Frequently Asked Questions

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What do my children and I receive?

1.  Two short engaging videos per week, typically 5-10 minutes each:
   1. An animated Lesson on Critical Thinking: Each week’s lesson builds off the previous week in order to teach a new facet of critical thinking through a methodology that makes advanced critical thinking easily accessible to everyone.
   2.   Dr. Steve’s Research Brief: This quick and fascinating research synopsis empowers you (and young adults) to understand the rationale behind each lesson and, if you wish, support your children’s growth as critical thinkers.
2.  Interface: Our online interface enables you to engage opportunities for reflection, log your thoughts, and answer questions.  These aren’t tests, just opportunities to look back on your journey and see how far you’ve come.
3.  Access: Gain access to Critical Thinking Institute events, such as live streams and our private Facebook community.
4.  Outcomes: From the start, you’ll see your children (and yourself) transforming into advanced critical thinkers, with visible changes in academics, reading, writing, problem-solving, decision-making, socializing, and all aspect of life.

What will my children and I learn?

Our curriculum takes your children (and you, if you wish) on a journey that begins with understanding and controlling the inner workings of your brain.  Gaining that control empowers your children to maximize what their brain does when it engages the act of thinking in the real-world, education, social contexts, and careers.   

The following list might seem intimidating, but don’t worry! Our breakthrough methods transform advanced concepts into easily understood and easily applied nuggets. So, just a small sampling of what you’ll learn will be how to …

 1. Recognize your brain’s primary mechanism for thinking

2. Harness the power of “cognitive disequilibrium”

3. Understand how neurotransmitters impact your thinking

4. Adopt research-based “dispositions” that improve thinking

5. Protect your thinking against “amygdala hijacking”

6. Value the importance of Cognitive Load Theory

7. Master the brain’s natural process for solving problems and making decisions

8. Run objectivity tests on your thinking

9. Formulate and resolve more thoughtful questions

10. Resolve tensions between language (neuro-linguistics) and thinking

11. Use your brain’s inherent need to think relativistically

12. Secure your thinking against biases and assumptions

13. Exercise your brain’s democratic cognitive processes

14. Elevate your reading skills through multiple models

15. Deepen your writing skills by using thinking-driven models

16. Engage in stronger discussion and presentation with peers

17. Lead others—friends, colleagues, teams, etc.—through deeper problem-solving processes

18. Work through the complexity in problems where others often can’t

19. Apply your newfound power for thinking to any context

20. Attain a rich metacognitive awareness of the workings of your own brain 

Again, if that list seems intimidating—if you doubt your children, teens, or young adults can really learn all of that—then don’t worry.  We already did the hard work of making the science easy to learn.  So, you don’t need to know what any of those things above mean.  We do.  And you’ll learn them with ease. 

What does it cost?

There are two payment plans for the Brighter Minds Better Future course, depending on how you would prefer to pay. 

Yearly Plan: $789

Or

Three Monthly Payments: 3 x $350

With either payment plan, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.

How old do my children need to be?

It varies based on your children’s maturity, but we typically recommend the programming for those ten and up, including teens, young adults, and “kids” of any age!

Do I need a separate subscription for each child?

No. While some families use multiple subscriptions if children are in separate locations, e.g., one is a college, or if working on different timelines, you can otherwise do this together as a family.

How long does the instruction continue?

Your children will start thinking differently after just a few lessons. Within a few months, you’ll see dedicated differences in thinking as applied to life, education, careers, and everything else.  And from there, there’s no limit.  We continue to offer opportunities to become an even more advanced, nuanced, and agile critical thinker.  The sky is the limit!  

Are the lessons political in nature? Do they teach any particular social views?

Absolutely NOT. We teach people how to think, never what to think.

Why are the lessons spaced weekly?

Unlike some other sites, we don’t teach tips and tricks.  Our process builds the neural connections for stronger critical thinking.  So, we want to give everyone time to practice each skill and develop their minds. Faster is not always better.