Critical thinking is one of the most fundamental skills you could focus on. In fact, these skills are so important that many educational institutions have listed them among their central goals. Critical thinking helps you sort the true from the false.

The bad news is that not many people own these skills. Einstein famously said:

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”

The good news though is that you can improve your thinking and you can do it without breaking the bank.

Below are listed 16 of the best free online critical thinking courses with details regarding their contents.

Go on, choose your preferred course and take action today! (You can thank me later😉!)

P.S. Apart from the general critical thinking courses, I’ve included 5 specific ones which focus on today’s burning issues- fake news and climate change, as well as correctly interpreting randomized clinical trials and screening trials. See numbers 12 to 16 below.

Jump to Section

1. Critical Reasoning for Beginners
2. Critical Thinking Classes at Fayetteville State University
3. Logical and Critical Thinking
4. Critical Thinking: Fundamentals of Good Reasoning
5. Philosophy and Critical Thinking
6. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
7. Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic
8. Teaching Critical Thinking through Art with the National Gallery of Art
9. Critical thinking: Reasoned Decision Making
10. The Science of Everyday Thinking
11. Critical Thinking at University: An Introduction
12. Making Sense of News
13. Sorting Truth From Fiction: Civic Online Reasoning
14. Making Sense of Climate Science Denial
15. Thinking Critically: Interpreting Randomized Clinical Trials
16. Thinking Critically Series: Interpreting Screening Trials

Critical Thinking Resource	Institution	Total Time Investment	General VS. Specific	Cost
1. Critical Reasoning for Beginners	University of Oxford	4 hours	General	Free
2. Critical Thinking Classes at Fayetteville State University	Fayetteville State University	24 hours	General	Free
3. Logical and Critical Thinking	University of Auckland	32 hours	General	Free
4. Critical Thinking: Fundamentals of Good Reasoning	University of Israel	54 hours	General	Free
5. Philosophy and Critical Thinking	University of Queensland	24 hours	General	Free
6. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving	Rochester Institute of Technology	18 hours	General	Free
7. Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic	Saylor.org Academy	40 hours	General	Free
8. Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art with the National Gallery of Art	Smithsonian Institution	64 hours	General	Free
9. Critical Thinking: Reasoned Decision Making	Tecnológico de Monterrey	32 hours	General	Free
10. The Science of Everyday Thinking	University of Queensland	36 hours	General	Free
11. Critical Thinking at University: An Introduction	University of Leeds	8 hours	General	Free
12. Making Sense of News	University of Hong Kong	12 hours	Specific	Free
13. Sorting Truth from Fiction: Civic Online Rasoning	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	36 hours	Specific	Free
14. Making Sense of Climate Science Denial	University of Queensland	28 hours	Specific	Free
15. Thinking Critically: Interpreting Randomized Clinical Trials	Stanford University	3 hours	Specific	Free
16. Thinking Critically: Interpreting Screening Trials	Stanford University	3 hours	Specific	Free

Critical Reasoning for Beginners

Offered by: University of Oxford

Description:

Contents:

4 hours, 6 modules

1: The Nature of Arguments

How to recognise arguments and what the nature of an argument is

2: Different Types of Arguments

Different types of arguments, in particular deductive and inductive arguments

3: Setting Out Arguments Logic Book Style

How to identify and analyse arguments, and how to set arguments out logic book-style to make them easier to evaluate

4: What is a  Good Argument? Validity and Truth

How to evaluate arguments and how to tell whether an argument is good or bad, focusing specifically on inductive arguments

5: Evaluating Arguments Part One

Evaluation of arguments – this time deductive arguments – focusing in particular on the notion of validity

6: Evaluating Arguments Part Two

Fallacies: bad arguments that can easily be mistaken for good arguments

Enrol Here

Also available on YouTube and iTunes

Critical Thinking Classes at Fayetteville State University

Offered by: Fayetteville State University

Description:

24 videos, 24 hours

Lectures from Spring 2011 Critical Thinking classes at Fayetteville State University held by Gregory B. Sadler. The textbook used was Moore And Parker’s Critical Thinking 9th edition.

Contents:

• Issues, claims, arguments
• Arguments and non-arguments
• Value Judgments
• Complex arguments, unstated premises
• Deductive and inductive arguments with implicit premises
• Deductive and inductive arguments
• Information sources
• Experts and appeal to authority
• Critical thinking and advertising
• Rhetorical devices
• Fallacies

Enrol Here

Logical and Critical Thinking

Offered by: University Of Auckland

Description:

8 Weeks of study, 4 hours weekly

• Identify common flaws in belief construction
• Recognise and reconstruct arguments
• Evaluate arguments as being good or bad
• Analyse arguments using basic logical tools
• Apply basic logical strategies in areas such as science, moral theories and law

Enrol Here

Critical Thinking: Fundamentals of Good Reasoning

Offered by: IsraelX

Description:

9 weeks, 4-6 hours per week

You can create a free account on edx.org and have access to the course for 2 months. After 2 months, you can pay £37 to get unlimited access to the course.

The objective of the course is to improve the student’s ability in the basic skills of critical thinking:

• how to recognize arguments,
• how to interpret them,
• how to evaluate them,
• how to construct them.

Lesson 1. What’s “Critical Thinking?”
Lesson 2. What are Arguments Made Of?
Lesson 3. From Premises to Conclusions
Lesson 4. Recognizing Arguments: Introduction
Lesson 5. Argument vs. The Text Containing It
Lesson 6. Recognizing Conclusions
Lesson 7. Arguments vs. Explanations
Lesson 8. Argument Diagrams: Introduction
Lesson 9. More about Argument Diagrams
Lesson 10. Argument Diagrams: Examples
Lesson 11. Hedges
Lesson 12. Disclaimers
Lesson 13. Examples
Lesson 14. Rhetorical Language
Lesson 15. Referential Attribution
Lesson 16. Principles of Interpretation
Lesson 17. Implicit Premises
Lesson 18. What’s a Good Argument?
Lesson 19. More Virtues of Arguments
Lesson 20. Argument Ad Hominem
Lesson 21. Argument Ad Verecundiam
Lesson 22. Argument Ad Populum
Lesson 23. Argument Ad Ignorantiam
Lesson 24. Argument Ad Baculum and Ad Misericordiam
Lesson 25. Venn Diagrams
Lesson 26. Beyond Venn
Lesson 27. Modus Ponens
Lesson 28. Modus Tollens
Lesson 29. Conditionals
Lesson 30. Reductio Ad Absurdum
Lesson 31. Process of Elimination
Lesson 32. Separation of Cases
Lesson 33. Truth Trees: An Example
Lesson 34. How to Grow Truth Trees
Lesson 35. Truth Trees: Another Example
Lesson 36. Reflexive Relations
Lesson 37. Symmetric Relations
Lesson 38. Transitive Relations
Lesson 39. Inductive Generalization
Lesson 40. What’s a Good Sample?
Lesson 41. The New Riddle of Induction
Lesson 42. From Induction to Causation
Lesson 43. Evaluating Causal Generalizations
Lesson 44. Argument from Analogy: Basics
Lesson 45. Argument from Analogy: Examples
Lesson 46. Who Needs Analogues?
Lesson 47. Inference to the Best Explanation
Lesson 48. Experimentation
Lesson 49. Building an Argument
Lesson 50. Writing Up an Argument

Enrol Here

Philosophy and Critical Thinking

Offered by: The University of Queensland

Description:

6 weeks, 1-4 hours per week

• How to think with clarity and rigour
• How to identify, analyse and construct cogent arguments
• How to think of solutions to the central problems of philosophy
• How to engage in philosophical conversations with others about topics that matter

Enrol Here

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

Offered by: Rochester Institute of Technology

Description:

3 weeks, 4-6 hours per week

• How to perform strategic analysis and assessment
• How to perceive and assess a critical need and design a tailored solution
• How to identify key stakeholders and ensure their needs are met
• How to employ adaptive problem-solving
• How to work through obstacles collaboratively
• How to analyse failure to improve future performance

Enrol Here

Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic

Offered by: Saylor.org Academy

Description:

40 hours

This course will introduce you to critical thinking, informal logic, and a small amount of formal logic. Its purpose is to provide you with the basic tools of analytical reasoning, which will give you a distinctive edge in a wide variety of careers and courses of study. While many university courses focus on the presentation of content knowledge, the emphasis here is on learning how to think effectively. Although the techniques and concepts covered here are classified as philosophical, they are essential to the practice of nearly every major discipline, from the physical sciences and medicine to politics, law, and the humanities.

Contents:

• Unit 1: Introduction and Meaning Analysis
• Unit 2: Argument Analysis
• Unit 3: Basic Sentential Logic
• Unit 4: Venn Diagrams
• Unit 5: Fallacies
• Unit 6: Scientific Reasoning
• Unit 7: Strategic Reasoning and Creativity

Enrol Here

Teaching Critical Thinking through Art with the National Gallery of Art

Offered by: Smithsonian Institution

Description:

16 weeks, 3-4 hours per week

• How to use Artful Thinking Routines to strengthen thinking.
• How to facilitate meaningful conversations in your classroom using art for artful learning and artful teaching.
• How to help learners of all levels develop more discerning descriptions, evidence-based reasoning, and meaningful questioning habits.
• Key strategies for using content information to push original thinking deeper.
• Exciting, immersive activities for any type of classroom.
• How to use online teaching resources from the National Gallery of Art, including downloadable Artful Thinking lesson plans

Contents:

• Unit 0: Welcome (2 hours)
• Unit 1: Diving into Thinking Routines (3-4 hours)
• Unit 2: Observing and Describing (3-4 hours)
• Unit 3: Reasoning with Evidence (3-4 hours)
• Unit 4: Questioning and Investigating (3-4 hours)

Enrol Here

Critical thinking: reasoned decision making

Offered by: Tecnológico de Monterrey

Description:

4 weeks, 5-8 hours per week

• Identify the theories that support critical thinking
• Employ a methodology for the application of critical thinking
• Relate the elements that make up the stages of critical thinking
• Analyse the standards of critical thinking practice
• Assess the responsibility of perpetuating the intellectual values of the resolution analysis
• Distinguish the vices of thought in decision making
• Apply critical thinking to groups

Contents:

1. Thinking according to our times

1.1 Why critical thinking?

1.2 The exciting world of thinking and criticism

2. Evaluating our modes of thought

2.1 Intellectual values of a good thinker

2.2 Evaluating our critical thinking skills. Avoiding vices and biased thinking

3. Elements and standards of critical thinking

3.1 Elements of a critical thinking process

3.2 Standards to apply to our thinking modes

4. Articulating our decisions making process

4.1 The logic of our decisions and the behaviour derived from them

4.2 How to improve our critical thinking skills and become a fair-minded thinker

Enrol Here

The Science of Everyday Thinking

Offered by: The University of Queensland

Description:

12 weeks, 2-3 hours per week

The course explores the psychology of our everyday thinking: why people believe weird things, how we form and change our opinions, why our expectations skew our judgments, and how we can make better decisions. We’ll discuss and debate topics such as placebos, the paranormal, medicine, miracles, and more.

You will use the scientific method to evaluate claims, make sense of evidence, and understand why we so often make irrational choices. You will begin to rely on slow, effortful, deliberative, analytic, and logical thinking rather than fast, automatic, instinctive, emotional, and stereotypical thinking.

• tools for how to think independently, how to be skeptical, and how to value data over personal experience.
• examining the mental shortcuts that people use and misuse, and apply this knowledge to help make better decisions, and improve critical thinking.

Enrol Here

Critical Thinking at University: An Introduction

Offered by: University of Leeds

Description:

2 weeks, 4 hours weekly

Contents:

• What is critical thinking?
• A model for critical thinking
• Why is critical thinking important at university?
• Challenges to thinking critically at university
• How can you improve your critical thinking?
• How will critical thinking help you at university?

Making Sense of News

Offered by: University of Hong Kong

Description:

4 weeks, 2-3 hours per week

This course will help you identify reliable information in news reports and become better informed about the world we live in. A discussion on journalism from the viewpoint of the news audience.

• What makes news? The blurred lines between news, promotion and entertainment.
• Why does news matter? Social sharing and the dynamics of the news cycles.
• Who provides information? How to evaluate sources in news reports.
• Where is the evidence? The process of verification.
• When should we act? Recognizing our own biases.
• How do we know what we know? Becoming an active news audience.

You’ll learn to:

• Distinguish news from opinion; media bias from audience bias; assertion from verification
• Apply critical thinking skills to examine the validity of information
• Contextualize the knowledge gained from news report
• Respond quickly to daily news events and make an informed decision

Enrol Here

Sorting Truth From Fiction: Civic Online Reasoning

Offered by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Description:

9 weeks, 2-4 hours per week

Course aimed at fighting fake news and misinformation

Educators—from teachers to librarians—will learn about:

• New knowledge that can be applied in your lessons and resources for your own students.
• How to shift from ineffective information literacy practices towards the kinds of strategies employed by professional fact-checkers.

Contents:

Unit 1: Search Like a Fact Checker

Unit 2: The Two Big Fact Checker Moves: Lateral Reading & Click Restraint

Unit 3: Evaluating Different Types of Evidence

Unit 4: Adapting Civic Online Reasoning

Enrol Here

Making Sense of Climate Science Denial

Offered by: The University of Queensland

Description:

7 weeks, 2-4 hours per week

Contents:

WEEK 1: Understanding The Climate Controversy
During the first week of the course, we introduce the course content, interact with each other and complete an introductory survey. The week continues with an exploration of political consensus, the drivers and psychology of climate science denial and an overview of the controversy surrounding this topic.

WEEK 2: Global Warming Is Happening
In week two, we will look at the indicators of global warming and myths related to temperature and glaciers.

WEEK 3: We Are Causing Global Warming
Week three focuses on the ways in which humans cause climate change and the myths associated with the greenhouse effect and the rise in carbon dioxide.

WEEK 4: The Past Tells Us About The Future
This week looks at the history of climate change in order to model future climate change. We also address myths related to models.

WEEK 5: We Are Feeling The Impacts Of Climate Change
Week five covers climate feedbacks and the impacts of climate change on the environment, society and the weather.

WEEK 6 and 7: Responding to Denial
The final weeks of the course look more closely at the psychology of science denial and debunking techniques. We also complete a peer assessment that asks students to practice debunking strategies on real myths that can be found in today’s media.

Approach: mini-lectures, video interviews, quizzes, activities, a peer assessed writing assignment, and readings.

Enrol Here

Thinking Critically: Interpreting Randomized Clinical Trials

Offered by: Stanford University

Description:

1 week, 2-3 hours

This course seeks to fulfil the clinical community’s need to improve skills in the critical evaluation of clinical research papers. Competency in critical appraisal skills can have a significant impact by improving clinical practice, quality of research projects, and peer-review of manuscripts and grants. The course will utilize efficient and engaging videos with relevant clinical examples to cover essential research methodology principles.

You’ll learn to:

• Analyse the concepts of randomization and blinding in reducing bias.
• Develop strategies to critically appraise randomized clinical trials and determine if study results are valid.

Enrol Here

Thinking Critically Series: Interpreting Screening Trials

Offered by: Stanford University

Description:

1 week, 2-3 hours

This course seeks to fulfil the clinical community’s need to improve skills in the critical evaluation of clinical research papers. Competency in critical appraisal skills can have a significant impact by improving clinical practice, quality of research projects, and peer-review of manuscripts and grants. The course will utilize efficient and engaging videos with relevant clinical examples to cover essential research methodology principles.

You’ll learn to:

• Analyse the key design features of screening studies.
• Develop strategies to critically appraise screening studies and determine if study results are valid.

Enrol Here