critical thinking definition

critical thinking definition

The Importance of Critical Thinking

1. Introduction

“Critical thinking is the ability to think about one’s thinking in such a way as to recognize its strengths and weaknesses and, as a result, to recast the thinking in improved form (Center for Critical Thinking, 1996-2009). Critical thinking is a purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or what to do in response to observations, experience, verbal or written expressions, or arguments.” – from Michael Scriven & Richard Paul. Critical thinking is developing an active and ongoing reasonable analysis of what to believe and what to do, based on factual evidence combined with open-mindedness, soundness in judgment, and an understanding of the complexity of the situation and self-interest. Critical thinking is a learned practice that, when applied correctly, can yield greater success and happiness to those who utilize it. This essay will define what critical thinking is and address why it is of primary importance in the foreign language classroom.
The importance of critical thinking can be seen in that it is significant to every aspect of life. To arm oneself with the mental skill of critical thinking is never to be unarmed. It is not a defensive tool merely for those whose positions are weak. Rather, it is an offensive weapon for those seeking to establish what is true or a reasonable course of action in any given situation. This is important to students in that truth and reason are primary objectives in any discipline. Critical thinking provides the tools for this task.

2. Understanding Critical Thinking

One of the first things that must be done to incorporate critical thinking is to teach critical thinking. A meta-analysis performed by Abrami, Bernard, Borokhovski, Wade, Surkes, Tamim, and Zhang (2008) showed that explicit instruction in critical thinking enhanced students’ critical thinking skills. An introduction of these instruction methods into the classroom is a realistic starting point for the inclusion of the ideals of critical thinking in any curricula. This can be done simply through asking more complex questions in class. Once students are introduced to using critical thinking in a questioning format, the answers will pick up the method. In relation to a study performed by Kuhn (1999), a teacher who stated a question, and allowed a one-minute wait period, and then restated the question got an exponentially larger amount of correct responses to the question. This simple change in question format caused an increased use of reasoning in the responding students.

Critical thinking involves the use of a group of interconnected skills to analyze, creatively integrate, and evaluate what you read and hear so as to make the most informed decisions and believe what to do. In learning how to analyze the logical structure of texts, critical thinking also improves comprehension abilities. An important element of critical thinking is the use of evidence to make informed decisions; evidence-based decision making is an essential tool in problem solving. With critical thinking being important in all processes of problem solving, decision making, and reasoning, it is an idealized way to live. In this essay that is directed toward educators, I will argue for the inclusion of critical thinking skills in the curricula for secondary education.

3. Benefits of Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Thinking critically is one thing, but being able to teach it to an individual is much harder to do. To teach critical thinking, said John Montias, a professor at Yale University, one must be both an expert and aware of one’s own assumptions about the world. Teaching critical thinking also requires knowledge of cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and of the scientific method. These higher order thinking processes are not second nature, they must be taught and practiced. If they are to become second nature, a student must do more than simply learn about them; they must identify and use them. The first step in teaching critical thinking is to help students recognize how easily things are taken for granted, Montias notes. This requires that the logic and reasoning behind teachers’ decisions be made explicit. Studies by Mieke Brekelmans, Paul S. Welter, and Luwel of Limburg Catholic University found that teachers who underwent training aimed at helping them make their information processing strategies explicit improved the information processing skills of their students. This suggests that students learn how to think at a higher level by being taught by a high-level thinker. Making explicit the thinking processes used by experts in their field is no easy task. Doing so often reveals mistaken assumptions and involves explaining complex interrelationships between concepts. But the benefits of developing thinkers who are aware when they are taking things for granted and who can identify the reasoning process behind many decisions are well worth the effort spent.

4. Strategies for Enhancing Critical Thinking

The bulk of this project has been on the method and tools for problem solving. We have detailed the methods of deduction and induction, the methods of hypothesis testing and probability theory, and the construction of a decision-making tool. This is an area where it cannot be taught with the hope that the reader will learn and understand. It must be practiced on a regular basis. A medical student must aim to diagnose diseases, weighing up the symptoms as evidence and the disease that is most likely given experience. An architect must foresee the faults of his designs before they are constructed so that he may remove them. The cause and effect tool is particularly important at all levels in understanding the consequences of one’s actions. Too often we see people trying to fix problems which have transpired by taking alternative actions when they do not understand what has caused the problem in the first place. Working backwards and forwards is also important. Often we have an endpoint goal and we must plan a way to achieve it. Other times we have a problem and we need to know the consequences that will follow or the reasons why it has happened.

Strategies for enhancing critical thinking are the second main part of the book. Here we are dealing with practical implications for the development of thinking and the resolution of problems. We begin this part of the book with a definition of what it is to be a skillful problem solver. This is because the definition will not only influence our practice but also act as a means of selecting which tools to use when. Following this, we have a long, though incomplete, list of abilities that a skillful problem solver will have. It is worth noting that the list is incomplete because it is not only difficult to generate such a list but it is also difficult to teach these as they must be adjusted for the problem in hand.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, critical thinking is a concept of perceiving content on a deeper level. It is the ability to analyze information and make appropriate decisions based on that information. Critical thinking can allow an individual to consume a problematic task and break it down to find a solution. This can be done quite efficiently because of one’s ability to think critically. There are many benefits to critical thinking. Employers are looking for individuals who can problem solve. This is an essential skill in today’s world. Education itself can benefit from critical thinking. Teachers can use it as a means to effectively teach students by having them question and analyze information. Critical thinking promotes tolerance. It can teach one to have an open mind about different interpretations of data. Even with all of the above benefits, many individuals do not value critical thinking. Truth be known, critical thinking can be a very difficult factor to implement. It requires effort and practice, but once mastered, critical thinking will lead to a clear and precise understanding of the world around you.