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A summary for my
Researching Journal
Article about:
Critical thinking 3
Critical thinking and
higher education
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which
you question, analyze, interpret, evaluate
and make a judgement about what you read,
hear, say, or write.
The term critical comes from the Greek word
kritikos meaning “able to judge or discern”.
Good critical thinking is about making reliable
judgements based on reliable information.
Applying
critical thinking does not mean being
negative or focusing on faults.
It means being
able to clarify your thinking so that you can
break down a
problem or a piece of
information, interpret it and use that
interpretation to arrive at an informed decision
or judgement (for example designing a bridge,
responding to an opinion piece or
understanding a political motivation).
People who apply critical thinking consistently
are said to have a critical thinking mindset,
but
no one is born this way. These are
attributes which are learnt and
improved
through practice and application.
Arguments
In the academic context, critical thinking is most
commonly associated with arguments. You
might
be asked to think critically about other
people's arguments or create
your own. To
become a better critical thinker.
You therefore need to learn how to:
As the image illustrates, critical thinking skills
and attributes are interconnected and need to
work together for your critical thinking to
be
effective.
Six key steps
Six key steps to developing your critical thinking
skills and mindset.
Examples of critical thinking skills, mindsets
and practices.
Below
are four examples of critical thinking
skills, mindsets and practices.
This is by no
means an exhaustive list of all critical thinking
skills
because the skills you use will depend on
your specific context.
Taking it further
Analise sources and arguments
To demonstrate your critical
thinking, you need to be able to
carefully examine sources,
arguments, theories and processes,
and explain how they work.
13 ways to start thinking
critically.
Want to start improving your own
critical thinking skill sets?
Here’s how you can improve critical
thinking skills using:
13 techniques:
1-Play games that require critical
thinking skills.
2-Ask more questions, even basic
ones.
3-Question your assumptions
4-Develop your technical skills so
that you can identify problems
more easily
5-Find ways to solve more problems
(at work and at home)
6-Become aware of your mental
processes, like the availability
heuristic
7-Think for yourself: don’t adopt other
people’s opinions without questioning
them first
8-Seek out diversity thought
9-Start developing foresight
10-Try active listening.
11-Weigh the consequences of
different actions before you act
12-Seek a mentor who can help you
develop these skills
