CRITICAL THINKING

USING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND DECISION MAKING

Thinking About Thinking

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Good situational awareness requires: 1.

Gathering data (sensing, perception), seeking cues in the environment 2.

Assembling information to give understanding (comprehension) 3.

Thinking ahead (projection) Thinking about situational awareness involves: • • • • • Directing our attention to seek data; scanning a range of sources Evaluating information without bias, for accuracy and relevance Understanding, using our knowledge and previous experiences Comparing and checking, visualizing future events — ‘What if?’ Planning ahead, considering possible outcomes Situation Gathering data Understanding Planning Ahead Offense Defense Play Now Future

Decision Making

Decision making requires an understanding of the situation and controlled thinking. Decision making involves assessment and choosing a course of action.

The situation determines the urgency of the decision, risks and limits of action.

Controlled thinking: Reduces risk Moderates behavior Manages time constraints Uses knowledge; seeks options Judges relevance and the quality of the choice Prepares for action, evaluates the outcome or a future situation

O A D A

Observe Analyze Deduce Act

Critical Thinking Critical thinking provides the mental control and discipline required for situational assessment and decision making. It involves several skills that can be learned, practiced and improved.

Critical thinking is the skill of thinking about your thinking Control your mind by: Seeking and understanding information, facts and data Effective planning, briefing and communication Increasing knowledge; gaining experience Learning within a context (situation) Maintain discipline by: Being aware of how you think; affects possession Evaluating your actions; having self regulation Being aware of all available resources Being sensitive to feedback Think inside the box before you think outside of the box “ Are we in charge of our thinking, or is our thinking in charge of us?“

Critical Thinking —

Self awareness

Self awareness — self questioning, self monitoring

Am I biased in my thinking?

Have I made a plan for what I want to do?

Are my ideas or knowledge on this issue correct?

Am I aware of my thinking; what am I trying to do?

Am I using all of the resources for what I want to do?

Am I evaluating my thinking; what would I do differently next time?

Am I aware of how well I am doing; do I need to change my actions or intentions?

Monitoring is checking the quality or testing the accuracy of a situation on a regular basis. It is keeping a close watch over parameters and supervising the outcome.

It is checking for threats in our thinking.

CRITICAL THINKING —

Improving your thinking — Knowledge

KNOWLEDGE

About yourself Commitment: training, not letting feelings or individual preference detract from the game Positive attitudes: seeing the big picture, persistence, resourcefulness, learning from set-backs Attention to detail: determining relevance, assessing affects About the thinking processes Knowing the facts necessary to do a task by seeking information Knowing how to do a task, how to scan, understand and think ahead Knowing why certain strategies work, when to use them, why one is better than another Knowledge to control the thinking processes Self evaluation: assessing current technical knowledge, setting objectives, selecting resources Self regulation: checking progress; reviewing choices, procedures, objectives, resources Planning: choosing and planning a path to the objective, using procedures Planning is the process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening or not happening.

Critical Thinking —

Improving your thinking — Habits

Habits

Changing our thinking habits requires effort; clear thinking is an essential part of officiating and has to be developed throughout our careers.

5 Levels of skill:

Unskilled : Basic training only provides those skills necessary to be on the field.

Skilled : Continuation training and experience enable effective management.

Effective : More technical knowledge, practiced skills and experience give an efficient operation.

Efficient: Skillful command in controlling the game and crew leadership move toward a precision operation.

Precision: An official who has gained and maintains precise technical and non-technical skills as a result of great personal effort.

Expert thinkers Focus on central issues Identify relevant information Consider information on merit Test and check the basis of their awareness and decisions

Critical Thinking

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Personal briefing Improving your thinking — Briefing

Before games, self-briefing reinforces memory cues and knowledge, which aid the recall of information for use in situational assessment and decision making.

Know what, who, where and when to prioritize your attention Always brief routine situations — repetition aids memory Structure the briefing along game situations Visualize your actions (position, players, calls) Consider the significant game situations Recall lessons from training Refresh mechanics and rules What if questions Do not rush: Your thoughts control your actions.

Critical Thinking

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Personal debrief

Improving your thinking — Debrief After each game, consider the following points: Plus, Minus, Interesting

Plus:

What was good What went according to plan

Minus:

What was not so good, and why What didn’t you know; find the answer before the next game

Interesting:

Have you changed the way you see things: situations, penalties, players, mechanics What did you learn, why, and where did the information come from?

Will you share this with others; if not why not?

Anything for a commissioner, assignor to report?

Any issues for confidential reporting?

Did you experience: Administration, field, supply issues?

Poor attitudes Biased opinions Mismanaged time Unanswered questions

Thinking

about

Situational Awareness

and

Decision Making

Situational awareness and decision making depend on our ability to think.

Thinking enables humans to be very successful, but this ability also enables errors that, if not controlled, present risks in our daily activities.

Game

Value your ability, use it wisely

Players Situations

Monitor Senses: See Hear Situational Awareness Decision Making Review Responses Pattern recognition Comparison Choice Selection Working memory Long-term memory - knowledge, biases, beliefs Action

CRITICAL THINKING — FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Critical thinking for situational awareness — seek information Essential components: Accuracy — Is the information true?

Clarity — Can the information be understood?

Precision — Seek detail to understand the situation.

Relevance — Is the information connected to the situation?

Depth — Does the information address the complexity of the situation?

Breadth — Are there other points of view or other ways to consider this situation?

Logic — Does your understanding of the situation make sense?

Whenever you do not understand something, ask yourself a question for clarification

Critical Thinking — for Decision Making

Critical thinking for decision making — the choice of action Essential components: State the objective of the decision to be made Identify information to be used in making the decision Gather the evidence and information required to make a decision Make a decision based on criteria (a safe outcome), information and risks Ask what the evidence and information mean, considering the objective

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is at the center of all safety processes and human activity.

Safety, Game, Player Management Situational Awareness

Critical Thinking

Decision Making