Critical Thinking Research Paper

Heather Collins defines successful thinking as “carefully reasoning about and actively engaging with your environment” (Collins). Successful thinking aids in building a more efficient brain and involves three processes: becoming aware of your thoughts, and express interest in what is going on in the world around you. To be a successful thinker is to think about your own thinking, go beyond the superficial surface of thinking, and thrive by continuously learning new information.

Thinking is our nature; however, it often can be biased, inaccurate, fractional, unfamiliar or prejudiced. Critical thinking is the skill of questioning and evaluating thinking with an intention of improving it. Critical thinking scholars, Linda Elder and Richard Paul, discuss eight specific foundations of thought which are considered to be the tools we need in order to analyze our own thinking. The intellectual foundations include humility, courage, empathy, autonomy, integrity, perseverance, fair-mindedness, and confidence in reason. There are three traits that I need to strengthen in my own life, which are intellectual courage, intellectual perseverance, and intellectual fair-mindedness, plus I plan to implement actions to maximize these traits.

Teaching higher order thinking skills is not a recent need. It is apparent that students, at all levels of education, are lagging in problem-solving and thinking skills. Fragmentation of thinking skills, however, may be the result of critical thinking courses and texts. Every course, especially in content subjects, students should be taught to think logically, analyze and compare, question and evaluate.

Education is one of the important factors that determine a sustainability future. What to teach is also a biggest concern for education. On one hand, educators want to teach the knowledge that is useful for the students in society today. However, some also argue that people should learn critical thinking not just teaching skill-centered knowledge. According to Diane Ravitch, believes that the new from of education called “21st century skills” which just focus on teaching the skills to prepare people for the global economy, and neglects the importance of other subjects such as literature, history and art. She suggests that these subjects help not just help students think critically, but also let them think beyond the concept and see the world widely.

According to Jainism, the soul will go from a complete dependence on the karma cycle to a state of complete dissociation from it, when all stages have been followed. Gunasthana, which is a Sanskrit word meaning level of virtue, are the fourteen stages the soul goes through to attain spiritual growth and development before attaining moksha. Gunasthana is also referred to as the purification of karma doctrine. The fourteen stages are: 1. Mithyadristi, is the stage of gross ignorance. 2. Sasadana, is the stage of the mental state of the soul. 3. Misradrsti, is the stage of when a person hovers between certainty and doubt in belief. 4. Avirata samyagdrishti, is the stage of when doubts are removed and becomes a true believer. 5. Desavitra, is the stage of partial vows in pursuit of right conduct. 6. Pramatta virata, is the stage of complete self-discipline, but

I redefined the way I saw the world; I was no longer naïve to its evils. I questioned and analyze everything, to my emotions, my actions, even the way I perceive people. It opened my eyes and the bubble in which I lived in seemed to burst. I would imagine if critical thinking was neglected, I wouldn’t necessarily be the person I am today, nor would many of the great philosophers we are learning about. Critical thinking challenges the individual to think “outside the box”, to read between the lines and find truth. Also, giving us all the opportunity to interpret and evaluate ourselves, situations, and the world we live

Select the theory type that appeals to you most. Consider a case you might encounter in social work practice for which that theory type might apply. Finally, think about why it might be the best one for that case

I was most embarrassed when I I tend to get embarrassed when I make mistakes especially publicly. But I would say failure is my biggest embarrassment, not that I get embarrassed about failing someone else. I get embarrassed when I fail myself, I don’t ever like to be second best or be less than what I think I’m worth. I’ve always strived for perfection, even though I know this isn't attainable I try to get as closely as possible to it. Failure embarrasses me because I feel like I let myself down, even though I’m not disappointing anyone else, disappointing myself is just as bad. Nobody likes to fail, even worse yet nobody likes to be embarrassed. I need to accept that I can’t do everything right all the time and try not to be embarrassed.

Critical thinking can lead to a compassionate and empathetic state that allows a person to evaluate multiple perspectives on an issue or a complex situation. Then allows that person to feel, see, and hear what the other person does, making a connection between the two. Because a critical thinker considers and evaluates a problem before addressing it, makes them more susceptible to having a connection with the predicament.

“Development in thinking requires a gradual process requiring plateaus of learning and just plain hard work. It is not possible to become an excellent thinker simply because one wills it. Changing one’s habits of thought is a long-range project, happening over years, not weeks or months. The essential traits of a critical thinker require an extended period of development” (Foundation & Thinking, 2013)

What I read from this chapter really helps me a lot. I found out my weak areas in successfully intelligent thinking. And, I learned that critical, creative, and practical thinking skills all have the same level of

According to Foundation for Critical Thinking (2009), “Critical thinking is that mode of thinking—about any subject, content, or problem—in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them” (Defining Critical Thinking, para. 9). Thinking is part of everyone’s human nature. People who can separate their thoughts, analyze them, and change the behavior to make their thoughts more ethical and fair are the best critical thinkers. Every person has unethical and prejudiced thoughts on occasion. No person can be completely critical and ethical 100% of the time. This is when weak

Critical thinking means accurate thinking in the search of appropriate and dependable knowledge about the world. Another way to describe it is sensible, insightful, responsible, and skillful thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking is not being able to process information well enough to know to stop for red lights or whether you established the right change at the supermarket.

In How Successful People Think, John C. Maxwell discusses the thought processes used by successful individuals and describes how these techniques can be learned. He outlines the 11 types of thinking and the important skills attributed to each. People succeed by: 1. Seeing the wisdom of big-picture thinking 2. Unleashing the potential of focused thinking 3. Discovering the joy of creative thinking 4. Recognizing the importance of realistic thinking 5. Releasing the power of strategic thinking 6. Feeling the energy of possibility thinking 7. Embracing the lessons of reflective thinking 8. Questioning the acceptance of popular thinking 9. Encouraging the participation of shared thinking 10. Experiencing the satisfaction of unselfish thinking 11. Enjoying the returns associated with bottom-line thinking

The first article titled “Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking”, focuses on the different strategies and ways your mind can “work to discipline itself” and challenge your thinking. Good thinking ultimately leads you to being prepared and avoiding