Abstract

This inquiry research representation explores best practices to teach critical thinking skills at the secondary school level. This is an important skill to introduce to students as it can benefit them across curriculums and in everyday lives as they analyze news or make important decisions. Home economics serves as a great avenue to develop these higher thinking skills since these courses cover practical topics surrounding food and nutrition, clothing and fashion, and family studies that are embedded in our everyday lives. Research has shown several ways to incorporate critical thinking skills into classroom lessons, yet it still seems to be a fairly unexplored area of research outside of core academic courses (versus elective courses). Some of the most notable ideas relevant to home economics were learning about media-decoding processes, scaffolding content related knowledge, and supporting precursors to these skills such as language and social-emotional skills. With a greater understanding of the theory behind my inquiry question, I now plan to forward into my practicum and eventually as a certified teacher in my future classes, implementing these ideas into practice through lessons and unit plans. I believe that there is a lot more to explore surrounding teaching critical thinking in home economics, and further research is necessary, perhaps even drawing upon expertise across curriculums.