American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey was the first to explore the idea of critical thinking, referred to as “reflective thinking” in his 1910 work How We Think. Dewey describes critical thinking as a consideration of one’s beliefs and the ideas that support them. For Dewey, this was the foundation of scientific thinking. He believed that all children were born with an innate ability to think critically. Their thoughts are malleable, and they are more willing to abandon previous beliefs in favor of new ones. bell hooks reiterates this idea in Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. She argues that children are born with openness and a sense of wonder that is later abandoned. The social pressure of conformity causes children to let go of their ability to engage in reflective thinking. The work of Dewey, hooks, and other educators seeks to extend the life of critical thinking beyond childhood years.

Critical thinking, put simply, is thinking about thinking. Dewey’s use of the word “reflective” refers to the practice of turning evaluation inward and dismantling ideas from within. Between 1933 and 1941, 300 colleges participated in an 8-year study developed by the Progressive Education Association in the United States to explore how incorporating Dewey’s ideas about critical thinking into the classroom might alter education.