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The Miniature Guideto
The Foundation for Critical Thinking
www.criticalthinking.org707-878-9100cct@criticalthinking.org
By Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder
Critical Thinking
C
onCepts
and
t
ools
Why A Critical Thinking Mini-Guide?
This miniature guide ocuses on o the essence o critical thinking concepts andtools distilled into pocket size. For aculty it provides a shared concept o criticalthinking. For students it is a critical thinking supplement to any textbook or anycourse. Faculty can use it to design instruction, assignments, and tests in any subject.Students can use it to improve their learning in any content area.Its generic skills apply to all subjects. For example, critical thinkers are clear as to thepurpose at hand and the question at issue. They question inormation, conclusions,and points o view. They strive to be clear, accurate, precise, and relevant. They seekto think beneath the surace, to be logical, and air. They apply these skills to theirreading and writing as well as to their speaking and listening. They apply them inhistory, science, math, philosophy, and the arts; inproessional and personal lie.When this guide is used as a supplement to the textbook in multiple courses,students begin to perceive the useulness o critical thinking in every domain o learning. And i their instructors provide examples o the application o the subjectto daily lie, students begin to see that education is a tool or improving the qualityo their lives.I you are a student using this mini-guide, get in the habit o carrying it withyou to every class. Consult it requently in analyzing and synthesizing what you arelearning. Aim or deep internalization o the principles you fnd in it—until usingthem becomes second nature.I successul, this guide will serve aculty, students, and the educational programsimultaneously. Richard Paul Linda ElderCenter or Critical Thinking Foundation or Critical Thinking
The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools
Fourth Edition © 2006 Foundation for Critical Thinking www.criticalthinking.org
Contents
Why Critical Thinking?4 The Elements of Thought5A Checklist for Reasoning 6Questions Using the Elements of Thought 8 The Problem of Egocentric Thinking 9Universal Intellectual Standards 10 Template for Analyzing the Logic of Articles and Textbooks 13Criteria for Evaluating Reasoning 14Essential Intellectual Traits15 Three Kinds of Questions18A Template for Problem-Solving 19Analyzing and Assessing Research20What Critical Thinkers Routinely Do21Stages of Critical Thinking Development22
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