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Critical thinking is not
the same thing as being critical.
What is Critical
Thinking?
Critical thinking is
"a reflective and reasonable thought process
embodying depth, accuracy, and astute judgment to determine the merit of a
decision, an object, or a theory... Critical thinking involves assessment,
examination, and reflective reasoning of existing information, ideas,
beliefs, and speculations..." to arrive at a "value judgment
based on in-depth, sound interpretation of relevant information"*
We demonstrate critical
thinking when we...
- Explain, analyze and synthesize what we see, hear
and read
- Use creativity to discover multiple and diverse
approaches to issues and problems
- Find relevant information to address tasks and
problems
- Evaluate claims and evidence to draw reasonable
conclusions
- Justify conclusions and solutions
- Apply concepts to real-world problems
- See connections and patterns both within
disciplines and across disciplines
- Reflect on our own thinking and learning
As you write, consider these
principles of critical thinking, ask yourself these questions about what you
have written to see if there is anything you might need to change or add to
what you have said so that it is more clear, accurate, precise, relevant,
deep, broad, logical, significant, fair and unbiased:
| Clarity |
- Could you elaborate further?
- Could you give me an example?
- Could you illustrate what you mean?
|
| Accuracy |
- How can we check on that?
- How could we find out it that is true?
- How could we verify or test that?
|
| Precision |
- Could you be more specific?
- Could you give me more details?
- Could you be more exact?
|
| Relevance |
- How does that relate to the problem?
- How does that bear on the question?
- How does that help us with the issue?
|
| Depth |
- What factors make this a difficult problem?
- What are some of the complexities of this
question?
- What are some of the difficulties we need to
deal with?
|
| Breadth |
- Do we need to look at this from another
perspective?
- Do we need to consider another point of view?
- Do we need to look at this in other ways?
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| Logic |
- Does all this make sense together
- Does your first paragraph fit in with your
last?
- Does what you say follow from the evidence?
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| Significance |
- Is this the most important problem to
consider?
- Is this the central idea to focus on?
- Which of these facts are most important?
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| Fairness |
- Do I have any vested interest in this issue?
- Am I sympathetically representing the
viewpoints of others?
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More
advice on Critical Thinking
Resource: Paul, Richard &
Elder, Linda. 2004. The
Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. The
Foundation for Critical Thinking.
*Quoted by Ronald C. Jones
in "The
Instructor’s Challenge: Moving Students beyond Opinions to Critical
Thinking", Faculty Focus, July 29, 2013 |