critical thinking skills

critical thinking skills

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

1. Introduction

No stranger to education, the idea of learning this skill is not new. But learning it systematically is another matter. Critical thinking can only be learnt through using it. Rote learning of its principles and rules is not possible. Thus a student or teacher of critical thinking needs to master the content of this book and then exhibit perseverance and self-discipline in applying it to real problems in the real world. This is yet another reason why the engaged learner is stressed as the ideal user of this book. The truth is that the world does not need more reviewers or commentators. It needs people who can see what needs to be done or what must be changed in the world, and then think and act in ways which are effective and sensible. The focus in this book is producing clever people. Cleverness is not necessarily a popular word with all educators concerned with critical thinking, as there is a belief that intelligence or thinking skills are fixed attributes in people. But if critical thinking can be defined in a way that is amenable to teaching and learning, it is a skill, and thus it can produce clever people. This book is for intelligent learners who want to things smarter.

We live in a knowledge society. In this era of change and complexity, this book is about a single, imperative idea that will see you through to the next phase of the new millennium—thinking critically. Critical thinking is not a new idea, nor is it easy to define, though it is superficially identified by logical thinking. Complex, clear, rational, open-minded, well-informed, and sometimes skeptical thinking is much harder and of greater value than a facile logic chopping which often confirms the thinker’s prejudices. But thinking is required at all times and repeatedly. Critical thinking is the foundation of strategic thinking, creative thinking, good judgment and decision-taking. It is at once simple and complex. It is a thinking skill, and like any other skill of course it can be learned. This book is written for learners.

2. Understanding Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a difficult term to define, however, as a student it can be best understood by thinking about it as a process. This possibly encapsulates what a critical thinker does. In essence, it is the thinker’s ability to deduce, assess, interpret, scrutinize, or evaluate information in a systematic way, and then use that information to come to a well-informed conclusion about an issue. Although this process can be completed in a matter of seconds, taking a reasoned conclusion for an issue under consideration can generally only be achieved by active engagement in critical thinking. This approach is widely regarded as a fundamental building block for the informed citizen, and the beginning of wisdom. Many students new to university feel that their main difficulty is with the volume of work they are faced with, however, it is not the quantity, but the level of difficulty which differs. With critical thinking being a desirable criterion for higher education, and classes generally having fewer students than the A level equivalent, students are often met with issues that prevent them from simply memorizing course content and regurgitating it in an exam. The introduction of self-directed learning, where students must research and understand topics from scratch, is a stark contrast to previous learning methods for some students, and can leave them feeling lost and demotivated. Developing critical thinking is essential to getting through the toughest of assignments.

3. Benefits of Critical Thinking

There are a significant number of benefits that come with critical thinking. It makes you happier and a more worthwhile individual because in order to achieve your full potential as a person and citizen, you need to develop a core set of critical thinking skills. At the level of the individual, critical thinking is important in three general ways. Cognitive, a measure of expecting, that critical thinking can be taught and learned. Then the general benefits are both personal and academic for the education that critical thinking brings to light. Recommended citing resource Duke, P. (2006). Defining critical thinking: A draft statement for the National council for excellence in critical thinking. Retrieved Nov 7th 2008 from, and see also, Facione, P. (2007). Critical thinking: what it is and why it counts. Insight assessment. Millbrae CA.

Perennially, critical thinking is an important skill set because it takes thinking to a whole new level. Critical thinking is sometimes talked about as a near-mystical skill that defies definition – one that people either have or don’t have. The truth is that critical thinking is the thinking process of applying, analyzing, assessing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to guide belief and action. It can be learned and it can be used for “eduson infusion” in a way that enhances students learning across the curriculum.

4. Strategies for Improving Critical Thinking Skills

4.2. Problem-solving activities. In order to improve the quality of students’ thinking, problem-based learning assigns open-ended problems as the driving force behind the learning of concepts and principles. In more advanced forms, students will be self-directed in seeking specific knowledge and solving specific problems. For example, advanced biology students might be given a complex case involving a patient with symptoms of an unknown illness. The students would be required to diagnose the patient, and then develop a list of learning objectives and resources they would need to be able to effectively diagnose and treat the illness. This technique has been found to be effective in a wide range of populations.

4.1. Ask Questions. Critical thinking requires the interpretation of information. Although information can be analyzed by it on its own merit, making a conscious effort to get at the “whole picture” is important. If you are trying to decide if the U.S. budget should be spent on saving a dying language, your analysis of the situation will benefit greatly if you understand fully why the language is dying. Activity involvement grades are not enough. Taking a sport or music classes is enough to force active thinking, and plays a role in the ability to understand critical concepts in those physical activities. Any activity that relates to what is trying to be learned is useful because it forces one to “figure things out.”

Strategies that help improve students’ critical thinking skills form a crucial set of abilities that students who “use” critical thinking concepts more readily analyze, evaluate, generate, and create. A consensus has developed that critical thinking skills are more readily transferable to other tasks and to new domains if they are taught in a way that resembles intellectual apprenticeships.

5. Conclusion

The ability to think critically is a skill that is becoming increasingly important in today’s world. With information coming at us from so many different sources and in so many different formats, being able to understand, process, and evaluate it is a valuable skill. Without critical thinking skills, we are at risk of being manipulated by others and by our own psychological blind spots (Sutherland and Canwell). This is a key reason as to why critical thinking is covered in so much depth in many university programs. “More than 20% of students begin college lacking the thinking skills necessary to succeed” (Quitadamo and Kurtz). Educational institutions now are a place to not only gain advanced knowledge but to also teach our mind to appropriately understand and apply it. “Since its founding, the United States has been a nation of problem solvers and innovators. The next generation coming up must be able to engage in reflective problem solving to keep the country’s edge” (Alter). If it is true that the future US generations are what keep the US at the front of world politics, our ability to think critically will be a large factor in the success or failure. This will be no simple task considering the constantly changing world we live in. Therefore, it is very important that today’s students are well prepared grooming for the future of the US.