THINKING
AND ANALYSIS
(cont.)
Chapter outlines
THINKING AND
ANALYSIS
4. Critical Thinking Skills
Critical Thinking Skills
“The essence of the independent mind
lies not in what it thinks, but in how it
thinks.”
Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be
able to:
• Define critical thinking
• Describe the role that logic plays in
critical thinking
• Describe how critical thinking skills
can be used to problem-solve
• Describe how critical thinking skills
can be used to evaluate information
• Identify strategies for developing
yourself as a critical thinker.
What Is • Critical thinking is clear,
Critical reasonable, reflective
Thinking thinking focused on
deciding what to believe or
? do.
• It involves being skeptical and
challenging assumptions,
rather than simply memorizing
facts or blindly accepting what
you hear or read.
• Asking probing questions
like:
“How do we know?”
Critical Thinking IS Critical Thinking is NOT
Skepticism Memorizing
Examining assumptions Group thinking
Challenging reasoning Blind acceptance of authority
Uncovering biases
ACTIVITY: SELF-ASSESS YOUR CRITICAL
THINKING STRATEGIES
Objectives
• Assess your basic understanding of the skills
involved in critical thinking.
Directions
• Visit the Quia Critical Thinking Quiz page and
click on Start Now (you don’t need to enter your
name). Select the best answer for each question,
and then click on Submit Answers. A score of 70
percent or better on this quiz is considering passing.
• Based on the content of the questions, do you feel
you use good critical thinking strategies in college?
In what ways might you improve as a critical
Critical Thinking
and Logic
Critical thinking is fundamentally a
process of questioning information
and data.
You may question the information you read in a textbook,
or you may question what a politician or a professor or a
classmate says. You can also question a commonly-held
belief or a new idea.
With critical thinking, anything and
everything is subject to question and
What Is Logic, and Why
Is It Important in Critical
Thinking?
The word logic comes from the Ancient Greek
“logike”, referring to the science or art of
reasoning.
Using logic, a person evaluates arguments
and reasoning and strives to distinguish
between good and bad reasoning, or
between truth and falsehood.
Using logic, you can evaluate ideas or claims
Questions of Logic in
Critical Thinking
1.What’s happening? Gather the basic
information and begin to think of questions.
2.Why is it important? Ask yourself why it’s
significant and whether or not you agree.
3.What don’t I see? Is there anything
important missing?
4.How do I know? Ask yourself where the
information came from and how it was constructed.
5.Who is saying it? What’s the position of the
speaker and what is influencing them?
6.What else? What if? What other ideas
exist and are there other possibilities?
Problem-Solving with Critical Thinking
Critical thinking and Refer to using knowledge,
problem-solving go facts, and data to solve
hand-in-hand problems effectively.
Examples of using critical thinking to
problem-solve
• Your classmate was upset and said some unkind words to you,
which put a crimp in the relationship. You try to see through
the angry behaviors to determine how you might best support
the roommate and help bring the relationship back to a
comfortable spot.
• Your campus club has been languishing on account of lack of
participation and funds. The new club president, though, is a
marketing major and has identified some strategies to interest
students in joining and supporting the club. Implementation is
forthcoming.
• Your math teacher sees that the class is not quite grasping a
concept. She uses clever questioning to dispel anxiety and
guide you to new understanding of the concept.
Problem-Solving Action Checklist
STRATEGIES ACTION CHECKLIST
• Identify the problem
• Provide as many supporting details as possible
1. Define the problem
• Provide examples
• Organize the information logically
• Use logic to identify your most important goals
2. Identify available • Identify implications and consequences
solutions • Identify facts
• Compare and contrast possible solutions
• Use gathered facts and relevant evidence
3. Select your solution • Support and defend solutions considered valid
• Defend your solution
• Evaluating information can be one of
Evaluatin the most complex tasks.
• But if you utilize the following four
g strategies, you will be well on your
Informati way to success:
on with A. Read for understanding by
using text coding
Critical B. Examine arguments
Thinking C. Clarify thinking
D. Cultivate “habits of mind”
A. Read for Understanding
Using Text Coding
• Text coding is a way
of tracking your thinking
while reading
• With text coding, mark
important arguments and
key facts
See more text coding from PBWorks and
Collaborative for Teaching and Learning.
B. Examine Arguments
Use the spectrum of authority strategy
https://youtu.be/9G5xooMN2_c
C. Clarify Thinking
When you use
critical thinking to
• What is the purpose?
evaluate
information, you • What question are we trying to answer?
need to clarify • What point of view is being expressed?
your thinking to • What assumptions are we or others making?
yourself and
likely to others.
C. Clarify Thinking (cont.)
When you use • What are the facts and data we know, and
critical thinking to how do we know them?
evaluate
information, you • What are the concepts we’re working with?
need to clarify • What are the conclusions, and do they
your thinking to make sense?
yourself and
likely to others. • What are the implications?
D. Cultivate “Habits of Mind”
“Habits of mind” are the personal
commitments, values, and standards you have
about the principle of good thinking.
Do you approach problems with an
open mind, a respect for truth, and
an inquiring attitude?
Try to work these qualities into your
daily life:
• Being receptive to having your
opinions changed
• Having respect for others
• Being independent
• Not accepting something is true
until you’ve had the time to
examine the available evidence
Try to work these qualities into your
daily life:
• Being fair-minded
• Having respect for a reason
• Having an inquiring mind
• Not making assumptions
• Questioning your own conclusions
Developing
Yourself As a
Critical Thinker
• Reflect and practice
• Use wasted time
• Redefine the way you see
things
• Analyze the influences on
your thinking and in your life
• Express yourself
• Enhance your wellness
Practice: • Use critical thinking skills to
challenge other groups' social
Evaluation initiatives ideas (from activity 1
of project of Creative Thinking Skills)
ideas • Point out weaknesses and
"Social difficulties in implementing ideas
in life
Initiatives"
