Critical Thinking David Lieberman Professional Development Series Director of Development

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Learning Objectives Recognize what Critical Thinking is, and why it is valuable Learn how to use inquiry to activate Critical Thinking skills Discover where you commonly make thinking mistakes Understand how mental models impact us

Learning Objectives Use the Ladder of Inference Gain confidence by using problem solving tools and strategies Understand problems from multiple perspectives with the Formulate creative solutions using tools

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

p. 7 Self discovery Why Critical Thinking?

If we don’t examine how we think, our thinking can be biased or uninformed p. 8

The quality of life depends on quality of thought

Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life p. 8

Critical thinking defined p. 8 Critical thinking defined

Critical thinkers commit to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism p. 8

Sociocentric [soh-see-oh-sen-trik]-adj.- tending to regard one’s own social group as superior to others p. 8

Critical Thinking is… a self-directed, self monitored mode of thinking, decision making and problem solving where the thinker improves the quality of thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them p. 8

The right questions lead us to fair and reasonable decisions p. 9

These questions guide us through the critical thinking and reasoning process What is the issue? – what’s going on? What is the conclusion? – what’s your reaction? What are the reasons offered to support the conclusion? Which words or phrases are ambiguous? What are the value conflicts? Are our personal values conflicting? (teamwork vs. independent thinking, information rich vs. fast moving) What are the descriptive assumptions? What stories are we telling ourselves? p. 9 p. 10 - 12 Group Exercise

These questions guide us through the critical thinking and reasoning process Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? Is our reasoning actually true? How good is the evidence? Are there rival causes? Are the statistics deceptive? What significant information is left out? What OTHER reasonable reactions are possible? p. 9 p. 10 - 12 Group Exercise

Critical Thinking David Lieberman Professional Development Series Director of Development

Making our thinking process visible

Between the idea and the reality falls the shadow. T. S. Eliot p. 16 Self Discovery

We live in a world of self-generating beliefs which remain largely untested p. 17

These beliefs come from what we observe, and our past experiences

when we aren’t thinking critically Our beliefs are the truth The truth is obvious Our beliefs are based on real data The data we select is the real data p. 17

p. 18 Mental Models

MENTAL MODELS ARE THE ASSUMPTIONS AND STORIES WE CARRY IN OUR MINDS

If I believe people are trustworthy, I am more likely to be open to others

If I believe people can’t be trusted, I am more likely to be closed to others.

Ladder of Inference

I Select Data I Observe Data I take actions I adopt beliefs about the world I make assumptions I add Meanings (cultural and personal) p. 20 p. 21-22 Group Exercise I Select Data I Observe Data

activate critical thinking skills on your team p. 24 p. 25 There's something powerful about showing other people the links of your reasoning. They may or may not agree with you, but they can see how you got there. And you're often surprised yourself to see how you got there, once you trace out the links.

Critical Thinking David Lieberman Professional Development Series Director of Development

Critical thinkers commit to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism p. 8

The slowing down of our thinking processes to become aware of how we form our own mental models Reflection

Conversations where we share our own thinking, and through listening and questioning, develop knowledge about each other’s “mental models.” p. 19 Inquiry

Decision Making Tools

DEAM Think of a problem or decision you have to address. Lay out 2 pieces of paper. For 3 minutes, brainstorm details on one page & distractions on the other. Discard the distractions.

Each “Thinking Hat” is a different style of thinking Analytical Focus on available data Look for gaps in knowledge Analyze past trends Intuitive Use your gut reaction & emotion Think of others’ emotional reactions Pessimistic Look for what might not work Highlight weak points in a plan or course of action Optimistic Search for all the benefits of the decision and the value in it Look for growth opportunities Creative Freewheeling way of thinking Little or no criticism of ideas Process Chair of the meeting Direct activity into different hat activity as needed P. 34-35 How to Use the Tool: Six Thinking Hats p. 36-37 Sample Scenario p. 38 Six Thinking Hats: Key points

Pg. 40 The Delphi Method

Delhpi supports real collaboration by depersonalizing the process p. 41 The Stepladder Technique

The slowing down of our thinking processes to become aware of how we form our own mental models Reflection

Conversations where we share our own thinking, and through listening and questioning, develop knowledge about each other’s “mental models.” p. 19 Inquiry

Productive Thinking Model

Productive Thinking Step 1: “What’s Going On?” Step 2: “What’s Success?” Step 3: “What’s the Question?” Step 4: “Generate Answers” Step 5: “Forge the Solution” Step 6: “Align Resources” – Create an action plan p. 42

p. 50-56 SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis

To achieving objectives SWOT Analysis Helpful To achieving objectives Harmful Attributes of the organization Internal Origin Strengths Weaknesses External Origin Attributes of the environment Opportunities Threats p. 50-56 SWOT Analysis

p. 63-65 DEAM – idea generator

Resources & fun Stuff

Action Plan