Section outline

  • Course Overview

    This course equips you with the skills and habits of critical thinking. It teaches practical techniques for confident, discerning critical engagement with sources, evidence, arguments and reasoning. 

    Learning Outcomes

    The course also:

    1. Builds key reasoning, argument and analysis skills
    2. Boosts writing, essay and exam results
    3. Improves work, planning and research habits
    4. Provides explicit training in a key skill sought by graduate recruiters
    5. Teaches digital and information literacy.

    Please note: to best experience this course, we recommend you use a Chrome, Safari, or Firefox browser. 

  • Course Instructor: Dr Tom Chatfield

    • Dr Tom Chatfield

      Dr Tom Chatfield is an author, tech philosopher and broadcaster. His books explore the skills required to thrive in a digital age, including Critical Thinking (SAGE) and Live This Book! (Penguin). Tom is interested in improving our understanding of digital technology and its uses in policy, education, and engagement. He is currently technology and media advisor at Agathos LLP, non-executive director at the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, a faculty member at London’s School of Life, a Master’s committee member at the Economics Research Council, and a senior expert at the Global Governance Institute. Tom speaks and broadcasts around the world on technology, the arts, and media. Appearances include TED Global, authors@Google, Science Foo Camp and the Houses of Parliament. He also guest lectures at universities in the UK and Europe.

      View Bio for Dr Tom Chatfield

    • Course Resources

      You will need to access certain files and resources throughout the course to get the most out of the activities. You can find them all here.

    • Pre-Course Self Assessment

      Before you dive into this course, spend a few moments reflecting on your familiarity with the topic and your current level of skills confidence. 

      You will then re-visit the same questions in our Post-Course Self Assessment and reflect on how the course has helped you develop in confidence and grow your skills.

      • Module One: Why Bother Thinking Twice?

        This module will help you to understand: 

        1. What it means to think critically 
        2. Why objectivity and skepticism are important 
        3. How speed can affect the quality of your thinking 

      • Module Two: What's the Point of Arguments?

        This module will help you to understand: 

        1. How to spot an argument 
        2. How to set out an argument clearly 
        3. How to challenge peoples' assumptions 

      • Module Three: How Can I Argue My Case?

        This module will help you to understand: 

        1. What it means to make logical arguments 
        2. How to reason about what's likely and use probability 
        3. How to handle evidence effectively 

      • Module Four: What's the Best Explanation?

        This module will help you to understand: 

        1. What makes a good explanation 
        2. How to develop explanations in practice 
        3. How researchers test explanations 

      • Module Five: Why We Get Things Wrong

        This module will help you to understand: 

        1. How to identify rhetoric and its persuasive effects 
        2. How to spot bad arguments and avoid falling for them 
        3. How to identify biased thinking 

      • Module Six: Handling Information Overload

        This module will help you to: 

        1. Understand the relationship between data, information, and knowledge 
        2. Practice techniques for search and discovery 
        3. Create your personal digital literacy plan 

      • Post-Course Self Assessment

        Now you’ve completed the course, spend a few moments reflecting on where your familiarity with the topics and your confidence skills levels are at now. 

        Has the course helped you develop new skills and grow your confidence?

        You'll need to complete the Post-Course Self Assessment in order to download your certificate. If you didn't do the Pre-Course Self Assessment before starting the course, please go to the top of the page and reflect on your familiarity with the topic and your level of skills confidence before you started the course.

        • Completion: Certificate

          Completing all modules (plus the pre and post-course assessments) will unlock the course certificate, which you can then download here. Your course certificate will only be made available once you have completed all these sections.

          If you have difficulty accessing your certificate, please contact the Sage support team at: onlinesupport@sagepub.co.uk. You can also check out this FAQ page which may be helpful.

          • Give Feedback About This Course

            Did you enjoy the course? Please take two minutes to share your feedback. We use learner feedback in future course updates and developments to provide an excellent learning experience.

          • Accessibility, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

            We have high standards of accessibility on Sage Campus and as of May/June 2024 all activities within this course are keyboard and screen reader compatible. For more details on accessibility standards, please see the Sage Campus Accessibility Guide.

            For those using assistive technology, please note that within this course:

            • Tab components: JAWS and NVDA behave slightly differently. For NVDA to keep reading, it is best to exit focus mode and go back to browse mode. 
            • Matching: JAWS does not read out question label on dropdown focus. 

            Additionally, please refer to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement which outlines our commitment to high standards of DEI on Sage Campus.