Making thinking visible: using thinking routines to promote critical thinking skills in health sciences students

Health sciences librarians are increasingly assuming the role of instructional partners, with a core responsibility to teach evidence-based practice (EBP) skills that go beyond basic information retrieval. Like information literacy, EBP skills are built on critical thinking. This column explains how health science librarians can use thinking routines to enhance critical thinking abilities. Thinking routines are simple, adaptable strategies created by Harvard University's Project Zero as part of the Visible Thinking initiative. These routines provide structured yet flexible methods to support essential EBP, information literacy, and critical thinking skills.