Chapter 5
Critical Thinking
Far
too often, people don’t think critically but let their emotions govern their actions.
As a college student, that can lead to trouble!
CAN ANYONE DEFINE CRITICAL THINKING?
One
of the main ingredients in a college education is learning how to think critically.
And if you believe that college is a path to a higher paying job, remember that a good critical thinker is a good job
candidate.
Theodora
Kalikow, president of the University of Main lists several key characteristics students should
have in order to receive a good college education - which demands above all else critical thinking.
Here
are some of the characteristics:
· A lithe mind, able to move rapidly in new directions
· The ability to analyze a problem
· The ability to imagine solutions, weigh them by rational criteria and
commit to one of them
· A tolerance for ambiguity and complexity
· An ability to imagine and share the perception of different individuals,
cultures, and times
GOING FROM CERTAINTY TO HEALTHY UNCERTAINTY
Some instructor feel
they have all the answers and want to fill your mind with dates, times and facts then expect you to recite these facts back
to them when you take a test. On the first day the instructor might say, the
only important thing in my class is how well you learn the material and how frequently you choose the right answers. This type of instructor might say to you
“Remember, while there are lots of wrong answers, there is only one answer that is always correct.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THIS TYPE OF INSTRUCTOR?
Others instructors fill
the most important aspect of education is for an individual to know how to use what he or she has learned to solve problem
they face. Adult Students bring their own values, ideas, and past knowledge to
course material. What most important is that you learn to analyze facts, decide
which facts are supportable by evidence, and know how to convince others of your belief.
And remember, while there are lots of wrong conclusions, there also may be more than one right conclusion.
It might be surprising to discover that some of your instructors trust you to find
valid answers too many of your own questions.
Obviously the two prior
instructors have different views as to what it means to be educated. How would
you define an educated person? Knowing where
to go to get information and how to use it when you need it to solve a problem
A HIGHER-ORDER THINKING PROCESS
(Defining critical thinking)
Critical
thinking is a process of choosing alternatives, weighing them, and considering what they suggest. It involves understanding why some people believe one thing rather than another – whether you agree
with their reason or not.
Critical
thinking is learning to ask pertinent questions and testing your assumptions against hard evidence.
WHAT ARE SOSME OF THE WAYS THE TEXT LIST THAT CAN ASSIST CRITICAL THINKING?
Being
involved in the following can help foster Critical:
- Collaborative learning (learning whereby more than one student
is involved in the learning process which generates a number of thoughts instead of just one.
In a group, you learn to agree on the most reliable thoughts, which move you closer to a surer solution.
- Walking through the process of several choices (good critical
thinkers consider questions such as:
(A) Is the information given in support of the argument true?
(B) Does the information really support the conclusion?
(C) Do you need to withhold judgment until better evidence is available?
(D) Is argument based on good reasoning, or does it appeal mainly to emotions?
Critical
thinking is at the core of liberal education. In Liberal education, students
are taught to investigate all sides of a question and all possible solutions to a problem before reaching a conclusion or
planning a course of action.
ACCORDING TO YOUR TEXT WHAT ARE THE FOUR ASPECTS OF CRITICAL THINKING?
FOUR AS PECTS OF CRITICAL THINKING
Critical
thinking cannot be learned overnight. However, critical thinking processes can
be divided into four basic steps. Practicing these basics ideas can help you
become a more effective thinker.
· Abstract Thinking: Using Details to discover some
bigger idea
· Creative Thinking: Seeking connections, finding
new possibilities, rejecting nothing
· Systematic Thinking: Organizing the Possibilities, tossing out the rubbish
·
Precise Communication: Being prepared to present your ideas convincingly to others
(In implement the concept of Critical thinking care should be taken to)
AVOIDING LOGICAL FALLACIES
You
may believe you’ve solved a problem logically, but later find you are a victim of faulty reasoning.
The
following suggestions should help you avoid logical fallacies:
· Attack the Argument, not the Person Abortion:: character/reputation rather than issue
· Don’t Threaten in Order to Win an Argument If you don’t , I’ll do this
· Don’t Beg Please Officer, don’t give me a ticket, I don’t deserve to lose my
license, I have five children
· Avoid Appealing to Authority Appealing to those who may or may not be an authority
· It’s Not a Popularity Contest listen to those who are more popular than those who are not
· It Isn’t True Simply Because It Hasn’t Been Proven False
· Don’t Fall Victim to False Cause blaming your
course failure on the teacher
·
Avoid Hasty Generalization one green marble from a barrel of 100 does not mean all are green
HOW COLLEGE ENCOURAGES CRITICAL THINKING
Many
college students believe that their teachers will have all the answers. You must
be willing to challenge assumptions and conclusion, even those presented by experts.
To
challenge how you think, a good college teacher may insist that how you solve a problem is as important as the solution and
even may ask you to describe the problem-solving process. (This is not picking on you, and it does not
suggest that the solution you have arrived at is wrong: he/she just simply may want you to be able to support your findings,
solution or the conclusion you have arrived at)
To promote critical
thinking, your instructor may ask open-ended questions that have no clear-cut answers, questions of “Why” or “How”
or “What if”?
The
best way to learn and develop critical thinking skills is to take demanding college courses that provide lots of opportunity
to think out loud, discuss and interact in class.
Take
courses that use essay examination as opposed to multiple choices, true/false, short answer: the latter three are much less
likely to develop your critical thinking skills.
We live in an age where Students rely heavily on the Internet
CRITICALLY EVALUATING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
Anyone can put anything
on the Internet. It’s often difficult to tell where something on the internet
came from, how it got there or who wrote it. In other words, the lack of a proper
citation makes it difficult to judge the credibility of the information.
First thing to do is
to look for a citation. Then, using the citation, do a search for the original
source and evaluate its authenticity. I there is no citation, chances are you
should avoid the site.
OTHER QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT INTERNET SITES:
·
Is It Credible?
·
Who Is the Author?
·
Does It Reflect Mainstream Opinions?
The
University
of Wisconsin offers these Nine C’s for evaluating Internet Source:
Content,
Credibility, Critical Thinking, Copyright, Citation, Continuity,
Censorship, Comparability and Context.