A-level Critical Thinking
Summary
This specification is designed to:
- develop skills and encourage attitudes which complement other studies across the curriculum
- prepare students for the academic and intellectual demands of higher education, as well as future employment and general living
- introduce concepts, terms and techniques that will enable students to reflect more constructively on their own and others' reasoning
- contribute towards the AQA Bacc as a 'Breadth of Study' element.
This specification is designed to encourage students to:
- analyse and evaluate their own and others' beliefs and knowledge claims in a variety of contexts
- recognise and evaluate assumptions
- evaluate a range of different kinds of reasoning
- make connections and synthesise information and arguments
- generate their own arguments and express them clearly.
AS outline
At AS, the specification is a general introduction to the subject of Critical Thinking. Students have opportunities to develop the skills of analysis and evaluation, and to present some of their own reasoning. Students are then assessed on their ability to make critical responses to information and its sources, and to draw reliable conclusions from it:
- Unit 1: Foundation Unit
- Unit 2: Information, Inference and Explanation.
A2 outline
At A2, the specification enables students to develop and extend the foundation skills and apply these to more complex and challenging materials. Students learn how to use argument and evidence to justify beliefs, opinions, and claims to knowledge and then present a reasoned argument leading to a decision:
- Unit 3: Beliefs, Claims and Arguments
- Unit 4: Reasoning and Decision Making.
For a full breakdown of the unit topics and assessment requirements, see the specification.
Full details
| Qualification type | A-level |
| Specification title | Critical Thinking |
| Course type | Full Course |
| Specification code | 2770 |
| Classification code | 7830 |
Contact us
0161 958 3825
0161 957 3252
Quick links