Transferable Skills Development

MGT 495 Lecture - 8 FACILITATOR Prof. Dr. Mohammad Majid Mahmood Bagram

Critical Thinking Skills-II

A Necessary Condition to the Development of Critical Thinking is:

A Questioning Mind!

Language

• The landscape of the mind.

• The software of the brain.

Language

• Words can have two kinds of meaning: – Denotative – Connotative • What does each mean?

Language

•

Denotative

: – Dictionary meaning: What is an apple?

• edible, usually rounded fruit.

Language

•

Connotative

: – Suggestions beyond the dictionary meanings.

 What do you think of when you hear the word apple?

Language

• Food, Pie, a computer, keeps the doctor away, etc.

METACOGNITION

“Until you KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW ’ you do not own your knowledge, and so you do not know anything.”

Classification of Brain

Left Brain Thinking

     

Logical one thing at a time sequential operation writing & symbols mathematical spoken memory Right Brain Thinking

     

Emotional integrating inputs dreams holistic solutions intuition visualizing Springer, S., & Deutsch, G. (1993). Left brain, right brain (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.

Brain Fitness

 Like the body, the brain has its own form of fitness or excellence.  To achieve brain fitness, the brain must learn to:  take charge of itself,  energize itself,  press forward when difficulties emerge,  become attentive, and reflective

Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder, The Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2010

Critical Thinking

 Thinking is the hardest work, which is probably why so few engage in it.

Henry Ford

 Some people’s minds close up & they live on their intellectual fat.

William Lyon

Critical Thinking Quotes

   We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

Albert Einstein

Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.

Unknown

The human mind once stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions.

Oliver Wendell Homes

Thinking Errors

  

Denial

 Refuse to accept reality.

Projection

 We see in others what is really happening to us.

Rationalization

 Lying to ourselves about the real reasons for our behaviors and feelings.

Thinking Errors

  

Personalization

 Thinking in which the world revolves around an individual

Polarized Thinking

 There is only black or white – no gray

Catastrophizing

 Always consider the worst possible outcome (all the time)

Thinking Errors



Selective abstraction

 Focusing on one detail of a situation and ignoring the larger picture 

Overgeneralization

 Drawing broad conclusions on the basis of a single incident.

COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING

Critical Thinking Skills Dispositions Knowledge

The Power of Knowledge

 We should have knowledge in an area to think critically about the area.

 There is no substitute for information, facts, assumptions, and data in critical thinking

Critical Thinking Dispositions

      Anticipating situations that require reasoning Confident in reasoning ability Curious Wants to know the truth Open to others point of views Aware of biases

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Interpretation

– clarifying meaning

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Analysis

– examining ideas, identifying arguments, analyzing arguments

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Evaluation

– assessing claims, assessing arguments

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Inference

– drawing conclusions

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Explanation

– stating results, justifying procedures, presenting arguments

Developing Critical Thinking Skills



Self-regulation

– self examination, self correction

Challenges/Barriers to Critical Thinking

“It’s true because I believe it” ( innate egocentrism ) “It’s true because we believe it” ( innate sociocentrism ) “It’s true because I want to believe it” ( innate wish fulfillment ) “It’s true because I have always believed it .” ( innate self validation ) “It’s true because it is in my selfish interest to believe it.” ( innate selfishness )

Thinking & Winning

• Your Mind is Your Most Important Weapon: – With a good one, other weapons are more useful, sometimes unnecessary – With a poor one, other weapons are useless to achieve victory – Exercise your brain as well as your body

Thinking & Winning

• You are only as good as your mind--it is your best weapon for survival • Knowledge is a force multiplier and the key to successful adaptation • Learn how to learn for yourself

So . . .

• You must PRACTICE good thinking skills—they don’t happen by accident • If you don’t do it, it won’t get done • If not now, when? If not here where? If not you, who?

Characteristics of Critical Thinkers:

• Strive for understanding • Are honest with themselves • Base judgment on evidence • Are interested in other people’s ideas • Control their feelings/emotions

Characteristics of Critical Thinkers:

• They keep an open mind • They are highly observant • Identify key issues and raise questions • Obtain relevant facts • Evaluate findings and form judgments

Conclusion

In thinking critically, we take command of the meanings we create.

FACILITATOR Prof. Dr. Mohammad Majid Mahmood Bagram