Volume 13, 2017 Accepted by Editor Fay Sudweeks │Received: December 28, 2016│ Revised: April 5, April 9, 2017 │ Accept- ed: April 14, 2017. Cite as: McDonald, S. D. (2017). Enhanced critical thinking skills through problem-solving games in secondary schools. Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 13, 79-96. Retrieved from http://www.informingscience.org/Publications/3711 (CC BY-NC 4.0) This article is licensed to you under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. When you copy and redistribute this paper in full or in part, you need to provide proper attribution to it to ensure that others can later locate this work (and to ensure that others do not accuse you of plagiarism). You may (and we encour- age you to) adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any non-commercial purposes. This license does not permit you to use this material for commercial purposes. ENHANCED CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH PROBLEM-SOLVING GAMES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS Scott Douglas McDonald RMIT University , HCMC, Vietnam scott.mcdonald@rmit.edu.vn ABSTRACT Aim/Purpose Students face many challenges improving their soft skills such as critical think- ing. This paper offers one possible solution to this problem. Background This paper considers one method of enhancing critical thinking through a problem-solving game called the Coffee Shop. Problem-solving is a key compo- nent to critical thinking, and game-playing is one method of enhancing this through an interactive teaching method. Methodology Three classes of Vietnamese high school students engaged in the Coffee Shop game. The method seeks outcome measurements through the use of analysis of multiple surveys to assess and interpret if critical thinking may have been im- proved. Contribution The study may help to understand the importance of problem-solving in the context of an entrepreneurial setting and add to the variation of methods used to deliver the lesson to students in the classroom. Findings The findings show that practicing problem-solving scenarios with a focus on critical thinking in a time limited setting results in a measured improvement of this skill. Recommendations for Practitioners The findings suggest that educators could use games more as tools for prob- lem-solving to contribute to their students’ learning outcomes around develop- ing critical thinking . Recommendation for Researchers More research could be devoted to developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills through game-play models. Impact on Society Improved critical thinking skills in individuals could make a greater contribution to society. Future Research A comparative study between different high school grades and genders as well as between different countries or cultures. Keywords lesson delivery , blended learning, digital technology, learning outcomes, entre- preneurship, mixed methods, learning transfer, gamification