced with problems.

To inculcate critical thinking among the students, they usually analyze a video of a meeting whereby the executives of a company disagree on their conglomerate’s strategy. With the help of their instructor, the students practice and generate new options, which will result in a better outcome to the company’s disagreement. The students also analyze how they can use the assumptions and logic of a best-selling book to solve various problems in the real world. The use of the “problem framing” method helps the students in Yale to think more broadly, question assumptions, view problems through multiple lenses, and learn from history.