Innovative projects to develop critical minds

These Erasmus+ projects highlight how collaborative methods – including debate, philosophy and journalism – can help pupils improve their critical thinking skills. These methods enable pupils to express their ideas clearly and help them recognise fake news and handle the complex landscape of information and misinformation. 

Philosophy practice on European values  

The SPILIA project used philosophy to develop essential critical skills among 10-12 years old pupils.  The project introduced pupils to democratic life and civic engagement by incorporating philosophy workshops into classroom learning. These workshops helped pupils to question their certainties, think objectively and independently and express their thoughts clearly and precisely.  

The project created several outputs available in French, Spanish and Portuguese: 

• A MOOC for teachers to guide pupils to identify relevant questions, define topics and develop an explanation. The approach initiates discussion around a theme, formulates philosophical questions and transforms the group into a ‘community of inquiry’. 
• A methodology for teachers to introduce philosophical workshops into their practice  
• A handbook for validating critical thinking skills in the classroom. 

Beyond enhancing analytical abilities, the SPILIA project aims to nurture a generation of active, responsible citizens who embrace European values and contribute meaningfully to their communities and to the European Union. 

Debate: ancient approach for modern learning 

Debate is another powerful tool for developing critical thinking, listening and communication skills. The DNAL project showed how structured debate can improve pupils’ ability to articulate their ideas, think independently and collaborate effectively across different contexts. Furthermore, it promoted civic engagement and democratic participation among the younger generation.  

The project outcomes include a toolkit for civic learning through debate, and offers a set of useful worksheets, exercises and tutorials to understand debate rules and formats and develop debating skills. Teacher and pupil training courses were also designed and implemented in the partner schools (see examples from Finland and Slovenia). 

My role in the debate team is the arguer. In these two years, the debate has helped me in several cases – for example, it helps me to improve my self-confidence. In my opinion, the debate is good for lots of situations such as a job interview.’

A 2nd-year secondary school pupil at the Miralmonte school, Cartagena, Spain 

Constructive and critical journalism 

The TINTIN project (TeachINg about climate change in schools whilsT addressINg fake news and constructive journalism) took a multidisciplinary approach to critical thinking.  

It was based on the principles of critical and constructive journalism, such as conducting independent research, distinguishing reliable from unreliable sources, analysing and presenting data, interviewing and making proposals.  

Using these principles, the project developed an open-access online course of environmental journalism addressed to secondary school pupils. The course guides pupils in exploring and understanding climate change through the lens of journalism. It gives them in-depth knowledge about climate change, and at the same time helps them learn to identify some of the prevalent misinformation about the topic.  

A handbook is available in four languages, and this video shows some of the topics covered in the course:  

By using the project tools, pupils learn how to better spot fake news and apply critical thinking to real-world challenges like climate change. 

eTwinning: Addressing fake news through collaborative projects 

Several eTwinning projects actively promote critical thinking. A notable example is the winning project in the 2024 IVET (initial vocational education and training) category of the eTwinning European prizes: “Natural is good, chemical is bad”?.  The project addressed misconceptions about food safety, particularly challenging the belief that man-made chemicals are inherently more harmful than natural ones. 

One participant said that their task was to prove whether certain news was false by engaging in peer discussions. The final products of the pupils' activities, including an online exhibition on the topic of fake news and an informative e-book with the results of their research, are available in the TwinSpace. 

Targeted teacher training for the digital era 

In an increasingly digital world, it's crucial that teachers have the digital competences to support learners to act as responsible, competent and effective democratic citizens. 

The EU-funded SciLMi Teacher Academy supports this need through training courses where teachers can acquire transversal competences, digital skills and inclusive teaching strategies.  

Pre-registration is now open for their 2025 teacher training courses, covering critical thinking, digital media literacy, and inclusive classrooms.  

Find more EU-funded projects in school education on the Erasmus+ project results platform.