(Complete pitch deck available upon request.)
The Critical Thinking Institute (CTI) is a social-entrepreneurial firm that provides, children, teens, and adults online critical thinking instruction rooted in 30+ years of peer-reviewed research in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, learning theory, biology, neuro-linguistics, and other fields. CTI uses a proprietary model for teaching critical thinking that differs from popular conceptions of critical thinking instruction.
AI/ChatGPT4 Integration
CTI is seeking to advance the instruction based on its proprietary model by increasing interactivity and accessibility by developing an AI interface to its instruction.
Market
Online Education:
The online education market was valued at USD 38 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 214 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 24.1% from 2022 to 2030.
[1]
B2C - Parents and Homeschoolers:
In the 2021-2022 academic year, the U.S. witnessed an increase in homeschool students, reaching 3.1 million, up from 2.5 million in spring 2019. This surge, representing roughly 6% of school-age children, shows a significant growth from the previous 3% to 4%. Notably, the homeschooling trend has seen an estimated annual growth of 2% to 8% in recent years, with a marked rise between 2019 and 2021. Looking ahead, the revenue from this sector is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 13.08% until 2027, potentially reaching USD 122.30 billion. The average revenue per user is also on an upward trajectory, expected to rise from USD 9.42 to USD 10.69 by 2027. The driving factors behind this homeschooling trend include concerns about academic quality (14.5%), the integration of religious instruction (13%), and special needs accommodations (7.3%).
B2C - Corporate Training
Professional development is a $30 billion industry, with 26% of training outsourced.
The Need for Critical Thinking
I suspect that anyone reading this already recognizes the desperate need for more critical thinking in the world. But here are some compelling facts and statistics:
Education:
- Only 8% of college students, including seniors, are proficient in critical thinking. (American Association of Colleges and Universities)
- "Young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak.” (Stanford History Group)
- “Most people agree that students should learn skills like critical thinking ... [but] courses aren’t set up that way.” (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Business:
- A survey of human resource professionals across multiple industries concluded that the hardest skill to find in job candidates is critical thinking. (McKinsey Quarterly)
- Critical thinking is the only skill rated "essential" by 100% of employers. (National Association of Colleges and Employers Survey)
- In focus groups with managers about college graduates, critical thinking was a top desired skill but also among the weakest. As one manager put it, critical thinking is “the No. 1 thing that is not taught enough in universities.” (Inside Higher Education)
The reason schools fail to graduate critical thinkers comes from (a) an utter lack of research-supported methods for teaching critical thinking, (b) erroneous suppositions about teaching critical thinking (educators believe they do teach it), and (c) an educational system that prioritizes other things.
About Me: Steve Pearlman, Ph.D.
- Founded the first U.S. university department solely devoted to the teaching of critical thinking
- Media appearances: NPR, CBS, Business Insider, Fox News Radio, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Hill, and too many podcasts to itemize.
- 30+ years teaching critical thinking and writing in higher education.
- Author: America's Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education.
- Keynote speaker and published peer-reviewed academic author on critical thinking, writing, reading, and learning theory.
- Host of Headagogy, a podcast for bringing educators peer-reviewed research on teaching methods centered on critical thinking.
- Successful entrepreneur: Previously developed and sold, with two partners, StudentSuccess/nformd.net, which delivered online programming for colleges, universities, and the U.S. Army regarding social issues such as sexual assault prevention, alcohol and drug abuse, healthy relationships, etc.
The Critical Thinking Institute (CTI)
CTI currently runs two different courses that follow the same curriculum--animated lessons for kids, live-action lessons for adults. The present goal, aside from further developing and marketing the existing programs, is to begin the transition to AI-interfaced learning.
More complete materials are available upon request.
Thank you for your consideration.
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