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.
We offer workshops in:
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Applied critical thinking
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Everyday critical thinking
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Combining critical and creative thinking
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Communicating thinking more effectively
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
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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
"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.
PROVISION
Stimulating and engaging workshops - standalone, of full courses - delivered in person or online, in 60-90 minute sessions, longer or day-long courses according to preference
Courses and longer programmes
Applied Critical Thinking (Intermediate; 4 hours; £545 + VAT)
This takes you through the first steps of how to think more rigorously and apply these skills to everyday contexts and situations: we look at the role of inference, assumption and prediction; why we need to go 'beyond' fact and opinion; the centrality of judgment; things that affect our judgment, and how to start taking back control. We take a deep dive into what happens when we share our thinking and the role of emotion when we think. We look at the role of trust and likelihood when forming initial judgments about credibility.
Applied Critical Thinking (Advanced; 4 hours; £545 + VAT)
This higher stage of the course takes you further into high level thinking; we look at the principles of evidence-based thinking; how to draw more careful and insightful conclusions from data and information; the limitations of data and evidence; how to pressure-test thinking. We also look more deeply at what we actually need alongside critical and analytical thinking for our thinking to be truly effective: in particular the need to: combine critical and creative thinking, and link thinking to action
Applied Critical Thinking (Full course; 8 hours; £945 + VAT)
Complete course delivered in sequential sessions.
Become a wiser, more self-aware thinker (6 hours; £745 + VAT)
This course develops critical thinking skills through developing the traits required to be an effective thinker: how to recognise and navigate uncertainty with assurance; how to balance confidence and humility; how to recognise, allow for and mitigate bias, blindspots and assumptions in thinking.
Standalone workshops (£345 + VAT)
Critical Thinking 'Emergency Surgeries (2 hours)
These workshops target just the most essential skills and concepts to get you quickly thinking more clearly, confidently and and analytically. We look at things like: what is the difference between evidence and examples? How do you know when you can trust someone or something? How to combine head and heart when explaining or arguing for ideas.
Communicating thinking more effectively (2 hours)
This workshop focuses on the social and interpersonal dimension of thinking. It looks at some of the challenges involved when it comes to thinking amongst and sharing our thinking with others; how to frame our thinking so it lands better with others; how to navigate conversations so you can disagree more productively; how to anticipate and respond to objections.
Combining critical and creative thinking (2 hours)
This workshop looks at the importance of being able not just to evaluate ideas, but also to generate them; it looks at the role of imagination in forming and testing ideas; at the different mindsets required for critical and analytical thinking, but how both are strengthened and even depend on the other; difficulties in moving from one mindset to the other, and ways to do this more smoothly.
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.
