What is critical thinking?

4/4/2019 Submitted to Dr.Muhammad Siddique.

“The purpose of critical thinking is

rethinking: that is, reviewing,
evaluating, and revising thought.”
Jon Stratton

Submitted by Ruqiyya Abdul Qayyum -

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CONTENT:
INTRODUCTION.
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING.
PARTS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
WAYS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
STEPS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
MODEL OF GENERATING CRITICAL THINKING.
IMPORTANT ELEMRNTS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
WHAT CRITICAL THINKING IS NOT?
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY AND LEVEL OF CRITICAL THINKIMG.
ACTIVITY OF BLOOM’S TAXONOMY.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS.
POINTS OF CRITICISM.
ROLE OF CRITICAL THINKER.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITICAL THINKER.
BENEFITS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
BARRIERS OF CRITICAL THINKING.
CONCLUSION.

“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in
how it thinks”.
Christopher Hitchens
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Introduction:
Critical thinking as a process is a complex process of deliberation of skills and attitudes.this means;
Identifying other’s people’s arguments and conclusions,evaluating the evidence for alternative points of
view,weighing up opposing arguments and evidence fairly,reading between the lines,recognizing
techniques used to make certain positions more appealing than other,Reflecting on the issue in
structured way that is being rational,drawing conclusion if argument is valid or justifiable based on
assumptions and evidence,presenting a point of view in a structured ,clear ,well-reasoned way that
convinces others in order to follow up to new creation of the idea or analyzing the statement with
different prespectives and bringing up to the world.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking is the ability to:
• Develop a healthy skepticism toward any information presented as fact.
• Apply reasoning and logic to new or unfamiliar ideas, opinions, and situations.
• See things in an open-minded way and examine an idea or concept from as
many angles as possible.
• Look past one’s own views of the world and better understand the opinions of
others Ways of critical thinking:

Ways of critical thinking:

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Steps of critical thinking :

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 Questioning - whatever it is that you are studying: asking what, who,

where, when, how, why, what if, what next, so what? Attempting to answer
these questions leads you to fulfil functions – or do things - that are vital in
scientific, academic and social life, such as:
 Describing ...e.g. defining clearly what it is you are talking about, saying
exactly what is involved, where it takes place, or under what circumstances
 Analyzing ...e.g. examining and explaining how parts fit into a whole;
comparing and contrasting different elements; understanding relationships.
 Reasoning ...e.g. demonstrating logical thinking about causes and effects;
presenting evidence to provide sound arguments and refuting unsound
ones.
 Reflecting ...e.g. reconsidering a topic to take account of new information
or experience in practice; considering other viewpoints; recognizing
underlying principles;
 Criticizing or critiquing ...e.g. identifying and examining faults and
weaknesses in arguments, as well as acknowledging strengths and merits
 Evaluating ...e.g. commenting on degrees of success or failure, or judging
the implications, ultimate use or value of something.

Important elements of critical thinking:

Knowing our own reasons:
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Critical thinking is associated with reasoning or with our capacity for rational
thought. The word 'rational' means 'using reasons' to solve problems. Reasoning
starts with ourselves.
It includes:
 Having reasons for what we believe and do, and being aware of what these
are.
 Critically evaluating our own beliefs and actions.
 Being able to present to others the reasons for our beliefs and actions.

Analyzing other’s point of views:

Critical reasoning usually involves considering other people's reasoning. This
requires the skill of grasping an overall argument.

Constructing and presenting reasons:

Reasoning involves analyzing evidence and drawing conclusions from it. The
evidence may then be presented to support the conclusion.
This requires additional skills:
 Select and structure reasons to support a conclusion.
 Present an argument in a consistent way.
 Use logical order.
 Use language effectively to present the line of reasoning.

What Critical Thinking is NOT?

• Blindly accepting at face value all statements and arguments made by others.
• Blindly trusting political commercials.
• Blindly believing TV commercials.
• Blindly accepting newspaper stories as fact.
• Blindly accepting articles in professional journals.
• Blindly accepting all information in textbooks.
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• Blindly holding on to old beliefs.

Bloom’s Taxonomy and level of critical thinking:

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of thinking

organized in accordance with the interest of the learners :
 Changes in the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy occur in terminologies,
structure and processes.
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 The main focus of Bloom’s Taxonomy is to improve student learning

and thinking.
 Creating is the Highest among the Thinking Skills.
 Factual Knowledge refers to the essential facts, terminology, details
or element students must know or be familiar with in order to solve
a problem.
 Change in Emphasis in BT is placed upon its use as an authentic tool
for curriculum planning, instructional delivery and assessment.
 The knowledge dimensions consist of factual, conceptual, procedural
and meta- cognitive.
 Higher order thinking applies to all subject areas. There is a link
between the skills, processes and content.
 Knowledge and prior experience are not necessary for higher order
thinking. Basic and higher order skills can be clearly separated, and
they don’t operate in an integrated manner.

Activity of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

Skim and respond to current events.

. Summarize a reading passage.

Critical thinking skills:

1.Identify the line of reasoning in the text –
What argument is it making? What point of view is it
expressing?

2.Critically evaluate the line of reasoning.

 Does it contain relevant, contributing and sufficient

propositions (reasons)?

 Does it contain logical progression?

 Does it contain false premises?

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 Does it contain flawed reasoning?

3.Questioning surface appearances and checking

for hidden assumptions or agendas.

 Is the evidence what it appears to be?

 Might there be other explanations apart from the obvious

one?

 Has all necessary information been given, or might other

details lead to a different conclusion?

 Are there interested parties who would gain if the

conclusions were accepted?

 Are there hidden assumptions or agendas?

 Does the evidence come from a reliable, disinterested

source?

4.Identifying evidence in the text.

 Evaluating the evidence according to valid criteria.

 Date.

 Source.

 Check for bias.

 Beware statistics and numbers given below:

 most/many

 Percentages

 Sample size
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 Representativeness

 Conditions of data collection

 Emotive language and persuader words

5.Identifying the writer’s conclusions

6.Deciding whether the evidence given supports

these conclusions.

The main points of criticism are:

1. Agreeing with, or defending a position, or confirming its
usefulness through an evaluation of its strengths and
weaknesses;

2. Conceding that an existing approach or point of view has

some merits which can be useful, but that others need to be
rejected;

3. Focusing on ideas, theories and arguments and not on the

author of those arguments, so as to produce careful,
considered and justified evaluation;

4. Being aware of your own critical stance; identifying your

reasons for selecting the work you have criticized and
recognizing the weaknesses of your critique;

5. Selecting elements from existing arguments and

reformulating them to form a synthesis: a new point of view
on some subject matter;
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6. Finding fault in an argument by identifying fallacies,

inadequacies, lack of evidence or lack of plausibility;

7. Identifying errors in a criticism made by another to provide

correction and balanced criticism thereby advocating the
usefulness of the original work and reasons for rejecting the
criticism made of it.

8.

Role of Critical Thinkers:

• Distinguish between fact and opinion.
• Ask questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and
define their terms.
• Make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence.

Characteristics of a Critical Thinker:

 Strives for clarity and precision.

 Sensitive to the discussed “thinking errors”.
 Intellectually honest (admits ignorance and limits).
 Welcomes criticisms of beliefs.
 Open to revising basic beliefs, beliefs on facts, not on preference or
interest.
 Thinks independently (doesn’t let groups control their beliefs).
 Values having true beliefs, not comfortable ones.
 Intellectual perseverance; will strive for truth even when it is hard to
do.

Benefits of Critical Thinking Why is critical thinking important

to students?
In Personal and Public Life:
• Avoid falling for scams and making foolish decisions from ignorance.
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• Make better decision from verified information.

• Free one from unexamined assumptions, dogmas, and prejudices.
• Be a better informed citizen and voter

In the workplace:
• Be a better problem-solver.
• Better analyze information and draw appropriate conclusions.
• Communicate a position logically.
• Make good decisions (based on data, not feelings)

Barriers to Critical Thinking:

1. Lack of relevant background information.
2. Poor reading skills.
3. Biases Prejudice.
4. Peer Pressure.
5. Resistance to change Rationalization.
6. Stereotyping.
7. Wishful thinking.
8. Unwarranted assumption.

Conclusion:
Critical thinking is a process that relies upon, and develops, a wide range of skills and personal
qualities. Like other forms of activity, it improves with practice and with a proper sense of what is
required. Developing good critical thinking skills can take patience and application. On the other
hand, in improved abilities in making judgments, seeing more easily through flawed reasoning,
making choices from a more informed position and improving your ability to influence others.

“If there was one life skill everyone on the planet needed,
it was the ability to think with critical objectivity”
Josh Lanyon
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