Critical Self-Reflection Essay In 1990, the American Philosophical Association defined critical thinking as “purposeful, self-regulatory process that results in reasoned judgment”. Critical thinking can be defined in a number of similar phrases that all seem to focus on the importance of conscious analysis. Our text starts off with the working phases of critical thinking as analyzing thinking, evaluating thinking, and improving thinking. The process of critical thought is cyclical and not linear. Being a “fair-minded critical thinker” is not a permanent attribute, and it must be consistently worked at as applying intellectual standards and elements of reasoning instead of emotion can be difficult. Overall, to be a strong critical thinker you must work toward strong intellectual traits such humility, courage, and integrity to better represent issues and or arguments.
Critical Thinking on a Personal Level Watching the YouTube clip “Dr. Carol Dweck on Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets” helped me to realize some of my personal shortcomings in critical thinking, including that I was certainly brought up to believe there are just some things that you are good at and some things that you are not good at. Dr. Carol Dweck says that talents and abilities can be cultivated through effort and instruction, which can speak directly to
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I would largely benefit from expanding my use of critical thinking in many areas of life from reading news articles to commenting on family members’ Facebook posts. In reading the news I may infer that if a certain new outlet (i.e. Fox or MSNBC) reported something it is untrue. If I am at a retail store and I see someone upset at a register, speaking with a cashier, I will often time infer that the customer has claimed something unreasonable. When certain family members post about politics, I will often infer/assume that what they are saying opposite of my own
Your mind a powerful thing. The stories you tell yourself and the things you believe about yourself can either prevent change from happening or allow new skills to blossom. Recently, I've been learning more about the link between our beliefs and our behaviors. Dweck is well known for her work on “ the fixed mindset vs the growth mindset”. She describes the difference between these two ideas and how they impact your performance.
The intellectual virtues which are needed for the development of fair-minded critical thinking skills include being humble, courageous, empathetic, honest, perseverant, confident in reason, and autonomous (Elder & Paul, 2012, p.21). Critical thinking allows one to make rational decisions without being impulsive, which ultimately leads to bad decisions. Critical thinking also helps to ensure the decisions which are made demonstrate positive decision-making behaviors (Elder & Paul, 2012). Furthermore, critical thinking skills enable one to utilize disciplined thinking strategies to analyze all possible outcomes before arriving to the final conclusion.
As Paul and Elder point out, critical thinking is self-guided and self-disciplined thinking that assists us in reasoning in a fairminded way (FOCT, 2017). It allows us as humans to live a conscious and consistent life where rationality, reasonability and empathy and present when faced with problems. While I am actively learning how to become a better critical thinker, I have learned that the first step to successfully think critically, I needed to diminish my power to think egocentric. In my professional life, I find myself evaluating situations with more clarity and looking more closely for factual content in order to base my decisions with more
Mindset is a set of attitudes held by someone and the way people think and believe in. In addition to this, there’s a ‘fixed mindset’ where it creates an urgency to prove to ourselves over and over an idea that we have set in our mind. The essay “Excerpt from Self-theories” was written by Carol Dweck. This essay was written to inform the reader the difference from a fixed mindset, a growth mindset, and how one copes with failure. I feel that I was able to connect and relate to Dweck’s essay. Not only was I able to relate to Dweck’s essay, but I also agree with her main facts and points that she mentions in her article. Therefore, I agree with Dweck’s methods and how a fixed mindset limits one’s ability to learn.
Carol also focused on the growth mindset. She stated that students with the growth mindset believe that their abilities cab be developed through out. Students with growth mindset’s major goal is to learn about the things they haven’t learn. In order to do learn the things they want to know, they are willing to do anything for it. Carol provided some facts and statistics about the rule of the growth mindset. She wrote that the first step is to take on some challenges. Students on the growth mindset do not want to waste their time looking on tasks that offer them nothing else. They forceful want tasks that stretch their abilities and teach them new
In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2008), Dweck states that beliefs about intelligence and ability differ significantly. She asserts that the two mindsets are self-beliefs or views that individuals hold about their potential. On one end of the continuum is the “fixed mindset” where individuals believe that success is innate- you are born with certain abilities and intelligence does not change. On the other end of the continuum is the “growth mindset” where individuals believe that success is built on continual learning and intelligence can change with effort and determination (Popova, 2014). It is this research that has brought Carol Dweck to the forefront of modern-day developmental and social psychology.
They’re many ways to improve our critical thinking while watching this video I learned five important tips on how to improve my critical thinking. Number one is formulate your question which means know what you’re looking for and decide if it suits your needs. Number two is gather your information so you can have a clear idea of your question. Number Three is apply the information, something you do by asking critical questions. Number four is considering the implications, which means think about the long term effect on your decision. Finally, number five which is explore other points of view ask your yourself what others think and what they question and others values and to help you make more inform
Critical thinking is a vital task that must be done in our everyday lives. In “Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking” found at criticalthinking.org, Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul explain critical thinking as “the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances”. Even tough there are many different types of methods to achieve a better quality of critical thinking, Dr. Elder and Dr. Paul discuss four specific ones in the article. All strategies, however, force you to put yourself in an uncomfortable and difficult position to develop a better quality of thinking.
There are two mindsets in this world. A person has the ability to determine which mindset he uses. The first one, growth mindset, is the perception that talent and intelligence can develop with effort. The other, fixed mindset, is having a set level of talent and intelligence. The person who chooses to practice a growth mindset, in my opinion, will be the most successful out of the two.
The fixed mindset limits a person to grow to the fullest potential. In the face of challenge, the tendency of a fixed mindset is avoidance rather than risk failure; when meeting an obstacle the response is to give up; effort is seen as useless as this does not change anything. Advocates of the fixed mindset believes that intelligence is measurable as shown in standardized tests given for students and employment applicants. The text fixes abilities and potential at a certain percentage score.
In my Critical Thinking class I learned of many ways to think and view the world. This course gave me a better understanding of my mind as well as the minds of my peers. I have developed plenty abilities in critical thinking but only three are important. They are the abilities to think critically, the ability to see from more than one perception, and the ability to think for myself.
Over many years, theorists have implemented new ideas in order to improve teaching and learning qualities. This research paper will explore the positives and limitations of two current ideas being explored within schools today. The first theory being examined is Carol Dweck’s theory of mindset. The theory of mindset is the mind frame that one should have when thinking about their own capabilities, Dweck (n.d). Dweck believes that the ideal frame of mind is the Growth mindset. The theory behind the Growth mindset is the individual believes they are able to work hard to improve their potential abilities. However, in a fixed mindset the belief is there is no possible way to improve abilities and the personalised
People with growth mindsets are always opened to learning more to improve themselves. According to Brainology, “intelligence is something gained through effort and education.” The quote shows how intelligence is not something you are born with but it's something you must put effort into. I identify with a growth mindset because throughout high school I worked hard and put a lot of effort into gaining intelligence . If I didn’t understand a subject I
Brookfield, S. ( 1987). Developing critical thinkers. Challenging adults to exploring alternative ways of thinking and acting, Milton Keynes: Open University press: 3-14, 143-157.
What is critical thinking to you? To some it may mean making wiser choices, taking time to critically analyze a situation, or to just put greater thought in your everyday life. According to Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Pauls’ article, “Becoming a Critic Of Your Thinking”, critical thinking is defined as the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. To us, critical thinking is a very important aspect of life and something we can all improve on. It allows us to think outside the box and put ourselves in others shoes and really look at things differently. We made sure to think about our own thinking habits while discussing these articles and to notice if we were ever being close-minded.