One easy definition of critical thinking is "making decisions".  In TAG we use many different instructional strategies to do this.  They include:

---Developing questions to discover new knowledge (asking who, what, when, where, why)

---Critical reading, writing, and discussion

---Making comparisons using criteria

---Making predictions

---Using facts to make inferences and draw conclusions

---Examining an issue from more than one point of view

---Providing evidence (reasons) for decisions

---Considering cause and effect