Critical Thinking 101

1. Critical Thinking 101

2. Critical Thinking
• Every day you encounter endless amounts of
information inside and outside of the classroom
• How do you determine what’s true/accurate/important?
• How do you decide whether or not the information is
something you will need to know?
• Are your instructors always right?
• Does the textbook tell the whole story?
Critical thinking is a learning and thinking tool that helps with the process of processing information.

3. Critical Thinking
Definition:
The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order
to form a judgment
Critical thinking is a skill that needs to be
developed

4. Critical Thinking
What this means for you:
• Questioning, analyzing and applying information to make a
decision or judgment
• Actively engaging with information to reach a deeper level
of understanding
• Moving from the lower levels of Bloom’s to the higher levels
• It is questioning the information with:
• Who?
• How?
• What if…?

5. Bloom’s Taxonomy
https://mramusicplace.net/2017/01/12/music-teaching-and-blooms-revised-taxonomy/

6. Critical Thinking and Bloom’s
Taxonomy
By utilizing critical thinking we activate higher levels of
learning and thinking rather than passively accepting:
• A problem as unsolvable
• All information as accurate, valuable, true, and relevant
• Indecisiveness as a reality

7. Critical Thinking in Action
• Start by gathering information
• What is going on, what is being said, what is the task
• Step back and look at all of the angles
• Evaluate the information presented for its relevancy and
importance
• Ask questions
• Who, what, when, where, how, what if…
• Develop a position/judgment based on the full
evaluation of the information presented
• Make an informed decision

8. Critical Thinking Skills
•Reasoning
•Evaluating
•Problem Solving
•Decision Making
•Analyzing
These skills need to be developed and
practiced