Our mission
Our mission is very simple: to make high level critical thinking skills and concepts relatable and accessible, and applicable to real life. Through stimulating, engaging workshops - led by an experienced critical thinking teacher, author and examiner - we help to improve people's thinking - both in an everyday context, and also in more pressurised or high stakes situations.
What we provide
As of September 2026 there are two main strands to KRITIKOS: Everyday Critical Thinking - a low cost, public provision, accessible to all adult learners; and a professional programme focusing on judgment for leaders and decision-makers.
Public Programme
Everyday critical thinking
Professional programme:
Stronger, wiser judgment for leaders and decision-makers
Public programme: Everyday critical thinking
These are free or low-cost, easy-access tutorials and workshops available online and through various educational establishments. In it Joe shares the skills and techniques he uses gained from a lifetime teaching and assessing critical thinking to critically evaluate ideas and information - the same skills that he uses on a daily basis for consuming information and that enable him to write and assess high stakes critical thinking test questions. The aim is to counter the more unhelpful ideas and advice regarding critical thinking that are commonly encountered, and replace them with a simple set of practical critical skills; skills that actually work in real life. To find out more about the Everyday Critical Thinking tutorials and support, follow Joe on LinkedIn or enquire here.
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Professional programme: stronger, wiser judgment for leaders and decision-makers
This course - aimed principally at those in leadership, management, or executive level - explores the nature of judgment, and the various factors that go into it. It tackles questions such as how to balance detached, data-driven thinking against the realities of individual feelings, experiences and the specifics of context. In doing so, it takes you on a journey, through the heart of critical thinking, to the extremities of data, evidence and logic; where these confront things like intuition, empathy, creativity, instinct and imagination. How do you weigh intuition against what the data is 'saying'? Can everything be decided by data and evidence? Learn how to decide when further evidence required, and when enough is enough; when the thinking needs to start, and when it needs to end and action needs to be taken! To find out more about the programme, enquire here.
A focus on what works
I teach critical thinking in a way that makes it useful and relevant. The focus is on what works in real life, in real contexts, amongst real people. As a critical thinking teacher, author, examiner and consultant, I teach people what it is I actually DO when I encounter information or need to make judgments and decisions. The things that enable me to teach and test critical thinking, as well as navigate the challenges of everyday life.
Joe Chislett, KRITIKOS founder
A focus on what's useful
3 practical outcomes
1/
Critically evaluate ideas and information
more discerning about the information coming in
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Make better, wiser judgments and deciscions on the back of it
more discerning about what you take out into the world
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Share those judgments and decisions more effectively with the world
the skills and confidence to share and enact them
Wider, more personal goal
Become a wiser, more self-aware thinker
How you learn
We draw on Joe Chislett's experience teaching and testing critical thinking skills to provide stimulating and engaging workshops that successfully meet the above learning outcomes - as well as being interesting and enjoyable.
"Not only did the session get me thinking - it was surprisingly enjoyable. I enjoyed the blend of humour and seriousness. I didn't think that a session on critical thinking could be so much fun!"
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Katherine, Assistant Head Teacher, Waingels College
Meet your teacher
Hi, I'm Joe. I've worked in the field of critical thinking for 25 years - as teacher, author, examiner and consultant. I've also worked in areas such as conflict resolution and preventing violent extremism, as well as having taught English, Philosophy, Drama and Creative Writing. I'm interested in human thinking in the broadest sense - from the analytical and logical, to the emotional, intuitive and instinctive. I'm an experienced teacher and teaching coach, and am interested in how we learn - my trainings and workshops reflect this. As well as having papers published in academic journals such as Nature, I write and perform poetry and run poetry workshops in schools. (If you want to find out more about my background, about the tests I write for and the papers I've written, and the story of how KRITIKOS came about see here)
THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT LEARNING A SKILL. IT'S ABOUT RECLAIMING THE POWER OF HUMAN THINKING IN AN AGE WHEN MACHINES THREATEN TO DO IT FOR US. THE URGENCY IS CLEAR: IF WE DON'T EMPOWER OUR THINKING, WE RISK LOSING OUR ABILITY TO DO SO."
Joe Chislett, KRITIKOS Founder
A bit more about the KRITIKOS approach
KRITIKOS is about human judgment, and how we can empower it. ('kritikos' = ancient Greek to 'judge'; roots of today's 'critical', or 'critique')
1/ About how human beings really think and operate: we are not purely logical or rational, there is an emotional aspect to all our thinking, and a lot of our thinking is unconscious. KRITIKOS helps you to understand what is actually going on, what you do and don't have control over, and how to use this knowledge to your benefit.
3/ Only selects that which is actually useful or helpful. Joe has literally written the A-Z of Critical Thinking, but recognises a lot of terms are of largely academic interest. What actually helps him navigate the world of information or of different points of view? What does he use on a daily basis, when assessung information and sharing ideas?
2/ Emphasises the social and interpersonal side of thinking: we don't think in a vacuum, but amongst others, who may think differently. Our thinking evolved in a social context and operates best there; however this also creates challenges - depending on the context, there are pressures to agree or disagree. We look at how best to think amongst others.
4/ Considers what we actually need for thinking to be effective: it's no good being able to form good judgments, share them effectively with others, if it it takes forever to do so; it's also no use being able to evaluate ideas if you can't generate them yourself. As well as being able to think well independently and collectively (share thinking) also need to: combine critical and creative thinking, and link thinking to action.
Our Clients Say
“The critical thinking course has made me more conscious of my thinking and equipped me with practical and easily applicable points for critical thinking. The refresher documents on the four principles provided after the course were particularly helpful, reinforcing my memory and awareness of these key points. It's heightened my awareness of biases in communication, enabling me to communicate more effectively. I feel more confident and empowered in my thinking and this course has truly helped me in my ways of communicating, both professionally and personally.”
Anne-Sofie, Graduate Training Programme, Stibo Systems, Aarhus, Denmark
BACKGROUND
KRITIKOS: the origin story
KRITIKOS evolved from my work in both logical, analytical thinking, but also in more 'human' areas, for example teaching Literature, Drama, Creative Writing, and on emotionally-charged projects and contexts, which involved actual behavioural change (projects to prevent violent extremism).
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From out of this combination, I saw what was powerful about analytical, critical thinking; I saw what it was that I and other critical thinking experts could do, why we could ask and answer questions that others routinely got wrong.
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I also saw that, for critical thinking to work in real life, amongst real people and in real situations, it needed to take into account how we really think and operate as people: the role of emotion and instinct in all of our thinking and interactions; the fact that thinking - good thinking - is also necessarily creative.
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Above all, I felt that a lot of what passes for critical thinking training or support is unhelpful: either vague, impractical, and in some cases even misleading. I decided to teach only the things I actually use; that are actually helpful; and that are consistent with real people and the contexts we think in.​​​
My background
My background spans teaching and examining higher order thinking skills as well as teaching Philosophy, English Literature, Drama, and Creative Writing. I have worked with emotionally vulnerable people on initiatives to prevent violent extremism, and run poetry workshops in local primary schools. I have delivered workshops and training programmes to both schools and businesses (see testimonials.) A skilled teacher and teaching coach, I pride myself on delivering engaging trainings that fully engage all aspects of people's thinking,
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In terms of my work in thinking skills, I have over 20 years experience designing and writing for high stakes aptitude tests, including questions that assess critical thinking, data analysis, logical thinking and problem-solving. I was a senior examiner for the UK A level in Critical Thinking, and am currently a senior examiner for the International A level Knowledge and Inquiry. I have co-authored textbooks and papers in Nature magazine on how to assess evidence across different academic fields, as well as acting as a consultant on programmes to help people assess claims in health and medicine. Prior to teaching I worked in radio.
