Steps Of Critical Thinking : Identification, Decision Making, Evaluation, And Reflection

Critical thinking has an important role in learning and development because if properly executed it allows me to see the entire situation instead of the individual task. I plan to take the necessary actions to determine the task with open eyes and an unbiased approach. Remembering the facts about the situation can help in resolving the issue. Understanding by reiterating the problem can help me further comprehend. Applying then analyzing the tasks and or situations so I can prepare the steps to come to the evaluation. I can see if the resources are accurate and thorough. The last thing I should be able to do to assure my critical thinking skills are complete is a form of creating. I take all the information of this situation, and use it in my final resolution. These steps are crucial in the ability to think clearly and not be clouded by biased information.

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.

Start taking active steps to take control of my thinking, commit to developing my abilities, be willing to discover my own prejudices and misconceptions

Critical thinking is something I don’t do very often, sometimes I just judge from looking or listening to what I see or hear but this is something I will learn with time. To learn critical thinking I will follow the steps that are required because critical thinking is something we have to learn because we are not born critical thinking. One is identifying what we are talking about. Then we have to gather information about the theme that we are talking about. The next step is to look for evidence and consider alternatives or other people points of view. Sometimes we do not want to accept what other peoples opinion is about something and that is wrong because we might learn from them. Finally we choose the best possible alternative after we have gone thru all this. Using critical thinking will allow you to make better decisions not only in the work place but also in our day to day lives. Maybe one day you will have to make a life changing decision in your job.

Many times, time and perseverance is the key to the best result possible. But like Gary Collins said “We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision. Therefore, decision making is in us relentlessly whether we want it or not.

In any decision we make in society today we highly analyze and reflect on the judgement we are going to make. “That is, judgement that is both purposeful and reflective” (Think Critically p. 2). Our mind is capable of withstanding evidence, conceptualizations, methods and contexts all at one time. The ability of doing so is called “Critical Thinking.” We all do this but not all of us are aware. Sometimes we fail to think long enough and end up making mistakes or bad decisions but if we are patient with ourselves and analyze every situation fully, “Think Critically” in the end, it can cause us to have positive results with our judgement we have decided upon.

1. In a college paper the audience is almost always the professor. Knowing this the author would keep his paper very formal by using proper grammar, and appropriate word choice.and would make sure to add literary devices that the professor looks for. For example, if the professor enjoys imagery, then the student would try to fill his/her paper with that literary device. In certain situations the student may have to read their writing in front of the class. When the audience involves the classroom, one should try to structure his/her paper in a way that would not generalize broad topics, because a classroom scene isn't whole there are many cultural backgrounds to take in consideration. A way to avoid generalization is to not give a single perspective on vast topics. For example, if one is talking about Trump, they should write about a liberal's perspective, as well as a conservative's perspective.

The main concepts presented in the article are the varying definitions of each author on the concept of critical thinking. The information the author uses are definitions which are the opinions of varied authors and are similar in foundation in that to apply critical thinking one must be able to identify a problem, pose a question(s), provide valid supporting evidence, and come to a conclusion. Although the author’s definitions do not identify a problem, questions, evidence, or conclusions, the relationship Petress (2004) shows is that the reader must apply this process themselves as it is not always given. The information used does appear to be relevant, significant, and valid. The references the author listed does provide enough information for me to come to this conclusion. Since this work is a literature review and not a case study, numerical data are not necessary to determine validity of the information.

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.

Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H., & Wallace, J. (2002). Critical Thinking. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Publishing. Retrieved August 25, 2004 from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/350–Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making Web site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

The process of critical thinking requires you to ask more questions of both others and of yourself before a decision or determination is made. In order to successfully evaluate data in a critical manner, you must have a system in place to assess information as it is presented. In any situation whether you are having a conversation, observing others, or material you have read, you must be ready to probe deeper and ask the right question at the right time.

What is Critical Thinking? Is the process of conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and /or evaluating information gathered by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Scriven & Paul, n.d.). When one applies critical thinking more ideas are develop, fewer mistakes are made and better decisions are reached. When people instead of using critical thinking act on beliefs or without giving it a second thought, the end results are poor decisions and as a result have a disaster at hand. People don’t always use critical thinking, it is not uncommon to hear someone say such remarks after making the wrong decisions; “I just was not thinking”, “I did not think it was a big deal”,

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.

In the book, “Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Ninth Edition), by M. Neil Brown and Stuart M. Keeley”, the authors examine the benefits of critical thinking as it relates to the process of asking the right kinds of questions. What are the right kinds of questions? These authors maintain that critical thinking is a method used to improve the way we think by asking the questions that would enable you to reach a personal decision that would eventually give credit to both sides of the discussion. Critical thinking is in essence the analysis, synthesis and evaluation of one’s experience, as it relates to the worth of the discussion at hand. The authors define

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.