Critical Thinking Skills

In my own point of view of what I think critical thinking means is a guide to make a logical decision based on a number of variables such as factual evidence and credible resources that can create valid statements behind the action of thought process including being open-mindedness and demonstrating the differences of valid evidence and assuming to make and communicate their point of view to be understood by the others in a conversation.

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. (Critical thinking community, n.d.)

Critical thinking is one of the most important traits that a person can have in their day to day lives. It involves the person to have the ability to ascertain claims and make judgments based on well-support evidence or logic rather than anecdote or emotion. There are 8 protocols that critical thinkers’ exhibit in their day to day lives in order to become better at their craft.

Critical thinking is described as unbiased, clear and factual thought process that helps any student with any decision-making process. Critical thinking is an essential tool that every student will need to master to continue academic success. There are multiple phases of critical thinking as described by Benjamin Bloom which include remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. The critical thinking process starts by remembering. If we can remember what we read and apply key facts we will be able to move forward to understand what decisions we need to make. From there we can then apply the facts to the decision we have to make and innovate, or create, as needed.

Simpson and Courtney (2002) state "an important step in problem solving and decision-making is the need to utilize critical-thinking abilities to reframe a problem or situation." Critical thinking involves questioning all the features of a situation and analyzing solutions.

The concepts and principles of critical thinking can be applied to any context or case but only by reflecting upon the nature of that application. Critical thinking forms, therefore, a system of related, and overlapping, modes of thought such as anthropological thinking, sociological thinking, historical thinking, political thinking, psychological thinking, philosophical thinking, mathematical thinking, chemical thinking, biological thinking, ecological thinking, legal thinking, ethical thinking, musical thinking, thinking like a painter, sculptor, engineer, business person, etc. In other words, though critical thinking principles are universal, their application to disciplines requires a process of reflective contextualization.

Critical thinking was defined as a reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what actions to make by Ruth R. Robert. Evaluation standards to determine the true worth or value of a statement is very important in critical thinking. If a statement is not valued, it can easily be

Critical thinking is a process in which a person actively participates, and with skill comes to conclusions that are based on what a person has seen, experienced, and what one may believe.

Critical thinking is the process that you use in order to apply a memorized concept or term to a situation. The ability to think critically is necessary for college students preparing for the work force because they will have to be able to develop new ideas for their area because many fields are moving so quickly, they constantly need to be making progress. This skill is developed by changing the way you learn information and how you practice and use it.

Critical thinking requires gathering facts, using reason and extrapolating data from known facts to creatively determine solutions to resolve arguments or solve issues.

Critical thinking is all about asking questions that help you access meaning or significant of claims and arguments. Building these skills and applying them in your life makes it easy for you to assess evidence, evaluate arguments and adopt your thinking. Consequently, you will stay switched on and engage in different situations. Critical thinking evolves stepping back from the situation to make you see all the angles before making judgments or taking decisions.

Have you ever wondered what drives the thinking and decision making process? Critical thinking is an intellectually disciplined six step process that allows a person to think more rationally by gathering and using evidence. Being able to think critically helps a person from making blind decisions and also allows them to recognize and see through nonsense. Critical thinking is useful in everything including reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It gives people the power to question everything they see, hear, and read. The six steps in critical thinking are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Remembering is the lowest step of the process. It involves recognizing or recalling things that occurred in the past. The

By practising critical thinking, you have the ability to solve problems through creative and thoughtful analysis and then have the confidence in your own judgement to make independent important decisions regarding these outcomes.

The concepts of critical thinking and creative thinking are both gaining increasing importance in the world today. Critical thinking allows people to understand difficult concepts in a manner that is clearer and more defined. They can more readily understand those concepts if they employ critical thinking. In all portions of everyday life, a person is expected to make independent judgments. Those judgments are based on experience and knowledge. Without the ability to think critically, every situation that a person comes across would have to be considered in isolation from all other situations. When a person encounters a problem that is a new one, he or she may be able to use critical thinking to solve those problems.

Critical thinking skills begin to develop early in life and depending on the influences of those closest to us determines as to whether there good or bad. Since these skills develop over a lengthy period of time lets define critical thinking. Per, Paul and Elder critical thinking is defined as "the art of thinking about thinking while thinking to make thinking better" (Paul&Elder,2012, p.xix). Unfortunately, most people are influenced early and throughout their lives more by those with negative thinking habits. So it is imperative that as of today individual's must learn to approach each situation or circumstance in life with an open mind and a willingness to listen to the different points of view or opinion of others, documentation