Critical Thinking
What Is Critical Thinking?
Portland State University's definition of critical thinking is:
Students will learn various modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary curricula—problem-posing, investigating, conceptualizing—in order to become active, self-motivated, and empowered learners.
In other words-- we will independently learn various skills through the curriculum to become active and self-aware learners.
Portland State University's definition of critical thinking is:
Students will learn various modes of inquiry through interdisciplinary curricula—problem-posing, investigating, conceptualizing—in order to become active, self-motivated, and empowered learners.
In other words-- we will independently learn various skills through the curriculum to become active and self-aware learners.
Exercise: Fact or Opinion?
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If we don’t learn the difference between fact and opinion, we will continue to reinforce beliefs and assumptions we already own and will not have the open availability to think critically for ourselves.
WHat is INCORPORATED in critical thinking - our definition
Recall
How can recalling information assist with Critical Thinking?
How can recalling information assist with Critical Thinking?
- Can take past experiences or stories to reflect on the current situation
- Recollection of skills acquired during trainings or classes taken
- Think “how can I contribute to..”
- People do it every day!
Mental Exercises for Problem Solving
Express yourself in different mediums
Talk to a 6-year-old
Understand and challenge your biases
Work backward
Ask others to explain their thought processes
Expose yourself to new content and new creators
Experiment with brain teasers and ethical dilemmas
Express yourself in different mediums
Talk to a 6-year-old
Understand and challenge your biases
Work backward
Ask others to explain their thought processes
Expose yourself to new content and new creators
Experiment with brain teasers and ethical dilemmas
Inquiry
How does inquiry aid in critical thinking?
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Qualities of a good question:
Examples:
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Application of Imagination/Creativity
- Rapid Ideation- take a subject, a given period of time, write whatever comes to mind as quickly as possible
- Mind Mapping- take a subject and connect ideas to the main subject and to each other
- “Putting yourself in another’s shoes”- try to imagine yourself in that situation/time/etc and figure out what you would do
- Reverse Brainstorming- find ways to cause a problem/s and then solve them
critical thinking scenarios
Practice your critical thinking skills:
Scenario #1:
Karen is very emotional and she gets upset when she doesn’t feel listened to. Karen feels extremely offended if all of her own ideas aren’t used in the project, but to further complicate, the other members of her team have ideas that aren’t practical but insist that they are used and continue to ignore everything that Karen comes up with or has input on.
How can you use Critical Thinking to solve this problem? Try to identify where you used Recall, Problem-solving, Inquiry, and/or Imagination in your solution.
Our solution:
(using our definition of Critical Thinking)
Scenario #1:
Karen is very emotional and she gets upset when she doesn’t feel listened to. Karen feels extremely offended if all of her own ideas aren’t used in the project, but to further complicate, the other members of her team have ideas that aren’t practical but insist that they are used and continue to ignore everything that Karen comes up with or has input on.
How can you use Critical Thinking to solve this problem? Try to identify where you used Recall, Problem-solving, Inquiry, and/or Imagination in your solution.
Our solution:
(using our definition of Critical Thinking)
- We saw that Karen was being left out so she spoke up to her group and expressed how she was feeling by recalling past group projects and when there was conflict
- Using her inquiring skills, Karen asked the group the reason why they wouldn’t use her ideas over their own
- By using imagination, Karen tried putting herself in her group members positions and why they were having this behavior
- By using problem solving, Karen and her group members came up with a compromise by having a meeting with their professor to discuss what was going on within their group
- Go along with your groups direction
- Make sure your portion/the overall presentation quality shows the grade you want
- When group presentation peer reviews come around, tell the professor what really happened
Scenario #2:
Your friends Patrice and Bob were out shopping last week. Bob saw a watch he really liked and snuck it into Patrice’s bag. Patrice didn’t notice the stolen watch until they had left the shopping center and was very angry at Bob. Today you are out shopping with both Bob and Patrice, you see Patrice sneak a very expensive item into Bob’s bag. When y’all are leaving the store, the security scanners beep and Bob is caught and arrested for stealing. Now you are stuck in the middle and are being asked your side of the story...
How can you use Critical Thinking to solve this problem? Try to identify where you used Recall, Problem-solving, Inquiry, and/or Imagination in your solution.
Our solution:
(using our definition of Critical Thinking)
Your friends Patrice and Bob were out shopping last week. Bob saw a watch he really liked and snuck it into Patrice’s bag. Patrice didn’t notice the stolen watch until they had left the shopping center and was very angry at Bob. Today you are out shopping with both Bob and Patrice, you see Patrice sneak a very expensive item into Bob’s bag. When y’all are leaving the store, the security scanners beep and Bob is caught and arrested for stealing. Now you are stuck in the middle and are being asked your side of the story...
How can you use Critical Thinking to solve this problem? Try to identify where you used Recall, Problem-solving, Inquiry, and/or Imagination in your solution.
Our solution:
(using our definition of Critical Thinking)
- You recall the events as they happened and tell the police in hopes Patrice doesn’t hear and hop over the officers shoulder to attack you because no one should get in trouble for Patrice
- You imagine life as a criminal and it just does not suit your needs even though you just want to live a simple life
- You know deep down that your friendships with Bob and Patrice might be compromised so by using critical thinking you explain to them after why you told the police the truth
- By using your master inquiry skills you ask your friends why they might have put all of them in that ridiculous situation