examples of critical thinking

examples of critical thinking

The Importance of Critical Thinking

1. Introduction

The ability to make informed decisions often depends on the use of rational and logical processes. Such processes can be used to help select goals, plan and execute strategies, assess the consequences of those strategies, and revise plans and strategies as needed. These are all higher-level cognitive skills, but they are not purely critical thinking because the information available is not always used effectively to guide decision-making. Still, the emphasis in many information resources and in schooling is such non-critical thinking approaches that what is assertive passive critical thinking to foster the decision-making guideline. Using those skills to that emphasized to employ the best information available in reaching the most informed and thus the best decisions often are the defining moments in personal and professional lives. But whether scenario or decision analysis are counterproductive if the best information is not sought or cannot be used when to make a sound decision.

2. Benefits of Critical Thinking

3. A more reasoned and open approach to contentious issues. We are all beset by media that is often biased, political, and tailored to suit a particular agenda. Critical thinkers are more concerned with the thought and evidence behind the issue. A critical thinker is open to changing their mind given good evidence. Today’s focus on obtaining a degree fast and with minimal effort has led to widespread passive learning. Students are taught as fact to store information in their memory for the purpose of regurgitation rather than for use and understanding. This is a poor decision for students and institutions. The regurgitation of information is easily forgotten, so essentially it results in little learning. Stored in memory is also information that may be biased, distorted, or irrelevant to the issue at hand. A person confident in their decision acts on the best information at hand and is open to a change given more evidence. A place for well-informed and open decision-making is valuable to all.

2. Enhance employee performance. Today’s fast-moving business environment demands that employees are increasingly intelligent, more dynamic, and comfortable with ambiguity. As mentioned before, critical thinking is a part of life and it is essential to all stages of life, including the work stage. Critical thinking helps people think in a more organized and effective manner. This method allows an individual to make the best possible decision, given the specific circumstances. This decision-making process is a key part of critical thinking. People make inferences as to what will happen given the information at hand, they also imagine and explore options as well as try to integrate all the information in a clear, precise manner. This usually brings effective and satisfactory results. A person who applies critical thinking in his/her decision-making processes is able to evaluate these decisions in a wider context. This person will be able to evaluate his/her motives, be open-minded, and be more confident in the decision. Confidence in the decision is a byproduct of the thorough process wanted by critical thinking. A confident decision-maker will have the respect of others, and a strong and efficient leader will have an easier time attaining his goals. An employee who is a strong critical thinker is able to make workable decisions by building upon the facts rather than acting on intuition, which is a hit and miss process.

1. Increase productivity and efficiency. Critical thinking is an efficient method for problem-solving and decision-making, whether they are personal or job-related. Critical thinking improves a person’s quality of work. According to the article “Critical Thinking in Everyday Life,” critical thinking helps students think clearly and rationally, which helps them think better and also on their own. This practice of self-evaluation also encourages students to become more self-aware as it is the only path to critical thinking. Critical thinking helps people evaluate information, which is what they are told and what they believe to be true. This is important in personal problem-solving and decision-making.

3. Developing Critical Thinking Skills

c. Be critical: The use of the word “critical” has three stages – 1) we use it to describe something having adverse effects, in which case being overly critical can have negative implications. 2) We use “critical” when we want to understand the nature of something (analysis). 3) The most associative use of the word “critical” is related to stages 1 and 2 and refers to the ability of an individual to assess reasoning and evidence objectively without letting personal beliefs and biases affect their judgment. By understanding these different uses of the word “critical” and employing it in its true sense more often, we can take steps towards improving our critical thinking.

b. Practice Makes Perfect: One way to improve your critical thinking skills is through metacognition. This is the process by which you think about your own thinking.

a. Learn to walk before you run: Before you can improve your critical thinking skills, you first need to understand what the extent of your current critical thinking ability is. A perceptive way to judge whether or not you are a critical thinker is to set out all the pros and cons of the issue at hand and then weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of these. This will help you determine if your conclusions are well supported and plan the next steps in improving your thinking.

While we must use our critical thinking for problem solving and decision making, there are a number of steps that must be done for developing critical thinking skills:

4. Applying Critical Thinking in Everyday Life

Coquitlam College staff members recently conducted a series of discussions on infusing critical thinking into leadership. We examined the qualities of mind and the barriers to critical thinking, assessed the level of our critical thinking and its outcomes, and engaged in thinking through application to our leadership decision-making and problem-solving. The purpose was to learn to use critical thinking to enhance leadership and organizational effectiveness. One of the staff members, who also coaches youth soccer, commented after a session on making decisions that he immediately saw the remnants of a poor decision he had made the previous day: losing his temper at the players and embarrassing one of them. He realized that prior to that eruption, he had momentarily sensed that the team was losing confidence in him, but he chose to ignore that uncomfortable thought. By coming to awareness about his past and present thinking and the quality of his decisions, and by analyzing the event, learning from his mistakes, and planning for better decision making in the future, he can take steps towards developing an effective leadership style that maximizes trust and commitment from his players.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what critical thinking is and various ways in which we can use it, let’s reflect on how we can apply it in everyday life. We can make a commitment to clear thinking by working through the confusing, contradictory, illogical, and irrational thinking patterns that tend to dominate our thinking and lives. We’ll begin by examining our thinking throughout a typical day. Then we’ll apply the elements of critical thinking to the routine problems that come up, considering how they might be resolved. We will focus on long-term solutions, short-term solutions, and a plan for implementation; all of which should lead to better decision making. Applying critical thinking will also enable us to come up with a system to make sure we don’t make similar mistakes in the future. Finally, it is important that we take a stand on a particular issue and weigh the consequences of making a decision regarding that issue, implementing our decision, and evaluating the outcome.

5. Conclusion

The value of critical thinking in learning is clear. It can be seen that the method of critical thinking has a positive impact on five convergent processes of knowledge. These are comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. It is a fact that the skills of critical thinking are significant for efficient learning, and it is the method of critical thinking that provides a way to organize and make sense of information. Therefore, it is suggested that an individual who applies critical thinking to a problem will learn more and learn to be more independent.

Overall, critical thinking is not only a method of approaching issues, but a method of approaching learning. It is the willingness and ability to analyze, question, and evaluate a subject, problem, or issue in order to form an honest and objective judgment. This then is what makes an effective thinker. They have the ability to take charge of their own thinking and be aware of what they are doing to enable using specific strategies for specific purposes. Effective thinkers have the motivation to apply these strategies. It is not enough for them to do something that is hard; they apply themselves as thinkers to pull meaning from it.