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This is based on an article by Ransom Patterson
This is based on an article by Ransom Patterson
https://collegeinfogeek.com/improve-critical-thinking-skills/
Consider the Quote
Consider the Quote
Your teachers in high school won’t expect you to remember every little fact about U.S history. They can fill in the details you’ve forgotten. What they will expect, though, is for you to be able to think; to know how to make connections between ideas and evaluate information critically.
What is Critical Thinking?
What is Critical Thinking?
“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, or communication, as a guide to belief and action”.
-The Foundation for Critical Thinking
Rephrasing this...
Rephrasing this...
“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”
...Get information from
...Get information from
observation, experience, reflection, or communicaition
And think about it this way
And think about it this way
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing
To guide your
To guide your
belief and action
Why is Critical Thinking Important?
Why is Critical Thinking Important?
Understand how ideas link together
Determine whether ideas are important or not
Find errors in reasoning
Approach problems systematically
Construct arguments well
And once you're out of school...
And once you're out of school...
You’ll be able to continue learning on your own
You’ll be better able to make tough decisions
You’ll be more aware of when people are trying to trick you
You’ll be more employable
So What Can You Do to Improve Your Critical Thinking?
So What Can You Do to Improve Your Critical Thinking?
- Ask Basic Questions
What do you already know?
How do you know that?
What are you trying to prove?
What have you overlooked?
2. Question Basic Assumptions
2. Question Basic Assumptions
You know what you do when you assume...
3. Be Aware of Your Mental Processes
3. Be Aware of Your Mental Processes
Sometimes we think too fast and don’t think things through
Sometimes we have biases that affect our thinking
4. Reverse Your Thinking
4. Reverse Your Thinking
What if the opposite was true?
What if you approach a problem from the solution and work backwards?
5. Gather and Look at Evidence
5. Gather and Look at Evidence
Where does the evidence come from? Is it credible?
How does this validate or disprove what I was thinking?
6. Think For Yourself
6. Think For Yourself
Other people may have said a lot about a subject, but do you have ideas or hunches that should be considered?
7. Use Critical Thinking When Necessary
7. Use Critical Thinking When Necessary
Not everything needs to be thought about or decided critically.
Overthinking something trivial is a waste of time.
Brain Pic: Courtesy: Shutterstock/Phonlamai Photo
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