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What is Critical Thinking (CT)?
Critical thinking is the analysis of an issue or situation and the facts, data or evidence related to it.
Critical thinking is a skill that allows you to make logical and informed decisions to the best of your ability.
The most important think you learn in school is to think. But more importantly, to think critically.
Note: For detailed information and lecture notes on Critical Thinking, see files below (scroll down).
Critical Thinking and your Future
No matter what walk of life you come from, what industry you’re interested in pursuing or how much experience you’ve already garnered, we’ve all seen firsthand the importance of critical thinking skills.
In fact, lacking such skills can truly make or break a person’s career, as the consequences of one’s inability to process and analyze information effectively can be massive.
Critical Thinking & Employability
According to Kris Potrafka*, founder and CEO of Music Firsthand:“The ability to think critically is more important now than it has ever been."
“Everything is at risk if we don’t all learn to think more critically.”
"If people cannot think critically, he explains, they not only lessen their prospects of climbing the ladder in their respective industries, but they also become easily susceptible to things like fraud and manipulation."
*Runs four business units representing over $2 billion in revenue
Why is Critical Thinking Important?
Thinking critically is vital for anyone looking to have a successful school career and a fruitful professional life upon graduation.
Your ability to objectively analyze and evaluate complex subjects and situations will always be useful no matter what you do in life. So, Think Critically!
To get a Job!
To be Successful!
What Bosses Want: Critical Thinking
I retired from the US Army after serving 20 years on active duty, achieving the the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (LTC/05). My last last duty assignment was at Rock Island, IL where I was the Operations Officer/ Deputy Director for TACOM-RI. I was responsible for the day to day operations of a multifunctional government agency dealing in wholesale sales of $350M to sustain and equip a highly digital and combat ready force. As deputy director, I supervised a workforce of 1,200 civilian and thirty-five military personnel.As senior military advisor to the Director (SES Level I/ O-7), I would interview Information Technology (IT), logistics, and engineers looking to work in our organization with a starting salary between $35K and $45K (2001 data). I would basically ask three questions:>Can you read and write? >Can you work in a group >Can you think critically?
Six Crucial Critical Thinking Skills
Identification: Identify the situation or problem as well as the factors that may influence it.
Research: Find the source of the information and evaluate
Identifying biases: Evaluate information objectively and set aside your own personal biases that may cloud your judgement.
Inference: Assess the information given and draw conclusions based upon raw data.
Determining relevance: Determine what information is the most important for your consideration.
Curiosity: Make a conscious effort to ask open-ended questions. Don't be afraid to ask "why."
For more, See handout below: 6 Critical Thinking Skills You Need to Master Now
Types of Thinking
Critical-What am I trying to do?
Analytical-What parts make this problem?
Logical-Can orderly reasoning help?
Creative- How can I do this differently?
Reflective-What does this all mean?
Making Mistakes are OK
Errors are part of the fundamental machinery of learning, so it is OK to make mistakes. Learn from them.
Mistakes are crucial pieces of information that force a cognitive reckoning, pushing the brain to reconcile contradictory information and build more accurate, durable solutions.
It is important to have a healthy mindset that accepts—and learns from—failure.
Rough-draft thinking allows you to ask questions, make mistakes, and then revise without the stifling prospect of failure. Be creative. Problem solve.
For more information, read the article "The Mistake Imperative—Why We Must Get Over Our Fear of Student Error" Click Here.
Helpful Critical Thinking Formats
There are many different Critical Thinking formats to help you to think critically. Here are two that we will use in class:
The 5 Ws&H: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
Analyzing an Article: 9 Questions to Ask.
See handout below (Critical Thinking)
Problem Solving
Solving a problem, analyzing the situation and issue at hand, determining pros/cons is another way to think critically. Below is the six step process in problem solving:
Identify the problem
Analyze the Problem (criteria)
Generate Solutions
Select Solution (Do Matrix)
Implement Solution
Evaluate Solution
For more information of the problem solving process, see lecture notes below. To practice problem solving (Class Activity), Click Here.
For lecture notes on Critical Thinking, see file below.
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