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Sixteen training modules
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Learn the process of examining, analyzing, questioning, and challenging situations, issues, and information of all kinds. |
Why is critical thinking important, who can (and should) learn to think critically, how do you help people learn to think critically.
Suppose an elected official makes a speech in which he says, "The government doesn't need to be involved in cleaning up pollution from manufacturing. Business can take care of this more efficiently." What's your reaction?
There are a lot of questions you can be asking here, some of which you may already know the answers to. First, what are the assumptions behind this person's statement? How does he view the job of government, for instance? What's his attitude toward business? Does he believe pollution is a real threat to the environment?
Next, you might want to consider the official's biases. What party does this politician belong to, and what's that party's position on pollution regulation? What state is he from -- one with a lot of industry that contributes to acid rain and other pollution? What's his voting record on environmental issues? Is he receiving contributions from major polluters? Does he live in a place that's seriously affected by pollution? What does he know about the science involved? (What do you know about the science involved?) Does he have any knowledge or expertise in this area at all?
Finally, you might want answers to some questions about the context of the statement. What's the record of private industry over the last 10 years in cleaning up its own pollution without government intervention, for instance? What does pollution look like now, as compared to before the government regulated it? For that matter, when did government regulation start? What effect did it have? Perhaps even more important, who will benefit if these ideas are accepted? Who will lose? What will the result be if things are changed in the direction this politician suggests? Are those results good for the country?
If you ask the kinds of questions suggested here when you see new information, or consider a situation or a problem or an issue, you're using critical thinking. Critical thinking is tremendously important in health, human service, and community work because it allows you to understand the actual issues involved, and to come up with an approach that is likely to address them effectively.
There are many definitions of critical thinking. Some see it as a particular way of handling information. Others look at it as a specific set of skills and abilities. People interested in political and social change see it as challenging and providing alternatives to the generally accepted beliefs and values of the power structure. They're all right to an extent: critical thinking is all of these things, and more.
Critical thinking is the process of examining, analyzing, questioning, and challenging situations, issues, and information of all kinds. We use it when we raise questions about:
Critical thinking is an important tool in solving community problems and in developing interventions or initiatives in health, human services, and community development.
There are a number of ways to look at the process of critical thinking. Brookfield presents several, with this one being perhaps the simplest.
Reflection leads you to the consideration of another problem or goal, and the cycle begins again.
Critical thinking involves being thrown into the questioning mode by an event or idea that conflicts with your understanding of the world and makes you uncomfortable. If you allow yourself to respond to the discomfort -- that's partially an issue of personal development -- you'll try to figure out where it comes from, and to come up with other ways to understand the situation. Ultimately, if you persist, you'll have a new perspective on the event itself, and will have broken through to a more critical understanding.
The word "critical" here means approaching everything as if you were a critic -- questioning it, analyzing it, putting it in context, looking at its origins. The aim is to understand it on its deepest level. "Everything" includes yourself: thinking critically includes identifying, admitting, and examining your own assumptions and prejudices, and understanding how they change your reactions to and your interpretation of information. It also means being willing to change your ideas and conclusions -- and actions -- if an objective view shows that they're wrong or ineffective. This last point is important. In health, human service, and community work, the main goal of thinking critically is almost always to settle on an action that will have some desired effect. Critical examination of the situation and the available information could lead to anything from further study to organizing a strike, but it should lead to something. Once you've applied critical thinking to an issue, so that you understand what's likely to work, you have to take action to change the situation.
Without thinking critically, you're only looking at the surface of things. When you come across a politician's statement in the media, do you accept it at face value? Do you accept some people's statements and not others'? The chances are you exercise at least some judgment, based on what you know about the particular person, and whether you generally agree with her or not.
Knowing whether or not you agree with someone is not necessarily the same as critical thinking, however. Your reaction may be based on emotion ("I hate that guy!"), or on the fact that this elected official supports programs that are in your interest, even though they may not be in the best interests of everyone else. What's important about critical thinking is that it helps you to sort out what's accurate and what's not, and to give you a solid, factual base for solving problems or addressing issues.
Specific reasons for the importance of critical thinking:
A bias is not necessarily bad: it is simply a preferred way of looking at things. You can be racially biased, but you can also be biased toward looking at all humans as one family. You can be biased toward a liberal or conservative political point of view, or toward or against tolerance. Regardless of whether most of us would consider a particular bias good or bad, not seeing it can limit how we resolve a problem or issue.
It's just about impossible to eliminate emotions, or to divorce them from your own deeply-held assumptions and beliefs. You can, however, try to understand that they're present, and to analyze your own emotional reactions and those of others in the situation. There are different kinds of emotional reactions. If all the evidence points to something being true, your emotional reaction that it's not true isn't helpful, no matter how badly you want to believe it. On the other hand, if a proposed solution involves harming a particular group of people "for the good of the majority", an emotional reaction that says "we can't let this happen" may be necessary to change the situation so that its benefits can be realized without harm to anyone. Emotions that allow you to deny reality generally produce undesirable results; emotions that encourage you to explore alternatives based on principles of fairness and justice can produce very desirable results.
During the mid-90's debate in the United States over welfare reform, much fuss was made over the amount of federal money spent on welfare. Few people realized, however, that the whole entitlement program accounted for less than 2% of the annual federal budget. During the height of the debate, Americans surveyed estimated the amount of their taxes going to welfare at as much as 60%. Had they examined the general assumptions they were using, they might have thought differently about the issue.
In more general terms, the real value of critical thinking is that it's been at the root of all human progress. The first ancestor of humans who said to himself, "We've always made bone tools, but they break awfully easily. I bet we could make tools out of something else. What if I tried this rock?" was using critical thinking. So were most of the social, artistic, and technological groundbreakers who followed. You'd be hard pressed to find an advance in almost any area of humanity's development that didn't start with someone looking at the way things were and saying "It doesn't have to be that way. What if we looked at it from another angle?"
The answer here is everyone, from children to senior citizens. Even small children can learn about such things as cause and effect -- a specific event having a specific result -- through a combination of their own experimentation and experience and of being introduced to more complex ideas by others.
Accepted wisdom, perhaps dispensed by a teacher or other authority figure, is, however, often the opposite of critical thinking, which relies on questioning. In many schools, for example, critical thinkers are, if not punished, stifled because of their "disruptive " need to question (and thereby challenge authority). Interestingly enough, the more a school costs -- whether it's a well-funded public school in an affluent community, or an expensive private school -- the more apt it is to encourage and teach critical thinking. Such schools see themselves, and are seen by their students' parents, as trainers of leaders...and leaders need to know how to think.
Many adults exercise critical thinking as a matter of course. Many more know how, but for various reasons -- fear, perceived self-interest, deeply held prejudices or unexamined beliefs -- choose not to. Still more, perhaps a majority, are capable of learning to think critically, but haven't been taught or exposed to the experiences that would have allowed them to learn on their own.
It is this last group that is both most in need of, and most receptive to, learning to think critically. It often includes people with relatively low levels of education and income who see themselves as powerless. Once they grasp the concept of critical thought, it can change their whole view of the world. Often, the experience of being involved in a community initiative or intervention provides the spur for that learning.
Critical thinking requires the capacity for abstract thought. This is the ability to think about what's not there -- to foresee future consequences and possibilities, to think about your own thinking, to imagine scenarios that haven't yet existed. Most people are capable of learning to think in this way, if given the encouragement and opportunity.
Learning to think critically is more often than not a long process. Many people have to learn to think abstractly -- itself a long process -- before they can really apply the principles of critical thinking. Even those who already have that ability are often slowed, or even stopped, by the developmental and psychological -- and sometimes the actual -- consequences of what they're being asked to do. Often, it takes a crisis of some sort, or a series of negative experiences to motivate people to be willing to think in a different way. Even then, developing the capacity for critical thinking doesn't necessarily make things better. It can alter family relationships, change attitudes toward work and community issues, and bring discord into a life where none was recognized before. Learning it takes courage. The point of all this is that, although there's a series of what we believe are effective how-to steps laid out in this section, teaching critical thinking is not magic. The reason we keep using the words "develop" and "process" is that critical thinking, if it takes root, develops over time. Don't be frustrated if many people don't seem to get it immediately: they won't.
Helping others learn to think critically can take place in a classroom -- it's essentially what higher education is all about -- but it's probably even more common in other situations. Community interventions of all kinds provide opportunities for learning, both because participants are usually involved over a period of time, and because they are often experiencing difficulties that make it clear to them that their world view isn't adequate to solve the problems they face. Many are ready to change, and welcome the chance to challenge the way things are and learn new ways of thinking.
By the same token, learning to think critically can be a frightening process. It leads you to question ideas that you may have taken for granted all your life, and to challenge authority figures whom you may have held in awe. It may push you to tackle problems you thought were insoluble. It's the intellectual equivalent of bungee jumping: once you've leaped off the bridge, there's no going back, and you have to trust that the cord will hold you.
As a result, facilitating critical thinking -- whether formally or informally -- requires more than just a knowledge of the process. It demands that you be supportive, encouraging, and honest, and that you act as role model, constantly demonstrating the process as you discuss it.
There are really three aspects of helping people develop critical thinking: how to be a facilitator for the process; how to help people develop the "critical stance," the mindset that leads them to apply critical thinking all the time; and how to help people learn to apply critical thinking to dealing with community problems and issues.
Stephen Brookfield has developed a 10-point guideline for facilitators of critical thinking that focuses both on the learner and the facilitator herself.
Developing the critical stance -- the generalized ability and disposition to apply critical thinking to whatever you encounter -- is a crucial element in teaching critical thinking. It includes recognizing assumptions -- your own and others' -- applying that recognition to questioning information and situations, and considering their context.
Recognize assumptions. Each of us has a set of assumptions -- ideas or attitudes or "facts" we take for granted -- that underlies our thinking. Only when you're willing to look at these assumptions and realize how they color your conclusions can you examine situations, problems, or issues objectively.
Assumptions are based on a number of factors -- physical, environmental, psychological, and experiential -- that we automatically, and often unconsciously, bring to bear on anything we think about. One of the first steps in encouraging the critical stance is to try to make these factors conscious. Besides direct discussion, role plays, discussions of hypothetical or relatively non-threatening real situations, and self -revelation on the facilitator's part ("Some of my own assumptions are...") can all be ways to help people think about the preconceptions they bring to any situation.
Sources of assumptions are numerous and overlapping, but the most important are:
This is often the case when people complain that "common sense" makes the solution to a problem obvious. Many people believe, for instance, that it is "common sense " that sex education courses for teens encourage them to have sex. The statistics show that, in fact, teens with adequate sexual information tend to be less sexually active than their uninformed counterparts.
Examine information for accuracy, assumptions, biases, or specific interests. Helping learners discuss and come up with the kinds of questions that they need to subject information to is probably the best way to facilitate here. Using current examples -- comparing various newspaper and TV news stories, for instance, to see what different aspects are emphasized, or to see how all ignore the same issues -- can also be a powerful way of demonstrating what needs to be asked. Some basic questions are:
Making sure you have all the information can make a huge difference. Your information might be that a certain approach to this same issue worked well in a similar community. What you might not know or think to ask, however, is whether there's a reason that the same approach wouldn't work in this community. If you investigated, you might find it had been tried and failed for reasons that would doom it again. You'd need all the information before you could reasonably address the issue.
Just about anyone can come up with an example that "proves" a particular point: There's a woman down the block who cheats on welfare, so it's obvious that most welfare recipients cheat. You can't trust members of that ethnic group, because one of them stole my wallet. Neither of these examples "proves" anything, because it's based on only one instance, and there's no logical reason to assume it holds for a larger group. A former president was particularly fond of these kinds of "proofs", and as a result often proposed simplistic solutions to complex social problems. Without information that's logically consistent and at least close to complete, you can't draw conclusions that will help you effectively address an issue.
An AIDS prevention initiative, for instance, may find that a particular neighborhood has a large number of gay residents. However, if the HIV-positive rate in the gay community is nearly nonexistent, and the real AIDS problem in town is among IV drug users, the location of the gay community is irrelevant information.
Consider the context of the information, problem, or issue. Examining context, in most instances, is easier to approach than the other elements of the critical stance. It involves more concrete and "objective" information, and, at least in the case of community issues, it is often information that learners already know.
Facilitating techniques might include brainstorming to identify context elements; discussing how context issues affected real situations that learners are familiar with; and asking small groups of learners to make up their own examples. The real task is making sure that they include as many different factors as possible. Some areas to be examined in considering a community issue, for instance, are:
A group trying to bring public transportation to a rural area started by arranging a meeting between the select boards of the towns involved and the local regional transit authority. What the group didn't know was that, several years before, a small non -profit transportation company -- the chair of whose board was a revered local figure -- had been put out of business through some shady dealings by the regional transit authority. As a result, the towns refused to deal with the transit authority, even though it was now under completely new -- and ethical -- management.
Actually using critical thinking to solve problems and address issues is, of course, the reason for learning it. Brookfield suggests one problem-solving sequence that can be used in many situations involving community issues. Once people have learned the critical stance, they can apply its principles using this sequence.
Identify the assumptions behind the problem. By asking people to clarify their statements, and by probing for specifics, you can help them look at what is behind their thinking. Some clarifications that you can ask for, accompanied by some of the questions you might ask:
There are actually two sets of assumptions that are important here. One is the set of assumptions that each of us brings to any problem or information, those described above under "How to encourage the critical stance." The other is the set of assumptions about the particular problem -- what the situation is, what the problem consists of, what a solution would look like, and how to achieve that solution. In fact, those two sets of assumptions are inseparable, and both need to be considered. The emphasis in what follows is on the second set of assumptions, that which refers to the problem itself. One of the assumptions of the Tool Box, however, is that you'll deal with both in a real situation.
Challenge those assumptions. Once you've clarified the assumptions, everyone needs to question them.
Imagine alternatives to what you started with. There are a number of ways you can construct different ways to deal with the problem. Two are:
In dealing with teen pregnancy again, for instance, the ideal might be a community in which there were no teen pregnancies because all youth clearly understood the physical and emotional consequences of having sex; had adequate sexual information and access to birth control; and felt valued and empowered enough to respect one another and to maintain control over their own bodies. You might determine that that situation would require that there be sex education available through a variety of sources; that condom dispensers should be placed in various public places, and that pharmacies and convenience stores display birth control devices in ways attractive to teens; that every teen needed to have at least one caring adult in his or her life; and that the community valued youth and their contributions. In order for those things to happen, there might need to be a community education process, mechanisms for youth to become more integrated into the community as contributing members, as well as a group of adult volunteers who would act as mentors and friends to youth who had no positive relationships with adults. In order for those things to happen, you'd need to identify teens who had no positive adult role models...etc. If you followed all of this through to its end, you'd have a picture of the ideal solution to the problem and a road map telling you how to get there.
Critique the alternatives. Develop criteria on which you can judge the alternative solutions you've come up with. Some possibilities:
Once you've selected criteria, another critical thinking exercise is to decide which are most important. In a particular situation, cost might have to be the most important factor. In another, you may be able to weight costs, benefits, and effectiveness together. In others, other criteria may be weighted more heavily.
Finally, apply the criteria to the alternatives you've come up with, and decide which is most likely to achieve the results you want.
Reframe the problem and solution. At this point, learners have come up with a solution. The point of reframing is to look at the problem in the light of all the work they've done. They've perhaps discovered that it was different from what they first thought, or that they needed to view it differently. Reframing solidifies that mindset, and ensures that they approach the problem as they've found it to be in actuality, rather than as they initially saw it.
By and large, people learn critical thinking best when they're approaching real problems that affect their lives in real ways. That's one reason why community interventions and initiatives provide fertile ground for the development of critical thinking.
Critical thinking is a vital skill in health, human service, and community work. It is the process of questioning, examining, and analyzing situations, issues, problems, people (in hiring decisions, for instance) and information of all kinds -- survey results, theories, personal comments, media stories, history, scientific research, political statements, etc.-- from every possible angle. This will give you a view that's as nearly objective as possible, making it more likely that you'll be able to interpret information accurately and resolve problems and issues effectively.
Teaching critical thinking, whether formally or informally, requires a supportive and encouraging presence, and a willingness to both model and be the subject of critical analysis. It entails teaching the critical stance -- how to recognize and analyze your own and others' assumptions, question information, and examine the context of any information, situation, problem, or issue. Finally, it requires helping people to apply the critical stance to a problem and learn how to come up with a solution that is effective because it addresses the real issues involved. Once learners can do that, they're well on their way to successfully addressing the concerns of their communities.
Online Resources
Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum . Internal and external resources on critical thinking from Longview Community College, Lee's Summit, MO.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking . Articles, references, links, lesson plans, etc. School and college oriented, but lots of good general material.
Mission Critical , an on-line course in critical thinking from an English professor at San Jose (CA) State University.
Print Resources
Brookfield, Stephen D. (1991). Developing Critical Thinkers, Reprint Edition, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Brookfield, Stephen D. (2012). Teaching for Critical Thinking, San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
With larry ferlazzo.
In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.
(This is the first post in a three-part series.)
The new question-of-the-week is:
What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?
This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.
Today’s guests are Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.
You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .
Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:
There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?
I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.
One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.
There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.
Here are the two photos and a student response:
F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes
In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.
I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes
A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.
R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute
You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!
Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?
This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.
As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.
Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.
Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :
Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.
Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.
Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.
In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.
Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:
Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”
Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.
For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.
If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.
So, what does that really look like?
Unpack and define critical thinking
To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.
At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”
When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”
So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?
Designing experiences for critical thinking
After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:
1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant
A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.
2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real
At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.
3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous
At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.
Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.
Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:
When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.
I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.
Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.
The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.
So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.
QUESTIONING
TALK TIME / CONTROL
Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ for their contributions!
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You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .
Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching .
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign—new ones won’t be available until February). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first nine years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.
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Home » How Critical Thinking Help in Problem Solving
Critical thinking allows you to better navigate complex situations. It is essentially your ability to reason and question ideas, arguments, and findings. This article explores critical thinking, the importance of taking an analytical and objective approach to problem-solving, and ultimately how to think smarter.
What you’ll learn:
What is Critical Thinking? What are the Benefits? Characteristics of Critical Thinkers Foresight Socratic Questioning How to think Critically Evaluation Tips to takeaway Note
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing, evaluating, and rationalizing information objectively. There are three types of critical thinking: reasoning, making judgments, and problem-solving, all of which require you to question, challenge, and draw conclusions.
Question : Critical thinking requires you to identify different arguments, evaluate different points of view, and ask questions to determine their strength and validity.
‘The important thing is not to stop questioning’ – Albert Einstein
Challenge : Critical thinking is a method of thinking in which you don’t just accept information at face value, but instead challenge it. This requires you to be somewhat skeptical but also open-minded to new information and findings which challenge your own preconceived ideas and assumptions.
‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it’ – Aristotle
Draw Conclusions : Critical thinking helps you to conclude from information, deciding what’s useful and what’s not, enabling you to solve problems, make confident decisions, and provide structured reasoning and support for your argument. Remember, a good critical thinker will weigh up all of the options before taking action.
‘You have a brain and mind of your own. Use it, and reach your own decisions’ – Napoleon Hill
Critical thinking is essentially an exercise for the mind and when we choose to think critically we experience several benefits.
Critical thinking is essentially about thinking smarter. In a world where we are overloaded with information, much of it conflicting, it can be difficult to work out what’s true, important, and relevant. However, by thinking critically you can gain a better understanding of the information you’re presented with.
Critical thinkers are always curious and actively seek out new information and knowledge. They apply critical thinking to even the simplest of issues and tasks, making them more efficient at solving problems and reaching positive outcomes.
Knowing how to filter out the irrelevant information from the relevant is a key time-saver, helping you to prioritize your time and resources.
With time and practice, critical thinkers become masters of efficiency, as their clear and reasonable way of thinking enables them to make informed decisions faster.
Critical thinkers are respected amongst their colleagues and peers as they do their homework and know their stuff! They can be relied upon to provide well-informed points to support their decisions as well as solid evidence to back them up, thus improving their credibility within the organization.
Critical thinking fosters independence as it encourages independent learning and thought, providing individuals with the skills they need to tackle complex issues and make well-informed and confident decisions, independently.
So who are critical thinkers, and what characteristics do they share?
Open-Minded : Critical thinkers maintain an open mind and are open to all points of view, even those with which they disagree. They can separate facts from opinions, examine issues from all sides, make logical connections between ideas and make rational decisions based on their findings, whilst remaining free from personal judgment or bias. Critical thinkers are flexible in their thinking and remain open to the possibility of changing their views on an issue when logic and strong evidence prevails.
Analytical : Critical thinkers are analytical in their approach, breaking down information into manageable sections to analyze, interpret and evaluate. Once the information has been dissected, they apply sound logic and reasoning to solve the problem or reach a conclusion.
Systematic : Critical thinkers will systematically examine information without jumping to conclusions.
Inquisitive : Critical thinkers are always curious. They ask questions, are keen to know more, and actively seek out new information.
Sensible : Critical thinkers are cautious when making judgments and think carefully before taking action. They think independently and don’t just accept or follow ideas because others do.
Truth-Seeking : Critical thinkers are always looking for the truth and realize that even the wisest people can get things wrong!
Confident in Reasoning : Critical thinkers have faith in the power of logic and sound reasoning, feeling confident that rational and logical thinking will lead to the best solution.
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is foresight, the ability to think ahead and anticipate what could happen or be needed in the future. This means looking to and thinking about the future.
Foresight can be developed through existing knowledge, similar past experiences, or simply intuition. It can’t predict the future, nor is it a road map of what will happen, but it does help you to identify circumstances that could impact the future.
By using foresight you can identify the problem, weigh up the pros and cons, and foresee the likely outcomes of different options, to make a well-informed decision.
Critical thinking can be traced back to the vision of the philosopher Socrates, who established the importance of asking deep questions before accepting ideas as worthy of belief… which led to the term Socratic Questioning.
Socratic questioning is the process of asking questions that lead to multiple directions. It can be used for several different purposes, for example, to explore complex ideas, solve problems or analyze concepts. Socrates believed that individuals should strive to learn what they don’t know through effective questioning and critical thinking.
Socratic questioning involves thinking with clarity and logic, asking probing questions, challenging information and its accuracy, and seeking evidence to help you make well-reasoned conclusions.
The underlying principle of ‘Socratic Questioning’ is to learn through the use of critical thinking, reasoning, and logic, and to think critically, you must ask questions that encourage thought. Critical thinking is driven by questions, but remember, the quality of the questions you ask will determine the quality of thought and ultimately the conclusions drawn. For best results, ask open questions such as what, why, where, which, when, and how?
Critical thinking is one of today’s key employability skills and therefore an important one to have. So how can you think critically in your day-to-day life?
It’s important to keep an open mind as you analyze and evaluate information. Being able to step back from a situation will help you to see the bigger picture.
Adopt a growth mindset by approaching situations with an open and curious mind and avoid jumping to conclusions. Critical thinking and a growth mindset go hand-in-hand, it just takes practice.
To better understand a situation, it’s important to ask questions and probe for more information. Using open questions can help you to dig deeper, but remember, it’s not an interrogation… so probe politely and respectfully.
When you carefully observe and record details, you will be able to collect information and gain better insight and a deeper understanding of each situation. It’s also important to focus and actively listen to what’s being said to ensure you have all the facts before making any conclusions.
Analyzing is about breaking information down into parts and evaluating how well those parts function together and separately. This begins with objectivity and relies on observation, gathering, and evaluating evidence so you arrive at a better-informed conclusion.
In many circumstances, you’ll be presented with information that seems valuable at first glance but turns out to be a minor detail in a much bigger picture. So, take time to consider how relevant the information actually is… is it really useful or is it just distracting from a more important point?
It’s important to remain as objective as possible, looking at the information and focusing on the facts. Being objective can be challenging but stepping back from a situation can help you to see the bigger picture more clearly.
People are often driven by spontaneous, unconscious, and emotional behavior, and whilst they can think rationally, they mostly behave habitually. However, when you can understand your irrationalities and can explain why you behave the way you do, you become more predictable and consistent, which can make you more rational. Being aware of your inner biases is essential to overcome them.
Emotion is the enemy of reason… it’s therefore important to keep your emotions in check, basing your conclusions on facts, not feelings. A good critical thinker knows the difference between a rational thought based on careful consideration and an emotional response based on personal bias.
Create the time and space to think and don’t be pushed into making a decision or coming up with a conclusion without having had enough time to apply critical thinking to be sure you have reached the best solution.
Critical thinking may well mean questioning long-established practices and refusing to accept traditional approaches simply because that’s the way it’s always been done. Although your willingness to challenge may seem controversial, it’s an essential part of the process.
Critical thinking involves _________, evaluating and rationalising information __________.
Correct Answer: analysing and objectively Answer Description: Critical thinking involves analyzing, evaluating, and rationalizing information objectively.
When analyzing information what should you do?
A. Focus on the facts B. Remain objective C. Work out what’s relevant Correct Answer: A. Focus on the facts B. Remain objective C. Work out what’s relevant Answer Description: When analyzing information work out what’s relevant, focus on the facts, and remain objective.
Is it ok to challenge information?
A. Yes, of course B. No, take it at face value Correct Answer: A. Yes, of course Answer Description: You should be willing to challenge information. While it may seem controversial, it’s essential to the creative and innovative mindset of a critical thinker.
“Emotion is the enemy of reason.” Is this statement true or false?
A. True B. False Correct Answer: A. True Answer Description: Emotion is the enemy of reason. It’s important to keep your emotions in check and reach a conclusion based on facts, not feelings. A good critical thinker has the self-awareness to know the difference between a rational thought based on careful consideration and an emotional response based on personal bias.
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is…
A. Hindsight B. Foresight C. Insight Correct Answer: B. Foresight Answer Description: One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is the ability to think ahead and anticipate what could happen or be needed in the future. By using foresight, you can identify the problem, weigh up the pros and cons and predict the likely outcomes of the various options, to make a well-informed decision.
A key skill that enables you to think clearly and distill complexity, critical thinking is the process of analyzing, evaluating, and rationalizing information objectively.
In an ever-changing environment where many people experience information overload, critical thinkers can better navigate complex situations by questioning and challenging information, drawing their own conclusions, and make confident decisions.
So, what are the benefits of critical thinking?
Well, practicing critical thinking enables you to assess and consider different approaches to most effectively solve problems.
Critical thinkers will rigorously question ideas rather than simply accepting them at face value. As problems become more complicated, critical thinking can help you to weigh up the pros and cons to reach an objective conclusion.
As such, thinking critically can actually be a significant time-saver as you learn to successfully filter out irrelevant information and identify what’s important.
This, in turn, can make critical thinkers more effective communicators, able to competently express consistent and relevant points which support their theory or idea.
What’s more, demonstrating your ability to make well-informed arguments to support your decisions will increase your overall credibility and instill confidence in others.
So, how can you become a critical thinker?
Well, to delve deeper and discover more, it’s important to first have an open and inquisitive mind, being willing to ask questions such as what, why, where, which, when, and how?
When asking questions, be mindful of your tone to ensure your conversation doesn’t become an interrogation! Sometimes, it can help to explain why you’re asking questions and what you’re hoping to achieve.
Be willing to challenge existing ideas and concepts as this is the key to maintaining the creative and innovative mindset of a critical thinker.
When faced with a problem, critical thinkers must remain as objective as possible when looking at information and be sure to focus on the facts. Try to see the bigger picture when analyzing information and take time to look at things from every angle.
When you’ve gathered all the facts, stop and consider how relevant the information actually is. Is it actually useful or could it be distracting from a more pertinent point? Critical thinking takes all information into account but sifts through to focus on and explore what is most relevant to the problem at hand.
As a critical thinker, it’s important to remember that people are often driven by emotional, spontaneous, and unconscious behavior. As such, it’s important to be aware of your own inner biases that could affect your decision-making and point of view when evaluating facts.
It can be difficult to apply cool logic and think critically when you’re tired, stressed, or angry so try to keep your emotions in check when approaching problems to ensure your mindset is open and rational.
If you do find yourself overcome with emotion or feeling pushed into making a decision, give yourself the time and space to think and gain perspective of the situation before proceeding.
In summary…
Critical thinking is the application of logic to make better decisions and is a highly valuable skill in the workplace, as you analyze and evaluate information, focus on the facts, ask questions and remain objective.
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The ability to think critically will often determine your success in life.
Let’s face it. Every day, we are bombarded by news, social media updates, and an avalanche of information. If you take all of this at face value, it’s easy to be deceived, misled or ripped off.
That’s why it’s important to develop a mindset that focuses on critical thinking . This is a skill that needs to be developed in the classroom. But it’s also a valuable life skill.
With that in mind, the following post will share 85 critical thinking questions you can use to increase your awareness about different problems by carefully examining available information.
Let’s get started…
Table of Contents
Critical thinking questions are inquiries that help you think rationally and clearly by understanding the link between different facts or ideas. These questions create a seemingly endless learning process that lets you critique, evaluate, and develop a depth of knowledge about a given subject. Moreover, you get to reinforce your viewpoints or see things in a new way.
We make decisions every day, whether at work or home. Adopting logical, rational, and practical approaches in addressing various issues requiring critical thinking is essential in decision-making. Therefore, before arriving at a decision, always ask yourself relevant questions and carefully analyze the matter’s pros and cons.
When you make an argument using a critical thinking approach, you focus on justified claims that are valid and based on evidence. It helps one establish a strong argument.
When you read a book, you probably ask yourself many “why” questions. Why is this a problem? Why did the character say that? Why is this important? The most challenging part of reading a book is assessing the information you are reading. These questions can help.
Asking questions when you feel that a fraud or a scam is being presented to you is a good way to stretch your critical thinking muscles. Are you being emailed or messaged by a stranger? Or maybe there are other red flags you are unsure about. If so, ask these questions.
It can also help to ask yourself a few critical thinking questions about your life. This way, you can gather basic information and uncover solutions to problems you might not have otherwise thought of.
When you are in the middle of a debate or discussion, you need to know that what you are saying is fact, have evidence to support your claim, and position yourself as an expert in what you are saying. Here are some critical thinking questions to ask when you are in a debate or discussion.
Admitting when you are wrong, choosing not to cheat, and sharing constructive feedback are all ways to show your honesty. Here are some critical thinking skills to ask regarding lying.
Critical thinking is much more than just evaluating whether a claim is true or not. It also means a critical thinker reflects on what follows from true claims.
Critical thinking skills are valuable in any industry or field and for almost all roles. During a job interview, you will be asked questions so the potential employer can assess your skills and see how you use logic. Your critical thinking ability is just one vital part that can play into your professional development.
We can’t leave the kids out either. Critical thinking questions for kids get them thinking and talking. It also allows a parent to get to know their child better.
Your critical thinking skills involve gathering complete information, understanding and defining terms, questioning the methods by which we get facts, questioning the conclusions, and looking for hidden assumptions and biases.
Additionally, we can’t expect to find all of the answers, and we need to take the time to examine the big picture of it all.
Here are the basic principles:
Analysis is a part of critical thinking that allows you to examine something carefully. Someone with analytical skills can examine the information presented, understand what that information means, and then properly explain that information to others. Analysis in critical thinking provides more clarity on the information you process.
When analyzing, you may ask yourself, “how do I know this,” how would I solve this problem,” and “why does it matter?”
Critical thinking skills allow you to express thoughts, ideas, and beliefs in a better way. It also leads to improved communication while allowing others to understand you better. Critical thinking fosters creativity and encourages out-of-the-box thinking. This is a skill that can be applied to many different areas of your life.
For example, knowing the answers to critical thinking questions for a job interview will better prepare you for the interview. Many employers, during questioning, are likely to ask you critical thinking questions to assess if you have the ability to evaluate information effectively so you can make more informed decisions.
Although it's common to get torn between making two or more choices, nobody wants to make the wrong decision. The only thing you can do to avoid this is use critical thinking questions to examine your situation. The answers to these questions will help you make informed decisions and help you comprehend crucial matters in your life.
Want to learn more about critical thinking and decision-making using a real-life example? Here is how Jeff Bezos uses critical thinking to make some of the most challenging life decisions.
Finally, if you want to ask better questions, then watch this short, 20-minute course to learn how to have a great conversation with virtually anyone .
Have you ever wanted to evaluate situations like Sherlock Holmes, or present arguments like an undefeated lawyer? Sick of being the confused and out-of-place individual in any intellectual scrum?
Critical thinking is the art, skill, and practice of getting to the crux of any subject. It allows you to see the big picture and challenge what comes between you and the truth.
This doesn’t come easy; it requires a certain amount of practice before you can become the master of all that matters . It will require the use of critical thinking exercises and practice thereof.
Critical thinking starts with the three powerful skills of linking ideas, structuring arguments, and recognizing incongruences. Each area needs to be practiced and applied in order for you to become the best critical thinker you can be.
Below are the three major skills of critical thinking:
This has to do with finding connections between the seemly unrelatable or irrelevant.
Take today’s newspaper. Brush through all articles in each section (news, sports, business, etc.). Make a list of the articles as a basic concept.
Now find ways in which each article is linked to each other, in each section of the newspaper. Find the overall theme of each section and if you can, try to link the sections of the newspaper to each other.
Once you have done all of this, try to surmise the agenda or aim of this publication.
Structuring arguments are elements that are involved in creating a practical, relevant, and sound argument. Before doing this exercise you will have to know what a premise and conclusion of an argument are:
Premise: A previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion. It is the base of an argument, theory, or undertaking.
Conclusion: The end of an argument, theory, or undertaking. A judgment or decision is reached by reasoning.
Look on YouTube or just on Google for some of the best theories, arguments, or speeches ever given or done. Take the piece that you have chosen and determine what the premise of the topic is, and what the conclusion is. There can be several premises but they have to support the conclusion.
Recognizing incongruences is the ability to find holes in a theory or argument in order to find the real truth.
Take the same information from the Recognising premise and conclusion exercise you have done above, and see if you can figure out if any of the premises do not support or link to the conclusion.
If all premises link with the conclusions, then look into the premises themselves. See if there are any false assumptions ( or fallacies ) in the premises and research their validity.
Analyze the premises to see that there has not been a statement that is assumed true but is actually false.
Too often as adults, we are steadfast and strong in our already formed, accepted, and practiced beliefs.
We often do not challenge what is just accepted as truth or “the way it is.” We could learn a thing or two from the younger side of humanity, especially the way that they question everything, even that which is considered logical.
You can apply this to any information or theory, but in the interest of practice, you can look for the 10 most interesting theories on the internet.
You will play both the inquisitive space alien and yourself trying to answer and explain the topic.
Start by explaining the topic as if it were to a space alien who has no prior knowledge of Earth and it’s ways, but somehow the alien can speak English. Then become the alien (dress up if you wish) and ask questions about the topic from a completely uninformed perspective.
For example, you would explain a game of tennis, as two people who use a tool called a racquet to hit a ball over a net and into a certain square. The one who does not return the ball loses that round and the other gets a point, until the one has enough points to win.
You as the alien when then ask things such as: Why are there only two people playing? Why does the crowd get so excited? Why does the crowd not jump on the court and get involved? Why do they use racquets and not something else? Etcetera…
Due to the amount of information absorbed in a term or semester of college, college students don’t get much of a chance to look back on what they have learned. The river of information keeps flowing and the students keep swimming on.
It often happens that a year or two down the line, you will be looking up something that you did in the first year of college. It is thus very important to take at least one day once you are done with the term, to revise and clarify what you have achieved? What could you have done better? And how you could improve on the strategies you applied?
At the end of a term or semester of college, take each area of knowledge you have gone through in that time. You can divide this by subject, yet if you feel that certain subjects can be merged into one area of knowledge then do so.
Answer these questions about the college term and the knowledge you gain in that time:
Don’t limit the answers to the study work only, but expand into what you learned from the environment or something you inadvertently learned.
For example you learned, useful social and networking skills by being a part of many events and social groups, or you learned how to respond to people of authority effectively when dealing with a difficult lecturer.
Critical thinking Exercises work well for kids as they develop the application of critical thinking. Children are mostly really good at critical thinking questioning; asking why? Why? Why….
Where children usually fall short is self-evaluation and seeing other perspectives.
It is also important to note that there will be different exercises for different age groups. Smaller children do not have the capacity to think in a certain way, just by the way the human brain naturally develops.
When children are very young, they won’t have the patience or concentration to stay engaged in a certain activity for too long. The best thing to do for these children is actively use critical thinking exercises in their daily lives.
Ask questions that will actively engage the children in critical thinking such as:
On top of all of this, inspire your kids to question everything. It is absolutely crucial. Here is an inspiring video to help you with this action:
Older children are a little less inquisitive than the younger children and often get caught up on the right or wrong answer. This makes them less inclined to come up with multiple solutions and usually only give one answer at a time until they get validation that they are correct.
With the image description exercise you take any image (make sure it’s age appropriate) and make them describe what they see and elaborate about the subjects in the picture and the situation of the picture. Push them to give multiple answers and scenarios.
Critical thinking is an art and a skill and can thus be honed and improved by constant practice and application. The best way to do this is through critical thinking exercises .
Take ten to twenty minutes a day to sharpen your critical thinking and you will soon notice that the rest of your life will be full of inspiration and better understanding.
Explore the science of thinking boldly with visionary entrepreneur and problem-solver Naveen Jain. Learn how to start realizing game-changing ideas with the power to transform your life and even all of humanity. Get started for free
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Critical thinkers question everything.
In an age of “fake news” claims and constant argument about pretty much any issue, critical thinking skills are key. Teach your students that it’s vital to ask questions about everything, but that it’s also important to ask the right sorts of questions. Students can use these critical thinking questions with fiction or nonfiction texts. They’re also useful when discussing important issues or trying to understand others’ motivations in general.
Questions like these help students ponder who’s involved in a story and how the actions affect them. They’ll also consider who’s telling the tale and how reliable that narrator might be.
Ask questions that explore issues more deeply, including those that might not be directly answered in the text.
Think about where the story is set and how it affects the actions. Plus, consider where and how you can learn more.
Think about timing and the effect it has on the characters or people involved.
Asking “why” might be one of the most important parts of critical thinking. Exploring and understanding motivation helps develop empathy and make sense of difficult situations.
Use these questions to consider how things happen and whether change is possible.
Here are more questions to help probe further and deepen understanding.
Plus, check out 10 tips for teaching kids to be awesome critical thinkers ., you might also like.
Help students dig deeper! Continue Reading
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Logical thinking skills like critical-thinking, research, and creative thinking are valuable assets in the workplace. These skills are sought after by many employers, who want employees that take into account facts and data before deciding on an important course of action. This is because such solutions will ensure the organization’s processes can continue to operate efficiently.
So, if you’re a job seeker or employee looking to explore and brush up on your logical thinking skills, you’re in luck. This article will cover examples of logical thinking skills in the workplace, as well as what you can do to showcase those skills on your resume and in interviews.
Key Takeaways:
Logical thinking is problem solving based on reasoning that follows a strictly structured progression of analysis.
Critical thinking, research, creativity, mathematics, reading, active listening, and organization are all important logical thinking skills in the workplace.
Logical thinking provides objectivity for decision making that multiple people can accept.
Deduction follows valid premises to reach a logical conclusion.
It can be very helpful to demonstrate logical thinking skills at a job interview.
10 examples of logical thinking skills, examples of logical thinking in the workplace, what is deductive reasoning, logical thinking in a job interview, logical thinking skills faq, final thoughts.
Logical thinking is the ability to reason out an issue after observing and analyzing it from all angles . You can then form a conclusion that makes the most sense. It also includes the ability to take note of reactions and feedback to aid in the formation of the conclusion.
Logical thinking skills enable you to present your justification for the actions you take, the strategies you use, and the decisions you make. You can easily stand in front of your clients, peers, and supervisors and defend your product, service, and course of action if the necessity arises.
Logical thinking is an excellent way of solving complex problems. You can break the problem into smaller parts; solve them individually in a sequence, then present the complete solution. However, it is not infallible.
So, when a problem in the workplace feels overwhelming, you may want to think about it logically first.
Logical thinking skills are a skill set that enables you to reason logically when solving problems. They enable you to provide well-reasoned answers to any issues that arise. They also empower you to make decisions that most people will consider rational.
Critical-thinking skills. If you are a critical thinker, then you can analyze and evaluate a problem before making judgments. You need to improve your critical thinking process to become a logical thinker.
Your critical thinking skills will improve your ability to solve problems. You will be the go-to employee concerning crises. People can rely on you to be reasonable whenever an issue arises instead of letting biases rule you.
Research skills. If you are a good researcher , then you can search and locate data that can be useful when presenting information on your preferred subject.
The more relevant information you have about a particular subject, the more accurate your conclusions are likely to be. The sources you use must be reputable and relevant.
For this reason, your ability to ferret out information will affect how well you can reason logically.
Creative thinking skills. If you are a creative thinker , then you can find innovative solutions to problems.
You are the kind of person that can think outside the box when brainstorming ideas and potential solutions. Your thinking is not rigid. Instead, you tend to look at issues in ways other people have not thought of before.
While logical thinking is based on data and facts, that doesn’t mean it is rigid. You can creatively find ways of sourcing that data or experimenting so that you can form logical conclusions. Your strategic thinking skills will also help enable you to analyze reactions or collect feedback .
Mathematical skills. If you are skilled in mathematics , then you can work well with numbers and represent mathematical ideas using visual symbols. Your brain must be able to compute information.
Business is a numbers game. That means you must have some knowledge of mathematics. You must be able to perform basic mathematical tasks involving addition, subtractions, divisions, multiplications, etc.
So, to become a logical thinker, you must be comfortable working with numbers. You will encounter them in many business-related complex problems. And your ability to understand them will determine whether you can reach an accurate logical conclusion that helps your organization.
Reading skills. If you are a good reader , then you can make sense of the letters and symbols that you see. Your ability to read will determine your competency concerning your logical thinking and reasoning skills.
And that skill set will come in handy when you are presented with different sets of work-related statements from which you are meant to conclude. Such statements may be part of your company policy, technical manual, etc.
Active listening skills. Active listening is an important communication skill to have. If you are an active listener, then you can hear, understand what is being said, remember it, and respond to it if necessary.
Not all instructions are written. You may need to listen to someone to get the information you need to solve problems before you write it down. In that case, your active listening skills will determine how well you can remember the information so that you can use it to reason things out logically.
Information ordering skills. If you have information ordering skills, then you can arrange things based on a specified order following the set rules or conditions. These things may include mathematical operations, words, pictures, etc.
Different organizations have different business processes. The workflow in one organization will be not similar to that of another organization even if both belong to the same industry.
Your ability to order information will depend on an organization’s culture . And it will have a major impact on how you can think and reason concerning solutions to your company problems.
If you follow the wrong order, then no matter how good your problem-solving techniques are your conclusions may be wrong for your organization.
Persuasion skills. Logical thinking can be useful when persuading others, especially in the workplace.
For example, lets say one of your co-workers wants to take a project in an impulsive direction, which will increase the budget. However, after you do your research, you realize a budget increase would be impossible.
You can then use your logical thinking skills to explain the situation to your co-worker , including details facts and numbers, which will help dissuade them from making an uninformed decision.
Decision making skills. Decision making skills go hand and hand with logical thinking, as being able to think logically about solutions and research topics will make it far easier to make informed decisions.
After all, no one likes making a decision that feels like a shot in the dark, so knowing crucial information about the options aviable to you, and thinking about them logically, can improve your confidence around decision making.
Confidence skills. Confidence that stems from an emotional and irrational place will always be fragile, but when you have more knowledge available to you through logical thinking, you can be more confident in your confidence skills.
For instance, if an employee asked you to answer an important question, you will have a lot more confidence in your answer if you can think logically about it, as opposed to having an air of uncertainty.
To improve your logic skills, it would be wise to practice how to solve problems based on facts and data. Below are examples of logical thinking in the workplace that will help you understand this kind of reasoning so that you can improve your thinking:
The human resource department in your organization has determined that leadership skills are important for anyone looking to go into a senior management position. So, it decides that it needs proof of leadership before hiring anyone internally. To find the right person for the senior management position , every candidate must undertake a project that involves a team of five. Whoever leads the winning team will get the senior managerial position.
This example shows a logical conclusion that is reached by your organization’s human resource department. In this case, your HR department has utilized logical thinking to determine the best internal candidate for the senior manager position.
It could be summarized as follows:
Statement 1: People with excellent leadership skills that produce winning teams make great senior managers. Statement 2: Candidate A is an excellent leader that has produced a winning team. Conclusion: Candidate A will make an excellent senior manager .
A marketing company researches working women on behalf of one of their clients – a robotics company. They find out that these women feel overwhelmed with responsibilities at home and in the workplace. As a result, they do not have enough time to clean, take care of their children, and stay productive in the workplace. A robotics company uses this research to create a robot cleaner that can be operated remotely . Then they advertise this cleaner specifically to working women with the tag line, “Working women can do it all with a little bit of help.” As a result of this marketing campaign, their revenues double within a year.
This example shows a logical conclusion reached by a robotics company after receiving the results of marketing research on working women. In this case, logical thinking has enabled the company to come up with a new marketing strategy for their cleaning product.
Statement 1: Working women struggle to keep their homes clean. Statement 2: Robot cleaners can take over cleaning duties for women who struggle to keep their homes clean. Conclusion: Robot cleaner can help working women keep their homes clean.
CalcX. Inc. has created a customer survey concerning its new finance software. The goal of the survey is to determine what customers like best about the software. After reading through over 100 customer reviews and ratings, it emerges that 60% of customers love the new user interface because it’s easy to navigate. CalcX. Inc. then decides to improve its marketing strategy. It decides to train every salesperson to talk about the easy navigation feature and how superior it is to the competition. So, every time a client objects to the price, the sales rep could admit that it is expensive, but the excellent user interface makes up for the price. At the end of the year, it emerges that this strategy has improved sales revenues by 10%.
The above example shows how logical thinking has helped CalcX. Sell more software and improve its bottom line.
Statement 1: If the majority of customers like a particular software feature, then sales reps should use it to overcome objections and increase revenues. Statement 2: 60% of the surveyed customers like the user interface of the new software, and; they think it makes navigation easier. Conclusion: The sales reps should market the new software’s user interface and the fact that it is easy to navigate to improve the company’s bottom line.
A political candidate hires a focus group to discuss hot-button issues they feel strongly about. It emerges that the group is torn on sexual reproductive health issues, but most support the issue of internal security . However, nearly everyone is opposed to the lower wages being paid due to the current economic crisis. Based on the results of this research, the candidate decides to focus on improving the economy and security mechanisms in the country. He also decides to let go of the sexual productive health issues because it would potentially cause him to lose some support.
In this case, the political candidate has made logical conclusions on what topics he should use to campaign for his seat with minimal controversies so that he doesn’t lose many votes.
This situation could be summarized as follows:
Statement 1: Most people find sexual reproductive health issues controversial and cannot agree. Statement 2: Most people feel that the internal security of the country is in jeopardy and something should be done about it. Statement 3: Most people want higher wages and an improved economy. Statement 4: Political candidates who want to win must avoid controversy and speak up on things that matter to people. Conclusion: To win, political candidates must focus on higher wages, an improved economy, and the internal security of the country while avoiding sexual reproductive health matters.
Deductive reasoning is an aspect of logical reasoning. It is a top-down reasoning approach that enables you to form a specific logical conclusion based on generalities. Therefore, you can use one or more statements, usually referred to as premises, to conclude something.
For example:
Statement 1: All mothers are women Statement 2: Daisy is a mother. Conclusion: Daisy is a woman.
Based on the above examples, all mothers are classified as women, and since Daisy is a mother, then it’s logical to deduce that she is a woman too.
It’s worth noting though, that deductive reasoning does not always produce an accurate conclusion based on reality.
Statement 1: All caregivers in this room are nurses. Statement 2: This dog, Tom, is a caregiver . Conclusion: This dog, Tom, is a nurse .
From the above example, we have deduced that Tom, the dog, is a nurse simply because the first statement stated that all caregivers are nurses. And yet, in reality, we know that dogs cannot be nurses. They do not have the mental capacity to become engaged in the profession.
For this reason, you must bear in mind that an argument can be validly based on the conditions but it can also be unsound if some statements are based on a fallacy.
Since logical thinking is so important in the workplace, most job interviewers will want to see you demonstrate this skill at the job interview. It is very important to keep in mind your logical thinking skills when you talk about yourself at the interview.
There are many ways in which an interviewer may ask you to demonstrate your logical thinking skills. For example:
You may have to solve an example problem. If the interviewer provides you a problem similar to one you might find at your job, make sure to critically analyze the problem to deduce a solution.
You may be asked about a previous problem or conflict you had to solve. This classic question provides you the opportunity to show your skills in action, so make sure to highlight the objectivity and logic of your problem solving.
Show your logic when talking about yourself. When given the opportunity to talk about yourself, highlight how logic comes into play in your decision making. This could be in how you picked the job position, why you choose your career or education, or what it is about yourself that makes you a great candidate.
Why is it important to think logically?
It’s important to think logically because it allows you to analyze a situation and come up with a logical solution. It allows for you to reason through the important decisions and solve problems with a better understanding of what needs to be done. This is necessary for developing a strong career.
Why is logic important?
Logic is important because it helps develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills are important because they help you analyze and evaluate a problem before you make a decision. It also helps you improve your problem-solving skills to allow you to make better decisions.
How do you improve your logical thinking skills?
When improving your logical thinking skills make sure you spend time on a creative hobby and practice questioning. Creative hobbies can help reduce stress levels, and lower stress leads to having an easier time focusing on tasks and making logical thinking. Creative hobbies can include things like drawing, painting, and writing.
Another way to improve your logical thinking is to start asking questions about things. Asking questions allows for you to discover new things and learn about new topics you may not have thought about before.
What are logical thinking skills you need to succeed at work?
There are many logical thinking skills you need to succeed in the workplace. Our top four picks include:
Observation
Active Listening
Problem-solving
Logical thinking skills are valuable skills to have. You need to develop them so that you can become an asset to any organization that hires you. Be sure to include them in your resume and cover letter .
And if you make it to the interview, also ensure that you highlight these skills. You can do all this by highlighting the career accomplishments that required you to use logical thinking in the workplace.
It’s Your Yale – Consider Critical Thinking Skills to Articulate Your Work Quality
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Roger Raber has been a content writer at Zippia for over a year and has authored several hundred articles. Having retired after 28 years of teaching writing and research at both the high school and college levels, Roger enjoys providing career details that help inform people who are curious about a new job or career. Roger holds a BA in English from Cleveland State University and a MA from Marygrove college.
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Published: February 13, 2023
Interview Questions and Answers
Actionable advice from real experts:
Biron Clark
Former Recruiter
Contributor
Dr. Kyle Elliott
Career Coach
Hayley Jukes
Editor-in-Chief
Biron Clark , Former Recruiter
Kyle Elliott , Career Coach
Hayley Jukes , Editor
As a recruiter , I know employers like to hire people who can solve problems and work well under pressure.
A job rarely goes 100% according to plan, so hiring managers are more likely to hire you if you seem like you can handle unexpected challenges while staying calm and logical.
But how do they measure this?
Hiring managers will ask you interview questions about your problem-solving skills, and they might also look for examples of problem-solving on your resume and cover letter.
In this article, I’m going to share a list of problem-solving examples and sample interview answers to questions like, “Give an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem?” and “Describe a time when you had to solve a problem without managerial input. How did you handle it, and what was the result?”
Problem-solving is the ability to identify a problem, prioritize based on gravity and urgency, analyze the root cause, gather relevant information, develop and evaluate viable solutions, decide on the most effective and logical solution, and plan and execute implementation.
Problem-solving encompasses other skills that can be showcased in an interview response and your resume. Problem-solving skills examples include:
Problem-solving is essential in the workplace because it directly impacts productivity and efficiency. Whenever you encounter a problem, tackling it head-on prevents minor issues from escalating into bigger ones that could disrupt the entire workflow.
Beyond maintaining smooth operations, your ability to solve problems fosters innovation. It encourages you to think creatively, finding better ways to achieve goals, which keeps the business competitive and pushes the boundaries of what you can achieve.
Effective problem-solving also contributes to a healthier work environment; it reduces stress by providing clear strategies for overcoming obstacles and builds confidence within teams.
When you answer interview questions about problem-solving scenarios, or if you decide to demonstrate your problem-solving skills in a cover letter (which is a good idea any time the job description mentions problem-solving as a necessary skill), I recommend using the STAR method.
STAR stands for:
It’s a simple way of walking the listener or reader through the story in a way that will make sense to them.
Start by briefly describing the general situation and the task at hand. After this, describe the course of action you chose and why. Ideally, show that you evaluated all the information you could given the time you had, and made a decision based on logic and fact. Finally, describe the positive result you achieved.
Note: Our sample answers below are structured following the STAR formula. Be sure to check them out!
EXPERT ADVICE
Dr. Kyle Elliott , MPA, CHES Tech & Interview Career Coach caffeinatedkyle.com
Before answering any interview question, it’s important to understand why the interviewer is asking the question in the first place.
When it comes to questions about your complex problem-solving experiences, for example, the interviewer likely wants to know about your leadership acumen, collaboration abilities, and communication skills, not the problem itself.
Therefore, your answer should be focused on highlighting how you excelled in each of these areas, not diving into the weeds of the problem itself, which is a common mistake less-experienced interviewees often make.
As a recruiter, one of the top tips I can give you when responding to the prompt “Tell us about a problem you solved,” is to tailor your answer to the specific skills and qualifications outlined in the job description.
Once you’ve pinpointed the skills and key competencies the employer is seeking, craft your response to highlight experiences where you successfully utilized or developed those particular abilities.
For instance, if the job requires strong leadership skills, focus on a problem-solving scenario where you took charge and effectively guided a team toward resolution.
By aligning your answer with the desired skills outlined in the job description, you demonstrate your suitability for the role and show the employer that you understand their needs.
Amanda Augustine expands on this by saying:
“Showcase the specific skills you used to solve the problem. Did it require critical thinking, analytical abilities, or strong collaboration? Highlight the relevant skills the employer is seeking.”
Now, let’s look at some sample interview answers to, “Give me an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem,” or “Tell me about a time you solved a problem,” since you’re likely to hear different versions of this interview question in all sorts of industries.
The example interview responses are structured using the STAR method and are categorized into the top 5 key problem-solving skills recruiters look for in a candidate.
Situation: In my previous role as a data analyst , our team encountered a significant drop in website traffic.
Task: I was tasked with identifying the root cause of the decrease.
Action: I conducted a thorough analysis of website metrics, including traffic sources, user demographics, and page performance. Through my analysis, I discovered a technical issue with our website’s loading speed, causing users to bounce.
Result: By optimizing server response time, compressing images, and minimizing redirects, we saw a 20% increase in traffic within two weeks.
Situation: During a project deadline crunch, our team encountered a major technical issue that threatened to derail our progress.
Task: My task was to assess the situation and devise a solution quickly.
Action: I immediately convened a meeting with the team to brainstorm potential solutions. Instead of panicking, I encouraged everyone to think outside the box and consider unconventional approaches. We analyzed the problem from different angles and weighed the pros and cons of each solution.
Result: By devising a workaround solution, we were able to meet the project deadline, avoiding potential delays that could have cost the company $100,000 in penalties for missing contractual obligations.
Situation: As a project manager , I was faced with a dilemma when two key team members had conflicting opinions on the project direction.
Task: My task was to make a decisive choice that would align with the project goals and maintain team cohesion.
Action: I scheduled a meeting with both team members to understand their perspectives in detail. I listened actively, asked probing questions, and encouraged open dialogue. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of each approach, I made a decision that incorporated elements from both viewpoints.
Result: The decision I made not only resolved the immediate conflict but also led to a stronger sense of collaboration within the team. By valuing input from all team members and making a well-informed decision, we were able to achieve our project objectives efficiently.
Situation: During a cross-functional project, miscommunication between departments was causing delays and misunderstandings.
Task: My task was to improve communication channels and foster better teamwork among team members.
Action: I initiated regular cross-departmental meetings to ensure that everyone was on the same page regarding project goals and timelines. I also implemented a centralized communication platform where team members could share updates, ask questions, and collaborate more effectively.
Result: Streamlining workflows and improving communication channels led to a 30% reduction in project completion time, saving the company $25,000 in operational costs.
Situation: During a challenging sales quarter, I encountered numerous rejections and setbacks while trying to close a major client deal.
Task: My task was to persistently pursue the client and overcome obstacles to secure the deal.
Action: I maintained regular communication with the client, addressing their concerns and demonstrating the value proposition of our product. Despite facing multiple rejections, I remained persistent and resilient, adjusting my approach based on feedback and market dynamics.
Result: After months of perseverance, I successfully closed the deal with the client. By closing the major client deal, I exceeded quarterly sales targets by 25%, resulting in a revenue increase of $250,000 for the company.
Throughout your career, being able to showcase and effectively communicate your problem-solving skills gives you more leverage in achieving better jobs and earning more money .
So to improve your problem-solving skills, I recommend always analyzing a problem and situation before acting.
When discussing problem-solving with employers, you never want to sound like you rush or make impulsive decisions. They want to see fact-based or data-based decisions when you solve problems.
Don’t just say you’re good at solving problems. Show it with specifics. How much did you boost efficiency? Did you save the company money? Adding numbers can really make your achievements stand out.
To get better at solving problems, analyze the outcomes of past solutions you came up with. You can recognize what works and what doesn’t.
Think about how you can improve researching and analyzing a situation, how you can get better at communicating, and deciding on the right people in the organization to talk to and “pull in” to help you if needed, etc.
Finally, practice staying calm even in stressful situations. Take a few minutes to walk outside if needed. Step away from your phone and computer to clear your head. A work problem is rarely so urgent that you cannot take five minutes to think (with the possible exception of safety problems), and you’ll get better outcomes if you solve problems by acting logically instead of rushing to react in a panic.
You can use all of the ideas above to describe your problem-solving skills when asked interview questions about the topic. If you say that you do the things above, employers will be impressed when they assess your problem-solving ability.
About the Author
Biron Clark is a former executive recruiter who has worked individually with hundreds of job seekers, reviewed thousands of resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and recruited for top venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been advising job seekers since 2012 to think differently in their job search and land high-paying, competitive positions. Follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .
Read more articles by Biron Clark
About the Contributor
Kyle Elliott , career coach and mental health advocate, transforms his side hustle into a notable practice, aiding Silicon Valley professionals in maximizing potential. Follow Kyle on LinkedIn .
About the Editor
Hayley Jukes is the Editor-in-Chief at CareerSidekick with five years of experience creating engaging articles, books, and transcripts for diverse platforms and audiences.
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Summary of the critical thinking test.
This online critical thinking screening test evaluates candidates’ skills in critical thinking through inductive and deductive reasoning problems. This pre-employment skills test will help you identify candidates who can evaluate information and make sound judgments using analytical skills.
Analyzing syllogisms
Making inferences
Recognizing assumptions
Weighing arguments
Any role that involves a high degree of critical and independent thinking to solve complex problems, such as analysts, executive positions, legal roles, computer and data scientists, among others.
Effective critical thinking requires the ability to actively and skillfully conceptualize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information to make a judgment or formulate an innovative solution. Employees with strong critical thinking skills can solve issues skillfully and independently and devise new approaches to complex problems using analytical skills.
This Critical Thinking test evaluates candidates’ abilities to solve syllogisms through deductive reasoning, to interpret sequences and arrangements and draw sound conclusions, to assess cause and effect relationships, and to recognize assumptions. The test presents candidates with single or multiple statements and asks them to analyze the information and use logic to identify the right answer.
If you are looking for candidates who think independently, solve complex problems, and generate innovative solutions, this is the right test. This is a great test to include to check candidates' overall analytical skills.
Testgorilla assessment team.
TestGorilla's Assessment Team is responsible for the delivery of leading edge, science-based measurement, assessment content, insights and innovation. The team is comprised of organizational psychologists, data scientists, psychometricians, academics, researchers, writers, and editors. Collectively, the Assessment Team boasts more than 15 advanced degrees, more than 100 scientific publications and presentations, and almost 100 years of assessment and talent acquisition industry experience.
TestGorilla’s tests are created by subject matter experts. We assess potential subject-matter experts based on their knowledge, ability, and reputation. Before being published, each test is peer-reviewed by another expert, then calibrated using hundreds of test takers with relevant experience in the subject.
Our feedback mechanisms and unique algorithms allow our subject-matter experts to constantly improve their tests.
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The TestGorilla team only offers useful insights to user challenges, they engage in conversation.
For instance, I recently asked a question about a Python test I intended to implement. Instead of receiving “oh, that test would work perfectly for your solution,” or, “at this time we’re thinking about implementing a solution that may or may not…” I received a direct and straightforward answer with additional thoughts to help shape the solution.
I hope that TestGorilla realizes the value proposition in their work is not only the platform but the type of support that’s provided.
For a bit of context—I am a diversity recruiter trying to create a platform that removes bias from the hiring process and encourages the discovery of new and unseen talent.
Chief Talent Connector, small business (50 or fewer FTE)
Our screening tests identify the best candidates and make your hiring decisions faster, easier, and bias-free.
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The Critical thinking test will be included in a PDF report along with the other tests from your assessment. You can easily download and share this report with colleagues and candidates.
A critical-thinking test evaluates applicants’ skills through two forms of reasoning: deductive and inductive. This test will help you find the candidates who make great decisions based on analytical thinking from the information they have at their disposal.
And that’s what critical thinking is: Taking in limited information, analyzing it, figuring out the best possible course, and then taking action. Candidates with these skills will carefully look at the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, and then make a decision with all the data and information in mind.
In a business setting, this can be the difference between one employee who is on their way to a promotion and another who can’t seem to close a sale.
And critical thinking has many applications in the business environment.
There are many ways in which an employee can use critical thinking in the workplace. Here are some situations where a candidate with great critical-thinking skills could make a difference.
• Sales . People with great critical-thinking skills can really amplify their sales results. When talking with potential clients, they can use their critical-thinking skills to handle any objections that the prospect might have and influence them to make a buying decision.
• Marketing . Candidates with critical-thinking skills would use them to create marketing campaigns that send a message in a creative way, staying within their budget but reaching a wider audience because of the way the message is conveyed. And on top of that, candidates with great critical-thinking skills will take input from their team members to get more information before making a decision.
• Product development . Critical-thinking skills are essential in the product development team because the employees who work here have to figure out how to create new features and benefits for a product so that it appeals to their customers.
• HR . When conducting a performance review or an exit interview, a person with critical-thinking skills will handle both instances better than someone without. When doing a performance review, they will ask probing questions to figure out why the team member didn’t hit their goals – or even better, they will work out why the employee achieved their targets with ease. In an exit interview, they will know how to ask the right questions of the individual leaving the organization to get the most important information.
A candidate with critical-thinking skills will have a number of competencies:
• Observation skills : Candidates with critical-thinking skills will be observant. They will always try to get information. Sometimes, they will have people tell them the information, but they will also observe their environment and the people around them.
• Analysis : When they observe their environment and the people in it, they are able to analyze the data and the situation at hand. They can use analysis in a new situation that requires fast thinking, but they can also slow down and analyze situations by asking questions and carrying out research. They know the importance of data so they try to analyze it as thoroughly as possible with the time they have at their disposal.
• Decide : After observing and analyzing the data, it’s time to make a decision. This decision will always be based on partial data, but the candidate will be sure to analyze every piece of information they have so that the decision is based on the data.
• Communication : A great critical thinker also knows the importance of communicating their decisions to those around them. Critical thinking produces decisions and people with this skill know that they need to explain their position to others.
• Problem-solving : Problem-solving is all about execution. After the candidate has observed, analyzed, decided, and communicated their decision, it’s time to implement the solution. Even though the decision won’t always produce the desired results, it will be the right decision if the candidate took into account all the information they had before making it.
Critical-thinking skills require candidates to slow down, take a breath, and analyze a situation to come up with the best possible solution to it.
A candidate with fewer critical-thinking skills will jump to a conclusion without taking into consideration the data or information at hand. This can create quite a lot of turmoil in the workplace. Not only that, but this kind of behavior can create a lot of problems when dealing with customers and clients.
For example, if a client doesn’t answer their emails for a couple of days because they are in the middle of negotiations, a candidate with no critical-thinking skills might rush to send an email to the customer demanding an answer. This could create a bad experience for the potential client, resulting in the breakdown of negotiations.
On the other hand, a candidate with critical-thinking skills will slow down and wait for a little while because there could be a number of reasons why somebody has not responded to their email for a couple of days.
The critical-thinking test can help recruiters hire people who have this skill. Including it in an assessment provides bias-free, objective, numerical results that can be used to identify the top candidates for your hiring manager to interview.
With a pre-employment test, you can prevent the bias that creeps in during the CV screening process. Not only that but giving your candidates a critical-thinking test is simple and fast: whether your hiring manager has 50 or 300 applicants, they can send the test to all of them with a single click.
Critical-thinking skills are essential for any business environment. To properly evaluate them, you should give your candidates a critical-thinking test. TestGorilla’s science-backed critical-thinking test enables you to rank your applicants according to who performs best, based on fair, objective, bias-free results. So be sure to use a pre-employment critical-thinking test to assess the critical skills of all your candidates at the start of your hiring process.
An assessment is the total package of tests and custom questions that you put together to evaluate your candidates. Each individual test within an assessment is designed to test something specific, such as a job skill or language. An assessment can consist of up to 5 tests and 20 custom questions. You can have candidates respond to your custom questions in several ways, such as with a personalized video.
Yes! Custom questions are great for testing candidates in your own unique way. We support the following question types: video, multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Besides adding your own custom questions, you can also create your own tests.
A video question is a specific type of custom question you can add to your assessment. Video questions let you create a question and have your candidates use their webcam to record a video response. This is an excellent way to see how a candidate would conduct themselves in a live interview, and is especially useful for sales and hospitality roles. Some good examples of things to ask for video questions would be "Why do you want to work for our company?" or "Try to sell me an item you have on your desk right now."
Besides video questions, you can also add the following types of custom questions: multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Multiple-choice lets your candidates choose from a list of answers that you provide, coding lets you create a coding problem for them to solve, file upload allows your candidates to upload a file that you request (such as a resume or portfolio), and essay allows an open-ended text response to your question. You can learn more about different custom question types here .
Yes! You can add your own logo and company color theme to your assessments. This is a great way to leave a positive and lasting brand impression on your candidates.
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It depends! We offer five free tests, or unlimited access to our library of 400+ tests with the price based on your company size. Find more information on our pricing plans here , or speak to one of our sales team for your personalized demo and learn how we can help you revolutionize hiring today.
Yes. You can add up to five tests to each assessment.
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TestGorilla replaces traditional resume screening with a much more reliable and efficient process, designed to find the most skilled candidates earlier and faster.
We offer the following cognitive ability tests : Numerical Reasoning, Problem Solving, Attention to Detail, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Thinking.
Our cognitive ability tests allow you to test for skills that are difficult to evaluate in an interview. Check out our blog on why these tests are so useful and how to choose the best one for your assessment.
Computational thinking, basic math calculations, mechanical reasoning, understanding instructions, attention to detail (visual), intermediate math, basic triple-digit math, basic double-digit math, attention to detail (textual), problem solving.
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Critical thinking is the process to rationally analyze and attempt to solve a problem - accurately and efficiently. This method is made without the use of guesses and assumptions. It is a cognitive skill or a mental process. Based on acquired knowledge, you'll have to analyze, examine, and scrutinize options to create an opinion or set of ...
Critical thinking skills are what you use to evaluate facts and make sound decisions. Learn how to make the most of these skills (with examples).
Introduction. In previous lessons, you learned about characteristics of critical thinkers and information literacy. In this module, you will learn how to put those skills into action through the important processes of decision making and problem solving.
Simply put, critical thinking is the act of deliberately analyzing information so that you can make better judgements and decisions. It involves using things like logic, reasoning, and creativity, to draw conclusions and generally understand things better. This may sound like a pretty broad definition, and that's because critical thinking is a ...
Learn what critical thinking skills are, why they're important, and how to develop and apply them in your workplace and everyday life. ... Problem-solving: Problem-solving is perhaps the most important skill that critical thinkers can possess. The ability to solve issues and bounce back from conflict is what helps you succeed, be a leader ...
Critical thinking, the ability to find trustworthy data and use it to make decisions, is an increasingly important workplace skill. ... you can make better decisions and solve problems more ...
Critical thinking is more focused on a logical and rational process of evaluating that which exists already. However, both types of thinking can be used to solve problems and make decisions, and a combination of the two is often helpful.
What is critical thinking and why is it important? Discover key thinking skills that enable you to test assumptions and make better decisions.
Critical thinking skills are the skills you use to analyze information, imagine scenarios holistically, and create rational solutions. It's a type of emotional intelligence that stimulates effective problem-solving and decision-making .
Learn more about what critical thinking is and how to practice it every day. Home About Blog Products Critical Thinking: Definition, Examples, & Skills. By Kelsey ... demanding that claims be backed by evidence, deducing and inferring conclusions from available facts, solving problems, ...
Open-mindedness: This critical thinking skill helps you analyze and process information to come to an unbiased conclusion. Part of the critical thinking process is letting your personal biases go and coming to a conclusion based on all of the information. Problem solving: Because critical thinking emphasizes coming to the best conclusion based ...
The final step when employing critical thinking to problem-solving is to evaluate the progress of the solution. Since critical thinking demands open-mindedness, analysis, and a willingness to change one's mind, it is important to monitor how well the solution has actually solved the problem in order to determine if any course correction is ...
Learn more about critical thinking skills and how to enhance them by following specific, actionable critical thinking strategies.
Some interviewers will give you a hypothetical scenario or problem, and ask you to use critical thinking skills to solve it. In this case, explain your thought process thoroughly to the interviewer. ... Problem-solving is another critical thinking skill that involves analyzing a problem, generating and implementing a solution, and assessing the ...
Critical thinking and problem solving are essential skills for success in the 21st century. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze information, evaluate evidence, and draw logical conclusions.
Solving Problems with Creative and Critical Thinking. Module 1 • 3 hours to complete. This module will help you to develop skills and behaviors required to solve problems and implement solutions more efficiently in an agile manner by using a systematic five-step process that involves both creative and critical thinking.
Learn the six steps to use critical thinking in problem-solving, and how to improve your critical thinking skills. Critical thinking can help you solve problems more effectively and efficiently.
Many decision-making and problem-solving tasks require critical thinking skills, which entail the ability to analyze information to reach a rational conclusion.
Critical thinking is an important tool in solving community problems and in developing interventions or initiatives in health, human services, and community development. Elements of critical thinking There are a number of ways to look at the process of critical thinking.
Critical thinking skills allow you to understand and address situations based on all available facts and information. Typically, using critical thinking at work involves processing and organizing facts, data and other information to define a problem and develop effective solutions.
Four educators share tips for supporting the development of critical thinking in the classroom. Leadership ... reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of ...
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing, evaluating, and rationalizing information objectively. There are three types of critical thinking: reasoning, making judgments, and problem-solving, all of which require you to question, challenge, and draw conclusions. Question: Critical thinking requires you to identify different arguments ...
Here are some critical thinking questions you can use to increase your awareness about different problems and to make better decisions by carefully examining available information.
Critical thinking requires practice. These critical thinking exercises are the first steps to acquiring a keen eye and silk tongue. Find out how here.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
Strong critical thinking skills are key. Encourage careful reading and deeper connections with this list of critical thinking questions.
Logical thinking is problem solving based on reasoning that follows a strictly structured progression of analysis. Critical thinking, research, creativity, mathematics, reading, active listening, and organization are all important logical thinking skills in the workplace.
Highlights. Problem-solving involves identifying, prioritizing, analyzing, and solving problems using a variety of skills like critical thinking, creativity, decision making, and communication.
The ability to communicate ideas clearly to others, solve unexpected problems, or work well in a team are all examples of transferable skills. While technical skills allow you to accomplish specific technical tasks, ... Problem solving, critical thinking, innovation, and creativity.
Identify top talent with our validated critical thinking test. Evaluate candidates' ability to analyze information, make sound judgments, and solve problems effectively.