In Chapter 6: Milestones, you will choose summative milestones, which provide tangible evidence of learners’ knowledge of the topics and acquisition of skills at the end of a learning activity.

Higher education touts critical thinking as both a key educational objective and a learning outcome. Yet, as we know, there is no single approach for defining or presenting critical thinking. In this chapter, we identify and discuss an additional problem: Ten paradoxes that surround the teaching, learning, and application of critical thinking skills. We believe by making educators and other readers of this chapter aware of these paradoxes, we can help them to overcome the associated pedagogical challenges resulting from them. Indeed, after explaining each paradox, we suggest ways for psychology educators to lead their students toward greater understanding of critical thinking. Such discussions promote these critical thinking experiences as the sort of desirable difficulty opportunities teachers should routinely build into their courses. In turn, teachers of critical thinking as process and outcome need to assess their practices in order to demonstrate their efficacy and, when needed, update their efforts.