Our approach to critical thinking has been informed by many key thinkers, among them John Stuart Mill, Julia Galef, Alex Edmans, and Sir Ken Robinson. Each has shaped the way we think about what authentic critical thinking means, and what it looks like in practice.

John Stuart Mill’s observation that “he who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that” is the founding principle of ACT. Julia Galef’s distinction between scout and soldier mentalities develops this further, and her insight that scouts are people whose self-worth is not tied to being right is, for us, one of the most important ideas in education.

Alex Edmans (see video) reminds us that critical thinking is not an elite skill reserved for specialists. “We often have the discerning skills already within ourselves,” he argues. “We just need to overcome our biases and deploy them.” Sir Ken Robinson’s insistence that education must be personalised rather than standardised underpins our entire approach to ACT as a framework for developing genuinely independent minds.

All of these thinkers feature directly in our full-length courses and mini-lessons. We believe that if an idea is not engaging enough to share with students, it should not be driving our pedagogy.

At the heart of everything we do is authentic critical thinking (ACT), helping students to identify and challenge – rather than confirm – their assumptions and biases about the world.

Schools that embed it find it transforms their classroom culture, producing students who are more curious, more honest, and better equipped to make sense of the world.

Placing ACT at the heart of what we do creates a flexible learning pathway, moving from our middle years resources through to either the TOK course or our senior ACT materials for students following A-Levels, the AP, or other programmes.

All our resources are updated monthly and can be plugged into any educational programme, whether delivered in timetabled lessons, PSE classes, extension slots, or optional enrichment sessions outside the usual school day.

IB Diploma students are fortunate. The TOK course exposes them to brilliant thinkers and ideas, equips them with an epistemological framework to make sense of the world, and gives them tangible proof of their higher order thinking skills through the essay and exhibition.

We believe these benefits should be available to all learners, whether younger students not yet doing TOK, or older students following programmes like A-Levels or the AP that lack a dedicated critical thinking component.

Our ACT resources form a continuum of learning, giving schools the option to help all their students become authentic critical thinkers. They culminate in either our TOK resources or our senior ACT materials, depending on the programme your students are following.

This is particularly valuable for schools offering multiple programmes alongside the IB Diploma. You can now give all your senior students the intellectual advantages of TOK, producing nuanced thinkers who will stand out at universities around the world.