Critical Thinking Knowledge Skills

1. CRITICAL THINKING
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS
BY:GERLYN NUNEZ

2. CRITICAL THINKERS IS...
•
CRITICAL THINKING IS THINKING; THINKING ABOUT ANY SUBJECT, CONTENT, OR
PROBLEM. THE "THINKER" IMPROVES THE QUALITY OF HIS OR HER THINKING
BY SKILLFULLY ANALYZING, ASSESSING, AND RECONSTRUCTING IT. CRITICAL
THINKING IS SELF-DIRECTED, SELF-DISCIPLINED, SELF-MONITORED, AND SELF-
CORRECTIVE THINKING. IT ENTAILS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND
PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES, AS WELL AS A COMMITMENT TO OVERCOME OUR
NATIVE EGOCENTRISM AND SOCIOCENTRISM.

3. CRITICAL THINKERS ARE INTELLECTUALLY
CURIOUS.
• THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT MAKE ONE A CRITICAL THINKER.
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE VERY CURIOUS. CRITICAL THINKERS LIKE TO FIND THE
RIGHT ANSWER TO ALL THEIR QUESTIONS AND ISSUES.
• BEING A GREAT CRITICAL THINKER REQUIRES ONE TO ASK THE "5 W'S," WHO,
WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW?
• CRITICAL THINKERS LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS TO SEEK THE ANSWER THAT SEEMS
A LOT MORE ACCURATE AND CORRECT BASED ON THE RESEARCH THEY HAVE
DONE.

4. CRITICAL THINKERS ARE OPEN-MINDED
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE VERY ACCEPTING OF NEW ANSWERS/IDEAS AS WELL AS
WHEN SOMEONE ELSE CONTRADICTS THEIR OPINION AS TO WHAT THEY THINK MAY
BE THE RIGHT ANSWER.
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE OPEN TO ACCEPTING THAT THEIR BELIEFS MAY NOT
ALWAYS BE CORRECT AND MAY BE PUT UP FOR A CHALLENGE.
• OPEN-MINDED CRITICAL THINKERS ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT DIFFERENT BELIEFS AND
OPINIONS FROM OTHERS AS LONG AS IT IS ALL VALID TO WHAT THEY ARE TRYING
TO REACH A CONCLUSION FOR.
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE VERY FLEXIBLE, CAN ADMIT WHEN THEY ARE WRONG, THEY
ARE PATIENT, THEY AVOID DOGMATIC ATTITUDE.

5. CRITICAL THINKERS AVOID "RED HERRINGS"
• RED HERRINGS IS KNOWN AS IRRELEVANT INFORMATION OR IRRELEVANCIES.
SOMETHING THAT MISLEADS OR DISTRACTS FROM A RELEVANT OR IMPORTANT
ISSUE.
• CRITICAL THINKERS TEND TO AVOID "RED HERRINGS" THEY DO NOT LIKE GOING
AFTER THIS AT ALL.
• CRITICAL THINKERS LIKE TO AVOID THIS BECAUSE MAYBE IT IS EITHER A
LOGICAL FALLACY OR LITERARY DEVICE THAT LEADS READERS OR AUDIENCES
TOWARDS A FALSE CONCLUSION.
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH THEIR REASONING TO GET
TO THE BOTTOM OF THEIR CONCLUSION AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE.

6. CRITICAL THINKERS KNOW HOW TO USE
ANECDOTES EFFECTIVELY
• WE ALL LOVE TO HEAR STORIES OR PEOPLE'S OPINIONS WHEN IT COMES TO
SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT. WHEN ONE IS A CRITICAL
THINKER USING ANECDOTES EFFECTIVELY IS VERY IMPORTANT IT IS A LOT EASIER TO
USE ANECDOTES TO HELP YOU COME TO A CONCLUSION IF ONE IS REFERRING TO A
SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE.
• WHEN IT COMES TO A SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE THE BEST ENDORSEMENT YOU CAN
GET FOR EXAMPLE, IF A RESTAURANT IS NICE OR A MOVIE IS GOOD IS THROUGH
SOMEONE YOU KNOW AND TRUST (WORD OF MOUTH).
• CRITICAL THINKERS MAY HEAR MANY STORIES BUT THAT DOESN’T ESTABLISH
VALIDITY STRONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO MAKE A DECISION. A CRITICAL THINKER
MUST CONISDER ALL OF THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE.

7. CRITICAL THINKERS LEARN TO HANDLE
CONFUSION
• PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE CONFUSION WHAT SO EVER. WE ALL TRY TO AVOID IT AND
SOMETIMES PRETEND TO IGNORE IT AS IF IT'S REALLY NOT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
IN THE MIDST OF ALL THAT WE AVOID CONFUSION AND MAKE QUICK DECISIONS
BASED ON LITTLE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN GATHERED OR ALL THE
STEREOTYPES THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED.
• CRITICAL THINKERS ARE NOT LAZY EVEN IF SOMETHING MAY SEEM TOUGH FOR
THEM TO SEEK STRONG VALIDITY TO CREATE A CONCLUSION THEY DO NOT LET
CONFUSION AFFECT THEM IN ANY WAY. THEY AVOID IT TO THE BEST OF THEIR
ABILITY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO COME TO THE BOTTOM OF IT

8. CRITICAL THINKERS ARE ABLE TO CONTROL
EMOTION
• EMOTIONS ARE A PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE; IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO YOU ARE
OR YOUR PROFESSION. IT’S HOW YOU CONTROL AND REGULATE THESE
EMOTIONS THAT DETERMINE YOUR SUCCESS IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION.
• WHEN A CRITICAL THINKER CANNOT CONTROL THEIR EMOTIONS IT MAKES IT
EXTREMELY HARD FOR THEM TO FOCUS.
• A CRITICAL THINKER MUST NOT ALLOW FRUSTRATION, ANGER, FEAR,
MISLEADING, OR UNFOCUSNESS BECOME AN ISSUE.

9. CRITICAL THINKERS ARE SENSITIVE TO THE
NEEDS OF OTHERS
• CRITICAL THINKERS MUST ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR
TARGET AUDIENCE.
• CRITICAL THINKERS NEED TO USE PERSUASION TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY IN
ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE.
• THE NEEDS OF YOUR AUDIENCE IS ALL THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE
YOU WANT THEM TO BECOME OPEN OR ADHERENT

10. CRITICAL THINKERS KNOW WHEN TO ADMIT
TO NOT KNOWING SOMETHING
• BECOMING A GREAT CRITICAL THINKER IS BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT
LEARNING COMES FROM ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED, NOT FROM
THINKING YOU KNOW ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS.
• WHEN A PERSON IS ABLE TO ADMIT THAT THEY REALLY DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER
THAT’S WHEN ONE ASKS QUESTIONS IN ORDER TO GAIN SOME KNOWLEDGE AND
ENABLE US TO LEARN.
• BEING ABLE TO ADMIT THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING HELPS YOU
UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE WILL BE DISCOVERED OR HAVE THE
RIGHT ANSWER AWAITING.
• IF SOMEONE IS ALWAYS TRYING TO PRETEND THEY KNOW THE ANSWER THEN THEY
ARE KEEPING THEMSELVES FROM FULLY LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT
THEY DON’T KNOW.

11. CRITICAL THINKERS SEEK A "DIALOGICAL"
APPROACH TO THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENT.
• AS MENTIONED IN OUR TEXTBOOK, PG 66; "THE ABILITY TO THINK
DIALOGICALLY WOULD INCLUDE THE ABILITIES TO: ANALYZE, SYNTHESIZE,
COMPARE AND CONTRAST, EXPLAIN, EVALUATE, JUSTIFY, RECOGNIZE VALID
AND INVALID CONCLUSIONS, IDENTIFY OR ANTICIPATE OR POSE PROBLEMS,
LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES, APPLY LOGICAL PRINCIPLES, AND SOLVE
CONVENTIONAL OR NOVEL PROBLEMS."
• TO BECOME A GREAT CRITICAL THINKER YOU NEED TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE
BOX AND OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. MAKING CRITICAL DECISIONS
REQUIRES ONE TO BE INTELLIGENT. YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PROCESS AND SEEK
INFORMATION THOROUGHLY AND EFFECTIVELY.