Critical thinking is important for individuals and societies. We discuss what it is and what skills are necessary to perform it.

1. Exploiting Rapid
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Developing Critical Thinking Skills I

2. The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will
pervade all its mores, because it is a way of taking
up the problems of life. Men educated in it cannot
be stampeded by stump orators ... They are slow to
believe. They can hold things as possible or
probable in all degrees, without certainty and
without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh
evidence, uninfluenced by the emphasis or
confidence with which assertions are made on one
side or the other. They can resist appeals to their
dearest prejudices and all kinds of cajolery.
Education in the critical faculty is the only education
of which it can be truly said that it makes good
citizens.
William Graham Sumner (1906)
Quote

3. Our Focus for Today
1. What critical thinking is
2. Basic critical thinking skills you need
3. Exercises to develop those skills (Daily life level)

4. Critical thinking is an expected
outcome in higher education.
However, what is critical thinking?

5. Critical Thinking Concepts

6. [Critical thinking is] . . . the examination
and test of propositions of any kind which
are offered for acceptance, in order to find
out whether they correspond to reality or
not.
Graham Sumner, W. (1906)

7. The ability to think critically, as conceived in this
volume, involves three things: ( 1 ) an attitude of being
disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems
and subjects that come within the range of one's
experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical
inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying
those methods.
Glaser, E.M. (1941)

8. Critical thinking is that mode of thinking —
about any subject, content, or problem — in
which the thinker improves the quality of his
or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of
the structures inherent in thinking and
imposing intellectual standards upon them…
Critical thinking is self-directed, self-
disciplined, self-monitored, and self-
corrective thinking.
Paul and Elder (2008)

9. Professors and
students have also
been asked about
what they
understand by
critical thinking

10. The key findings of the study were that:
1. Students and academics articulated consistent
definitions and understandings of the concept of critical
thinking, which, in turn, were consistent with extant
definitions in the literature.
2. Students appeared more concerned with the outcomes
of critical thinking; perhaps a function of their pragmatic
focus on assessment, leading us to suggest that
students’ emphasis was on product.
3. Academics appeared to place greater emphasis on
disposition and the processes of critical thinking;
perhaps a function of their focus on graduate
capabilities including lifelong learning. This led us to
suggest that academics’ emphasis was on process
Lloyd & Bahr (2010)

11. What Is Critical Thinking?
From the definitions, we can derive that there are some common
elements:
1. Two components involved:
• A set of skills to generate and process information and
beliefs
• The habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using
those skills to guide behaviour.
2. Two main goals:
• Individual: High-order thinking
• Social: Social critique

12. What Critical Thinking Is Not?
• The sole acquisition and retention of information
• The mere possession of skills
• The use of skills without acceptance of the results of that
process

13. What Critical Thinking Is?
• The search and treatment of information in a particular and
deliberate way
• The continual and intentional use of skills
• The acceptance of the results produced by the use of the skills

14. A Critical Thinker Can:
• Think about a topic or issue in such a way that all aspects of it
are considered objectively
• Identify the elements, ideas, and arguments (set of
reasons/evidence in support of a conclusion) involved in a
topic/issue
• Understand the relationships between ideas/
arguments/elements
• Evaluate arguments/ideas/points of view to determine their
strengths and weaknesses
• Establish implications of arguments/ideas/points of view
• Approach problems in a systematic way
• Create arguments using structured reasoning and valid support
• Reflect on the influence of their own assumptions, beliefs, and
values over their arguments/ideas/points of view
• Reflect upon their own process of thinking
Adapted from Critical Thinking Skills by The Skills You Need (2017).

15. Taken from: UNSW (2016). Reflective writing.
The Road to Critical Thinking

17. Basic Critical Thinking Skills
Observation Interpretation
Explanation
Analysis
Inference
Evaluation
Metacognition

18. Observation
Ability to perceive something in order to gain
information
This is an essential skill to master because a
well-focused and intended observation
provides relevant input information to begin
or reshape the process that will end by
assigning meaning, changing situations,
solving problems, etc.

19. Interpretation
Ability to understand and communicate
information
Decoding is enriched and then the improved
message is transmitted to others and/or
applied to new situations/contexts

20. Explanation
Ability to add clarity and perspective to
information so it can be fully understood by
specific people
Information is approached from different points
of view in order to provide a more
comprehensive and understandable version of it

21. Analysis
Ability to establish components of information,
connect them, and assign meaning in relation
to specific and/or general contexts
Patterns and relationships are determined

22. Inference
Ability to reach logical conclusions from
information based on evidence and reasoning
Implicit information is derived from explicit
information and related context

23. Evaluation
Ability to establish the credibility/ validity of
information based on the application of
specific criteria
Judgment is guided by evidence provided as
well as beliefs, values, and opinions

24. Metacognition
Ability to monitor your own thinking process and
adapt it to the peculiarities of the task and the
effectiveness of the actions taken
Metacognition is used to improve the thinking
process and get better results

25. Critical thinking should be the
ultimate goal of education
Thinking is skilled work. It is
not true that we are naturally
endowed with the ability to
think clearly and logically –
without learning how, or
without practicing.
Mander, A.E. (1936)
The development of
general ability for
independent thinking and
judgment should always be
placed foremost, not the
acquisition of special
knowledge.
Einstein, A. (1954)

26. Now you know what critical
thinking is, what it entails,
and its significance for
individuals and societies

27. Next step?
Reflect upon it, decide to make it part
of your personal and professional life,
and…
Practice, practice, practice,......

28. Exercises to Practice
You will find a pdf document in the DoctoralNet
discussion space with exercises for developing
each of the skills presented in this webinar using
daily life situations
You are invited to the second webinar about critical
thinking where you can share your experience
doing them. In that webinar, we will discuss how
the critical thinking skills can be developed using
research and academic situations

29. References
Einstein, A. (1954). Ideas and opinions. Modesto, CA: Bonanza Books.
Glaser, E.M. (1941). An experiment in the development of critical thinking.
New York, NY: Teacher’s College, Columbia University.
Lloyd, M. & Bahr, N. (2010). Thinking critically about critical thinking in Higher Education,
International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 4 (2), 1-16.
Mander, A.E. (1936). Clearer thinking: Logic for everyman. London, UK: Watts & Co.
Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2008). The Miniature guide to critical thinking concepts and tools. Tomales, CA:
Foundation for Critical Thinking Press. Retrieved from
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766 .
Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways. Boston, MA: Ginn and Company.
The Skills You Need (2017). Critical thinking skills. Retrieved from
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/critical-thinking.html
UNSW (2016). Reflective writing. Retrieved from https://student.unsw.edu.au/reflective-writing

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3. Webinars upcoming… All on the Main DN Group Page…
1. Developing Academic Writing Part 2 (on Monday)
2. Critical Thinking Part Two
3. How to Get Your Work Published Part 1 w Exercise
4. Critical Analysis Part One with Exercise
5. How to Get Your Work Published Part 2
6. Critical Analysis Part Two
7. Finding and Utilizing the Supports You Need in Graduate
School