Barriers to Critical Thinking—and How to Break Them

Explore 5 Common Classroom Obstacles to Deep Thinking—and What Teachers Can Do About Them

Why Teaching Critical Thinking Skills Is Essential

Did you know that 85% of teachers feel like their students don’t have the critical thinking skills they need when starting university? What’s holding students back from developing these skills and teachers feeling confident to send their students off?

Critical thinking isn’t just a buzzword; it is a significant skill that will help students examine the world from multiple perspectives. Beyond that, critical thinking will help students in the workplace, in their continued learning, and in their personal lives. Critical thinking is a key to problem-solving, collaboration, and flexibility. 

But critical thinking doesn’t just develop overnight. It also doesn’t just happen without a concentrated effort. Like a seed, developing the skill of critical thinking requires attention, nourishment, and time. When teachers can emphasize critical thinking skills across subjects and activities, students will soar. Practicing critical thinking regularly in the classroom will help students learn how they can incorporate it into their daily lives. 

In this article, we’ll explore how to improve critical thinking by identifying common barriers and how to overcome them. 

What are Cognitive Biases and Assumptions?

Cognitive biases are “unconscious and systematic errors in thinking.” Our cognitive biases influence our thinking all the time, often “when people process and interpret information in their surroundings.” While these cognitive biases are natural parts of our thinking processes, they’re usually not productive in helping us have a clear view of reality. Encouraging students to challenge their own assumptions can lead to deeper learning, greater reasoning skills, and a more open mindset. 

There are numerous types of cognitive biases, all of which form in different ways and influence us differently. For example, anchoring bias (holding on too tightly to one piece of information) can lead to flawed reasoning and poor decision-making. Likewise, the availability heuristic (the tendency to judge how likely something is based on how easily we can recall examples from memory) can cause individuals to overestimate the importance of vivid information.

Numerous other biases can cloud our judgment: hindsight bias, fluency bias, the gambler’s fallacy, source confusion, and more. Whether an elementary student or a seasoned professional, our biases and assumptions hinder our critical thinking in one way or another.

Let’s get into five common barriers to critical thinking and how to overcome them in the classroom. 

1. Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the favoring of information that confirms existing beliefs. Jonathan Rauch, author of The Constitution of Knowledge, wrote about confirmation bias: “We see our congenial beliefs, then look for evidence and arguments to defend them.” For example, a student may have a belief that girls are better at reading than boys. Whenever a girl reads fluently and well in class, the student will think, “See? This proves my point.” But whenever a boy reads fluently in class, the student will dismiss it as luck or not pay much attention to the boy’s success. This is confirmation bias, which may hold us back from recognizing knowledge that is right in front of us. 

According to Rauch, confirmation bias can be a tricky thing to recognize. For those of us (most of us, truthfully) who are victims of confirmation bias, we may be unwilling or uncomfortable with addressing and correcting our mistakes. Biases are part of human nature, but understanding them is the first step to reducing their impact. When students can overcome confirmation bias, they will take the initiative to seek out new information and expand their viewpoints. 

As educators, it is important that we help students understand that mistakes are a critical part of the learning process. Confronting and correcting mistakes is how we grow and become better thinkers and people. So, how do we build up these critical thinkers? Again, it won’t happen overnight, but start out by encouraging students to always examine multiple perspectives. This is a great way to help students challenge their confirmation bias and be more open-minded. 

To actively practice this in the classroom, try out a debate. Ask students to vote on simple topics appropriate for their grade, such as “dogs are better pets than cats” or “the book is always better than the movie.” Then, have students switch sides. Dog lovers need to argue why cats are the better pet, and bookworms need to explain why the movie is sometimes better. By having students argue for a different side of the argument, they will be forced to expand their thinking and consider the point of view of others.

2. Lack of Metacognition

Metacognition is essentially thinking about thinking. When a student lacks metacognition, it means they aren’t aware of what they’re thinking or how they’re thinking.

Self-awareness, especially towards our own thinking processes, is key to effective reasoning and reflection. Metacognition can help students recognize their own biases (confirmation biases or others) and learn to correct them. According to the National Institute of Health, strong metacognition skills are key to academic success. When employed in the classroom, metacognition can support student learning strategies, encourage student control of learning, and promote social metacognition when students work as a team. When a student can understand their own thinking, they are better equipped to articulate it in essays, to teammates, and in everyday life.

What might this look like in the classroom? One way to build metacognitive skills in students is to practice reflective journaling. To model this, try the “think aloud method.” Share out loud your thought process, your internal questions, and your ideas. Modelling this behavior is a great way for students to see what a strong thinking process looks like, as well as get them to think about their own thoughts. Reflective journaling will help students examine their own thought processes and build their reasoning skills. 

For starters, you can have students practice reflective journaling at the end of a science experiment or the end of a book chapter. Try out a sample prompt like: “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

3. Overreliance on Authority

Another barrier to students developing critical thinking is when students over-rely on authority for knowledge. This “authority” could be anything from accepting what a teacher, textbook, or expert says at face value. When students only rely on the word of authorities without doing their own research, they limit their independent thinking. True critical thinking requires not just absorbing information, but questioning its source, context, and credibility. 

To help students develop independent thinking and a critical eye, teach them to evaluate sources with critical questions. The class will be split into small groups, and each group will receive a set of materials: a mix of reliable and unreliable sources on a simple topic, such as a historical event or animal fact. Students will work together to examine each source and answer questions like:

• “Who wrote this?”
• “Is this information supported by facts?
• “Can we trust the author?” 
• “Does this source have a clear bias?”

After evaluating their sources, groups will present their findings and explain why they trust or doubt each one. This activity helps students practice thinking critically about the information they encounter, fostering an awareness of the importance of questioning authority and understanding how to evaluate the credibility of sources. Activities that teach students critical thinking, source evaluation, and how to create conclusions are key, especially in this digital age–check out our Digital Citizenship Mission to help foster responsibility and critical thinking in your classroom. 

[Pro-tip: Teach students how to respectfully challenge ideas while using evidence.]

4. Emotional Reasoning

Emotional reasoning occurs when our emotions take charge over logic and evidence. According to Psychology Today, emotional reasoning can distort reality, lead to false beliefs, and create impulse decisions. In a collaborative environment like a classroom or a workspace, emotional reasoning may also create misunderstandings and poor decision-making. 

Personal feelings can cloud judgment when we are overly emotional, causing us to not see things clearly or understand a logical argument. 

To help students foster true critical thinking skills and overcome emotional reasoning, take time to discuss the difference between facts and opinions. Here are a few clues that can help your students discern between opinion and fact:

Facts…

• Can be proven true or false. Encourage students to ask: “Could I look this up or test it?” (For example: The sun is a star.)
• Use specific details like numbers or dates. (For example: There are seven continents.)
• Describe things that are the same for everyone. (For example: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.)

Opinions…

• Use feeling words or value judgements. Teach students to look for words like: best, worst, beautiful, fun, good, or bad. (For example: Pizza is the best food.)
• Start with phrases like: I think, I feel like, in my opinion, I believe. (For example: I think cats are better than dogs.)
• Can’t be proven true or false. Students should ask if different people could disagree on the statement and still both be right.

5. Peer Pressure and Groupthink

We’ve all been there. Wanting to fit in. Being scared of rejection. It is part of our human nature, and those feelings are completely real, even in elementary school. However, peer pressure may cause students to hinder their critical thinking. If students are seeking to fit in or avoid conflict, they may suppress their ideas. Groupthink—where the desire for harmony outweighs the desire for accuracy—can result in poor decision-making and missed opportunities for deeper discussion.

To counteract this, educators should intentionally foster psychological safety in group settings. Students need to feel that their thoughts and ideas are welcomed, even if they differ from those around them. One simple but effective strategy is anonymous idea sharing before group discussions. This allows students to contribute their thoughts without fear of judgment, and it helps surface a wider range of perspectives. By normalizing respectful disagreement and making space for all voices, teachers empower students to think independently and resist the pull of groupthink.

Additional Barriers Teachers Should Be Aware Of

This isn’t a comprehensive list of every barrier to critical thinking. There are plenty of other barriers we may encounter in everyday life and not be aware of. However, here are a few other obstacles to keep in mind:

• Lack of background knowledge or vocabulary: This limits a student’s ability to communicate effectively about a subject. When students don’t know how to comprehend a certain subject, they may avoid thinking about it altogether. 

• Cognitive laziness or habitual thinking: Cognitive laziness is when students choose to offload cognitive tasks (such as problem solving or critical thinking). While it does have some benefits, AI is one tool that is harming students’ cognitive abilities and promoting cognitive laziness. Psychology Today shared about a recent study, which revealed that "while ChatGPT 4.0… enhanced task outcomes, it may also have eroded the critical thinking and reflective processes essential for lifelong learning." Likewise, habitual thinking refers back to the same thinking pattern or habitual thoughts that we develop over time. These habits hinder students from regulating their own thinking, planning, and self-monitoring. 

• Misunderstanding the problem or question: It’s difficult for a student to think critically about a problem when they don’t truly understand the problem at hand.

• Cultural or linguistic barriers in diverse classrooms: These barriers make it difficult for students to fully express their ideas or comprehend the task before them. To address this, try using visuals, incorporating clear and simple language, and creating an environment where students feel heard.

Strategies to Help Students Overcome These Barriers

Don’t worry — all is not lost. While it’s not realistic to tackle every cognitive barrier every day in every activity, there are a few key things teachers can do to help students improve critical thinking skills. 

First, create a classroom culture of curiosity and discovery. Teach your students how to ask open-ended questions. Look for a chance to gently correct their questions to make them more open-ended. Likewise, teach your students that curiosity and experiments may sometimes lead to failure, and that’s completely okay! Promote a growth mindset by helping students feel comfortable taking risks and getting back up after a failure. 

Comfort in failure and growth mindsets can develop in students through small, low-stakes challenges. Incorporate small critical thinking activities into the classroom daily. Try out riddles, mind games, and other activities that will help students analyze or synthesize information. Check out a great list of critical thinking activities here. Incorporating problem-solving for real-world scenarios can also help students apply their critical thinking outside the classroom. Check out our Missions Library for engaging classroom activities that will build critical thinking and prepare students  for the real world.

Critical Thinking Classroom Tools & Activities

Helping students develop critical thinking takes more than good intentions. It requires the right tools and strategies. A great place to start is with Socratic Seminars. Socratic Seminars, which are structured discussions, help students learn to ask thoughtful questions, practice active listening, and provide evidence for their thinking. Students should go beyond just having the “right answer.” Rather, Socratic Seminars are opportunities for students to explore deeper meanings and understand multiple perspectives. Graphic organizers and critical reading checklists can also support this kind of thinking by guiding students to break down complex texts, identify key arguments, and reflect on what they’ve read. These tools can also help students develop their analytical skills by breaking down complex texts and arguments.  

Another helpful strategy is using source evaluation checklists, especially when students are researching or working with nonfiction texts. These tools prompt students to consider credibility, bias, and accuracy—skills that are essential both in and out of the classroom. Ethical dilemma discussions can also spark powerful insights and help students wrestle with real-world problems in a safe, respectful environment. Each of these activities reinforces the idea that critical thinking is something students can practice and improve every day. With the right supports in place, they’ll gain the confidence to think more independently and deeply.

Final Thoughts: Empowering Students to Think Deeply

Helping students become strong critical thinkers is one of the most important things we can do as educators. It’s not just about teaching them to question the world around them—it’s about giving them the tools to do so thoughtfully, ethically, and with confidence. By recognizing and addressing the common barriers to critical thinking, we help students become more self-aware, resilient, and open to new perspectives. Through critical thinking, students can make informed decisions

Critical thinking isn’t a destination—it’s a habit of mind. And it’s cultivated through modeling, practice, and a culture that values inquiry over certainty. Critical thinking skills will prepare students to navigate complex problems with creativity, logic, and resilience. 

Every question we encourage, every reflection we support, and every discussion we facilitate is a step toward empowering our students to think deeply and live thoughtfully. When we teach students how to think — not what to think — we’re not just shaping learners, we’re shaping the future.

Sources

Rauch, J. (2021a). The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Brookings Institution Press.