DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING IN THE STUDY OF MICRO- AND MACROECONOMICS

The article discusses the need to develop students' critical thinking skills. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, technologies for the development of critical thinking in the study of micro- and macroeconomics are described. It was revealed that the most adequate methods of developing critical thinking skills are discussions, debates, Socratic questions, which teach students to think independently, to critically look at alternative options for solving existing problems, and to choose well-grounded argumentation. An important technology for the development of critical thinking in the study of economic disciplines, which allows you to analyze cause-and-effect relationships, is the use of the Kaworu Ishikawa diagram, the essence of which is the chain of problem solving: problem-causes-facts-conclusions. Attention is focused on the application of the problematic approach, which is the main tool for the development of critical thinking, since it contains a contradiction, which allows students to form their own attitude to the issues under consideration. In the study of micro- and macroeconomics, it has been proven that an effective method of developing critical thinking is the division of students into groups and teamwork in preparation for the debate. The influence of the creation of an educational and research environment that guides the student towards critical perception of information is investigated, and the important role of essay writing is analyzed. The essay is suitable both for teaching critical thinking and for testing already acquired skills. Most of the topics of micro and macroeconomics involve research using statistical and empirical data and various scientific methods that contribute to the development of critical thinking. Writing critical reviews is an equally important tool for the further development and practical use of critical thinking skills. Thanks to the use of the technology of critical thinking in the study of micro- and macroeconomics, the ability to work with a significant array of sometimes contradictory information is developed, to highlight the essence of the problem, compare different points of view, put forward hypotheses, and find alternative solutions to economic problems.