1. Critical Thinking

2. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 2 Critical Thinking Means… Sorting out conflicting claims Weighing the evidence for them Letting go of personal biases Arriving at reasonable views Being willing to change views

3. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 3 Becoming a Critical Thinker Be willing to say “I don’t know” Define your terms Practice tolerance Understand before criticizing Watch for hot spots

4. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 4 Becoming a Critical Thinker Consider the source Seek out alternative views Ask questions Look for at least three answers

5. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 5 Becoming a Critical Thinker Lay your cards on the table Write about it Accept your changing perspectives Combine perspectives

6. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 6 Critical Thinking can be… Convergent thinking –Narrowing-down from many possible viewpoints Divergent (or creative) thinking –Asking questions –Generating as many possible options as you can –Divergent thinking provides a basis for convergent thinking.

7. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 7 Finding “Aha!” Burst of creative energy Fuels critical thinking

8. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 8 Techniques for Creative Thinking Conduct a brainstorm Focus and let go Cultivate creative serendipity Keep idea files Collect and play with data

9. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 9 Techniques for Creative Thinking Create while you sleep Refine ideas and follow through Create success strategies Trust the process

10. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 10 Inventing Questions Put a question mark after a fact Ask about what’s missing Just let your pen move Pretend to be someone else Ask what else you want to know Begin a general question and brainstorm endings

11. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 11 Uncovering Assumptions Testing the validity of a viewpoint Viewpoint Write them out See if you can find exceptions to them Look for the assumptions (the assertions implied by that view)

12. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Critical Thinking- 12 Ways to Fool Yourself: Six Common Mistakes in Logic Jump to conclusions Attack the person Appeal to an “authority” Point to a false cause Think in “all-or-nothing” terms Base arguments on emotion