Academic excellence can be defined as growing like Jesus grew—the model student. His growth was holistic, encompassing mind, body, and soul. He increased in grace, wisdom, strength, maturity, and favor with both God and others.

Last week, we explored academic excellence through the lens of growing in grace. This week, we will briefly examine one aspect of the vast topic of wisdom—specifically, the development of the mind’s ability to think critically and creatively.

The mind possesses many functions and faculties, and it is God's will that every student nurtures these to the fullest extent. God desires that both the naturally strong and those needing more support grow as fast and as far as possible, all for His glory.

At the core of developing the mind is the act of thinking. Thinking is both a process and a product. Ellen White powerfully captures this when she writes: “Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator—individuality; the power to think and to do.” She further connects this to education by stating, “It is the work of true education to develop this power, to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts.” This is why critical and creative thinking is central to Adventist education.

Educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues created a framework known as Bloom’s Taxonomy to enhance learning, thinking, and teaching. This taxonomy underpins all standards-based education, guiding assignments, and assessments. (You can refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid at the end of this article.)

Bloom’s Taxonomy outlines six progressive levels of thinking: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. It is vital that all students are challenged to engage with each of these levels, and this requires a diverse range of teaching methods aimed at strengthening critical and creative thinking.

Achieving this level of cognitive growth is no easy task. Jonathan Haber, a critical-thinking researcher, notes, “One critical-thinking researcher has proposed that becoming a skilled critical thinker requires the same amount of practice needed to become a highly skilled athlete or musician: approximately 10,000 hours. If this suggestion is even partially correct, it highlights a problem: no single class, or even years of education, can provide that amount of dedicated practice time.” (Source) He emphasizes that educators must not only teach students critical-thinking skills and offer practice opportunities but also inspire students to continue honing these skills independently across all academic subjects and areas of life.

At TCAS, we are committed to developing our students' ability to think deeply and critically. We aim to nurture lifelong thinkers who will become responsible leaders, influencers, and positive change-makers. Above all, we desire that they come to know Jesus, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

The above article was written by Mr. Norton and edited by Ai