A500.5.3.RB – CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING
When I first started with the course in Critical Thinking, I was fairly intimidated. Honestly speaking, I never really connected the impact of a critical thinking mind to the success of a leadership position, especially in the workplace. My thought process was, as long as I maintain my ability to dismiss my emotions from a problem or an issue and regard the facts equitably in order to make a logical decision, I was good and was on the right track. It never occurred to me that what I was doing was part of a practice called “critical thinking.”
According to the Critical Thinking Community, critical thinking is essential if we are to get to the root of our problems and develop reasonable solutions. After all, the quality of everything we do is determined by the quality of our thinking.
Elder, L. (2007) conceptualized Critical Thinking as:
…self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, and empathically. They strive to improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest and vested interest. They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason. They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.
On the second week of taking the Critical Thinking course, we were asked to take the Critical Thinking Basic Concepts & Understanding Test. Before taking the test, I was quite confident thinking it was just a common sense test. Then, it happened. The questions seemed very simple and practical but I was very surprised that my test result was below my expectations. At that moment, I decided to intentionally practice critical thinking, personally and professionally.
My thinking process of four weeks ago has changed. I have learned to be more open-minded. Whenever I encounter an issue at work, I do not automatically make assumptions. Practicing critical thinking in my workplace eliminates the temptation to instantaneously classify an issue under something that has already happened. The practice of critical thinking makes me look beyond prescriptive solutions and search for alternative concepts that can help in addressing the issue effectively.
I have come to learn to apply different intellectual standards like clarity, accuracy, precision and relevance. I have learned to examine the actions I took to analyze the “why” of my decisions. I have also learned to separate my personal opinions from the facts of the issue at hand. Whenever an issue or problem is presented to me, I am learning not to give in to my emotional impulses and instead, I am learning to apply rational thoughts in order to reach a logical resolution.
I believe that it will require the consistent practice of good critical thinking skills to make a lasting and positive changes in the way I think. It is of utmost importance that I internalize principles and be consistent in applying them to everyday situations either personally or professionally. It will also require me to set aside biases whenever asked for any logical course of actions.
References:
The Critical Thinking Community. About the Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/our- mission/405
Elder, Linda (2007). Another Brief Conceptualization of Critical Thinking.
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