This document discusses the process of critical thinking. It defines critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information. The document outlines some key characteristics of critical thinking, including rationality, self-awareness, honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and judgment. It also discusses how critical thinking skills can be developed through consistently applying intellectual standards and becoming more inquisitive, well-informed, and open to reconsidering one's viewpoints.

1. 2-2
Week 2 Assignment
The Process of Critical Thinking
OverfamiliaritSecondy with an idea can lead you to accept the
information as true without questioning it. Have you ever
spilled salt and then had to throw a pinch of it over your left
shoulder? Are you afraid that whistling in the dark will cause
bad things to happen? Have you ever wondered where
superstitious behaviors originated and why they are present
today? When you begin to ask why, you have started the
critical-thinking process.
To extend that mode of thinking beyond the exploration of
superstitions, critical thinking as part of scholarly work allows
you to separate “truth” from existing opinions and biases. In the
following Assignment, you will examine the process of critical
thinking by identifying your beliefs, your factual knowledge,
and how you can separate the two.
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Review the reading in this week’s Learning Resources.
The Assignment (1-page):
Write a short paragraph that would be considered an opinion.
Write a second paragraph that would be considered a fact.
Explain the differences between the two paragraphs. Explain
how a reader would know if one statement is opinion and the
other factual. Provide support in the research literature for the
factual statement.

2. Critical reading and critical thinking are intertwined; one
cannot quite do one without the other. Kurland (2000) noted
that critical reading is about discovering information whereas
critical thinking is about evaluating it. Various authors have
offered different definitions of the critical-thinking process.
Among the most useful definitions is the one provided by
Scriven and Paul, who defined it as:
the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or generated by,
observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary
form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend
subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision,
consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth,
breadth, and fairness. (1987, para. 1)
Another useful definition was provided by Elder (as cited in
Critical Thinking Community, 2013), who defined it as “self-
directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective
thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and
mindful command of their use. It entails effective
communication and problem-solving abilities and a commitment
to overcoming our native egocentrism and sociocentrism” (para.
4). Because graduate students are moving beyond being simply
consumers of knowledge to learning how to make meaningful
contributions to that knowledge, it is particularly important that
they cultivate strong critical-thinking skills.
Like critical reading, critical thinking is an active process, and
with practice one can develop the skills needed to do it more
effectively. According to Kurland (2000), there are six key
characteristics of critical thinking: rationality, self-awareness,

3. honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and judgment.
Rationality has to do with exercising good judgment based on
logic, self-awareness with knowing one’s individuality, biases,
and so forth; honesty has to do with integrity and being able to
be truthful about one’s biases; open-mindedness is about being
able to appreciate differing viewpoints; discipline is about
being self-controlled and being objective; and judgment is about
being able to form an opinion about something based on the
information presented. Each of these characteristics can be
developed. According to the Critical Thinking Community
(2013), critical thinking occurs when certain standards of
intellectual life are applied to “the elements of reasoning.” For
instance, one might apply the standard of clarity to the element
of purpose, the standard of significance to concepts, logicalness
to points of view, accuracy to information, and so forth.
By consistently applying these standards, a reader is able to
develop some of the most important characteristics of a critical
thinker, which include intellectual honesty, integrity, and a
sense of fair-mindedness. According to Facione (1990), a
critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well informed, trustful
of reason, open minded, flexible, fair minded in evaluation,
honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments,
© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 1 of 3
willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex
matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in
the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in
seeking results that are as precise as the subject and the
circumstances of inquiry permit.
Although developing the various characteristics of a critical
thinker can appear overwhelming and unattainable, the skills
can be learned, and even those with strong critical thinking
skills can yet improve. Some of the benefits of critical thinking

4. include the enhanced ability in self-reflection, the promotion of
creativity, better expression of ideas, and the cultivation of
flexible intellectual skills that one can apply to different areas
of life.