Critical thinking, reasoning and the ability to produce a well-structured essay are essential skills for students in (higher) education. The question arises as to how students will master critical thinking skills.

Conducting research is becoming more and more important in higher education: the ability to conduct research is also one of the necessary skills for the execution of one’s professional practice. So how will students acquire the critical, inquiring attitude required for their studies and their professional lives?

The method Critical Thinking with Rationale is an answer to these questions.

In higher education little attention has been paid to the development of critical thinking skills, that is to say, in a systematic manner. And even if it is a point of interest, it may be questioned  whether this is done properly. Generally, students are supposed to have acquired the ability of critical thinking or to pick it up automatically during their college education.

At the University of Melbourne the research group of Tim van Gelder has devoted, for many years, their research to the improvement of critical thinking skills. On the basis of this research, they have developed a method - supported by a program called Rationale - to advance these skills.

Since 2006, we have been working closely together with Tim van Gelder and his colleague Fiona Patterson in order to make this method available for the  Dutch speaking regions. One of the reasons which has led to this, is the fact that comparative research has proved the effectiveness of this particular method.

Tim van Gelder and Fiona Patterson have formulated within the framework of this method the so-called Topics in Reasoning. The main part of this book consists of these Topics. They are important, not only to learn to reason  - a core part of critical thinking -  but also to write a well-structured and convincing argument. Subsequently, the undersigned have edited this book, along with an introduction and additional information.

This book – part of the method Critical Thinking with Rationale - focuses on students in higher education. Critical thinking with Rationale has been well received within the world of education. In the last years thousands of students have followed a course focusing on Critical Thinking with Rationale.

We owe many thanks to Tim van Gelder and Fiona Patterson for their cooperation and their willingness to share the results of their efforts.

August 2013

Timo ter Berg, Sytske Teppema