This study explores how complex thinking is developed and manifested in higher education teaching practices, focusing on the trajectories, strategies, and pedagogical decisions adopted by university faculty. Rather than treating complex thinking as a single skill, the research conceptualizes it as a multidimensional construct that integrates critical, systemic, scientific, and innovative thinking. The study aims to understand how these dimensions are intentionally or implicitly fostered in real educational settings and how they evolve across different instructional contexts.

Using a mixed-methods research design, the study analyzes both quantitative and qualitative evidence drawn from higher education environments. Teaching practices are examined through the lens of active learning, interdisciplinary approaches, and real-world problem solving, allowing the research to capture how educators translate abstract cognitive competencies into concrete instructional strategies. This approach enables a nuanced understanding of how complex thinking is embedded in curriculum design, classroom dynamics, and assessment practices, beyond formal learning outcomes or policy statements.

The findings highlight that the development of complex thinking is strongly associated with pedagogical coherence, faculty intentionality, and learning environments that promote autonomy, collaboration, and uncertainty management. Rather than being driven solely by technology or innovation labels, effective development of complex thinking emerges from sustained instructional practices aligned with meaningful problems and reflective learning processes. These insights provide valuable guidance for universities seeking to redesign curricula, train faculty, and align educational models with the cognitive demands of an increasingly complex social, economic, and technological landscape.

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