Is your thinking process a part of the problem?

Why Critical Thinking Richard Paul (2003) Everyone thinks, it is our nature to do critical thinking. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or prejudiced. The quality of our work and personal lives depend precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking can be very costly, both in money, problem solving and in effective planning for organizations.

What is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is a complex combination of skills. Among the main characteristics are: Rationality Self-awareness Honesty Open-mindedness Discipline Judgment Dan Kurland's Model (1995)

Rationality We think critically when we: rely on reason rather than emotion require evidence, ignore non-factual opinions, and follow evidence where it leads are concerned more with finding the best explanation than analyzing apparent confusion and only asking questions

Self-awareness We think critically when we: weigh the influences of motives and bias recognize our own assumptions, prejudices, biases, and/or point of view

Honesty We think critically when we: recognize emotional impulses, selfish motives, nefarious purposes, or other modes of self-deception.

Open-mindedness We think critically when we: evaluate all reasonable inferences consider many possible viewpoints or perspectives remain open to alternative interpretations accept a new explanation, model, or paradigm because it explains the evidence better, is simpler, has fewer inconsistencies or covers more data accept new priorities in response to a reevaluation of the evidence or reassessment of our real interests, and do not reject unpopular views out of hand

Discipline We think critically when we: are precise, meticulous, comprehensive, and exhaustive resist manipulation and irrational appeals avoid quick judgments

Judgment We think critically when we: recognize the relevance and/or merit of alternative assumptions and perspectives recognize the extent and weight of evidence

Summary of critical thinking Critical thinkers: are, by nature, skeptical approach texts with the same skepticism and suspicion as they approach spoken remarks are active, not passive ask questions and analyze apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning or assure their understanding

Summary of non-critical thinking Non-critical thinkers: see things in black and white, as either-or, rather than recognizing a variety of options see questions as yes or no with no subtleties fail to see linkages and complexities fail to recognize related elements take their facts as the only relevant ones take their own perspective as the only sensible one take their goal as the only valid one

Critical thinking enables us to: recognize a wide range of subjective analyses of otherwise objective data evaluate how well each analysis might meet our needs Make decisions based on all options and all opportunities