Even though 95% of Americans consider critical thinking an essential skill that schools should teach, our students’ problem-solving skills rank among the lowest in the world. Students actually show lower brain activity in class than while watching TV or sleeping, and most college students, as well as half of American adults, fail critical thinking tests. But why?

Critical thinking expert and professor Steven J. Pearlman, PhD.’s latest book, America’s Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education, shows that the problem doesn’t fall on educators or Gen Z, but on a fundamentally flawed conception of what education means. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and educational research, it demonstrates how we can create legions of divergent thinkers and problem solvers by tapping the hardwiring that innately makes children think all the time, in all areas of life – just not so much in school.

ABOUT STEVEN J. PEARLMAN, PHD.

Steven J. Pearlman, PhD., is a critical thinking expert and educator who has worked in higher education for 30 years. Pearlman taught writing and critical thinking at a range of institutions, including one of America’s elite colleges, before bringing his expertise out of the classroom for institution-wide benefit. He co-founded and directed one of the country’s first academic offices specifically focused on campus-wide critical thinking, and co-developed a groundbreaking academic instrument that unifies the teaching, application, assigning, and assessment of critical thinking. For the last 10 years, his work has focused on developing students, faculty, executives, and workspaces on critical thinking. Pearlman earned his doctorate at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a sought-after speaker, co-founder of The Critical Thinking Initiative, and the co-host of The Critical Thinking Initiative and Smarterer! podcasts. He’s also the author of The Book of Martial Power and America’s Critical Thinking Crisis. Pearlman lives in Connecticut with his family and is an avid martial artist.