1. The Stages of Development: What Level Thinker Are You?
Hind Al-Fayez
Latifa Al-Zaid
Juman S. Al-Ageel

2. Outline
Introduction
Stage 1: The Unreflective Thinker (we are unaware of significant problems in our thinking)
Stage 2: The Challenged Thinker (we become aware of problems in our thinking)
Stage 3: The beginning Thinker (we try to improve, but without regular practice)
Stage 4: The Practicing thinker (we recognize the necessity of regular practice)
Conclusion

3. Improvement in thinking is like improvement in basketball, ballet or playing the guitar. It is a gradual process requiring constant learning and just plain hard work. 
In this presentation, we will try to explain the first four stages of thinking development and how to reach the 4th stage. 

5. Stage 1: The Unreflective Thinker
(we are unaware of significant problems in our thinking)
We are all born as unreflective thinkers, we are by nature unaware of the role that thinking is playing in our lives. Unfortunately, most of us die this way too. 
For example, as unreflective thinkers we don’t notice that we are continually making assumptions, forming concepts, and thinking within points of view. We don’t know how to assess and analyze our thinking. We are unaware of intellectual traits and so are not striving to embody them. 

6. Stage 1: The Unreflective Thinker
At this stage, our egocentric tendencies play a dominant role in our thinking, and we don’t recognize this. We lack the skills and motivation to notice how self-centered and prejudiced we are, how often we stereo-type others, how frequently we irrationally dismiss ideas because we don't want to change our behavior or our way of looking at things.

7. Stage 2: The Challenged Thinker
(we become aware of problems in our thinking)
Aware of how thinking shapes our lives, and recognizing that problems in thinking are causing problems in our lives.

8. Stage 2: The Challenged Thinker
The view– “if everyone were to think like me, this would be a fine world” –is the dominant view. If you do think that way, as many do, you will revert to the unreflective stage.

9. Absence of intellectual humility is common among all classes of people and at all ages. It follows that active or passive resistance to the challenge of critical thinking is the common, and not the rare case. That is why some soul-searching is important at this point in the process.

10. Stage 3: The Beginning Thinker

11. As thinkers thinking about thinking, we are only beginning:
Analyze the logic of situations and problem.
Express clear and precise question.
Check information for accuracy and relevance.
Distinguish between raw information and someone’s interpretation of it.
Recognize assumptions guiding inferences.
Identify prejudicial and biased belief, unjustifiable conclusions, misused words, and missed implications.
Notice when our selfish interests bias our viewpoint.

12. Some of the major influences that shaped your thinking:
You were born into a culture.
You were born At some point in time.
You were born In some place.
You were Raised by parents with particular beliefs.
You Formed various associations.

13. Modes influence: Vocational. Sociological. Philosophical. Ethical.
Intellectual.
Anthropological.
Ideological and political.
Economic.
Historical.
Biological.
Theological.
Psychological.
Physiological.

14. Try to figure out area to which, and in what ways, your thinking has been influenced by the following factors:
Your culture.
Your family.
Your personal history.
Your colleagues.
Your supervisors.

15. Then, try to imagine how your thinking might be different if you had been born in a different influence than those you have had in your life. Obviously you cannot know exactly how you would differ, but the idea is to step outside yourself and imagine that if the above factors were different for you, your thinking would differ as a result.

16. The practicing thinker
Stage four
The practicing thinker

17. The Practicing Thinker
Becoming practicing thinkers
Designing a regimen of practice
1-Thinking can be practiced just like any other exercise like tennis, basket ball and ballet. When people realize this fact and start their own regime of practicing thinking, only then they can be called “practicing thinkers”
2-There is no one way to design a regimen of practice, it differs between a person and another. A person should experiment many strategies to know which one will work.
I would say, puzzled and games would be a great beginning for practicing thinking. The important thing is for a person not to have high expectations for themselves in becoming skilled thinkers, instead they should learn the ways that actually helps them improve gradually and have reasonable expectations.

18. The Practicing Thinker
A “Game Plan” for improvement
Consistency is very important
Focusing on fundamentals is the key
when choosing a practice plan, u need to look for something you can do consistently everyday to improve your thinking. The key in practicing thinking is to focus on fundamentals and try not to do too much.

19. The Practicing Thinker
A Game plan for devising
Use wasted time
Handle a problem a day
Internalize intellectual standards
Keep an intellectual journal
Reshape your character
Deal with your ego
Get in touch with your emotions
Analyze group influence on your life
1-managing time correctly can reduce the amount of wasted time. For example when you go to your work during rush hour a lot of time will be wasted. But you could’ve avoided that problem be leaving half an hour earlier. You can also use the wasted time that you cant control by practicing thinking. You can also ask yourself questions like:
(P58) it is important to take little time with each question, record your observation so you can be able to look back and search for patterns in your daily thinking.
2-in the beginning of the day, if u have free moments, think about a problem, analyze it, figure out the logic of the problem by identifying its elements. systematically think through these questions: what exactly is the problem? How can I put it into a form of question?
3-(P59)

20. Conclusion:
Stage 1: we are unaware of significant problems in our thinking
Stage 2: we become aware of problems in our thinking
Stage 3: we try to improve, but without regular practice
Stage 4: we recognize the necessity of regular practice