Thinking Skills & Problem Solving

AIT FACILITATION
 Old – 5
New
Topic 1: Thinking Skills
 Topic 1: Thinking Skills
By wisdom a house is built, and
by understanding it is
established;
By knowledge the rooms are
filled with all precious and
pleasant riches.
1. Define thinking;
2. Explain the different thinking styles;
3. Distinguish key elements between a good and
poor thinker;
4. Describe the importance of thinking;
5. Compare the two phases in the thinking
process; and
6. Describe the functions and roles of the right
and left brain.
 Thinking
• Thinking is defined by Ruggiero. V. R. (2008) as
a purposeful mental activity over which we
have some power or control.
 Thinking
• The SUB-CONSCIOUS or NON-CONSCIOUS
thinking can also produce great results.
• Thinking is any mental activity that
– helps formulate or solve a problem,
– make a decision or fulfil a desire to understand
(Ruggiero, 2008)
Mental activities of the thinking process are:
Careful observation, Remembering, Wondering,
Inquiring, Imagining, Evaluating, Judging,
Interpreting
 IMPORTANCE OF THINKING
• Successful analyses of a problem or issue,
requires factual knowledge and an
understanding of the relevant principles and
concepts.
• Individuals with skills in:
– problem solving,
– issue analysis and
– decision making
have a better chance at employment and are
regarded as assets within the organisation they
are working for.
 Employees with thinking power
• Knowledge explosion
– Increase in research findings has increased the
amount of information available in all fields,
making it impossible for any individual to
completely master a single discipline.
• Communication technology
– The area of communication technology is
developing so fast: different software and
hardware products have been launched.
• Rise in the global economy’s opportunities:
– Expertise in critical and creative thinking is vital.
Thinking Process
Production Phase: thinking out-of-the box
• The production phase is closely linked with
creative thinking.
• Mind generates different conceptions of a
problem, various methods of handling it and
possible solutions to it.

• Good thinkers are capable of producing more

and better ideas compared to poor thinkers.
• Why?
 Judgement Phase
• Judgement phase is more closely linked with
critical thinking.
• The mind studies and evaluates what it has
generated, makes its decision, and where
necessary, modifies it.
• Good thinkers are very careful and analytical.
• Poor thinkers make judgements too fast
without thinking critically and to make
decisions based on emotions and feelings
rather than on evidence.
Characteristics of Good & Poor Thinkers
Characteristics of Good & Poor Thinkers
 Old – 6
New
Topic 2: Critical and Creative Thinking
Topic 2: Critical and Creative Thinking
By wisdom a house is built, and
by understanding it is
established;
By knowledge the rooms are
filled with all precious and
pleasant riches.
1. Define critical thinking, creative thinking and lateral
thinking;
2. Explain the characteristics of critical and creative
thinking;
3. Give examples of critical and creative thinking
respectively;
4. Describe the barriers of critical thinking;
5. Identify the application of creative thinking in
problem solving;
6. Describe the six techniques of lateral thinking; and
7. Describe right and left brain crossover.
Critical Thinking & Creative Thinking
 Critical Thinking
• Critical thinking is defined as:
–disciplined thinking regulated by
clear intellectual standards.

–reflective thinking which is

thinking deeply and giving serious
thought to a certain issue or task.
 Critical Thinking Characteristics
• The most important characteristics identified
are:
• clarity,
• accuracy,
• relevance,
• consistency,
• logical correctness and
• fairness.
• Others include: precision and completeness
 Clarity
• Need to understand clearly what is being said.
• People fail to express themselves clearly and
articulately due to lack of assertive skill, etc
• Need to pay close attention to language to
avoid miscommunications.
• Critical thinkers should look for maximum
clearness of thought.
• Need to value and practise clarity of thought
 Precision
• Various specialised fields require Precision
in what is done in those fields.
• Precise answers to precise questions must
always be sought after.
• Precise thinking is important in everyday
life.
• Precision entails thorough and careful
observation, followed by the process of
logical inference.
 Accuracy
• Critical thinkers value truth
• Critical thinkers have an obsession for
accurate information
• Critical thinkers have an obsession for timely
information.
• Critical thinkers make decisions that are as
informed as possible.
Students’ Self Test

List and describe the Eight (8) most

important characteristics of critical
thinking
Four main conditions to be able to
think critically
1. Knowledge of the field or subject in which the
thinking is being done
2. A general attitude of questioning and
suspended judgement; a habit of examining
before accepting
3. Some application of method of logical analysis
or scientific inquiry
4. Taking action in light of this analysis or
reasoning
Barriers to Critical Thinking
 Importance of Critical Thinking
• Prevents people from making foolish personal
decisions by teaching them to think about
important life decisions more carefully, clearly
and logically.
• Plays a crucial role in promoting democratic
processes.
• Free mankind from the unexamined
postulations and biases of our upbringing and
society.
 Creative Thinking
• Creative thinking is a purposeful thinking that
improves the chances of new thoughts
transpiring.
• Creative thinking is thinking out of the box where
one comes about with original, diverse and
elaborate ideas.
• The most important characteristics identified are:
• Dynamism
• Daringness
• Resourcefulness
• Diligence
• Independence
 Dynamism
• Dynamism implies the notion of change.
– Change in response to circumstances or
information
– Change that occurs ahead of circumstances or
information.
• Dynamism implies an active interaction, as
opposed to passive acquiescence.
– Creative thinker always manages to keep his or her
curiosity burning,
– Creative thinker rekindles curiosity from time to
time.
 Daringness
• Creative individuals are:
– less prone to accepting existing views,
– wider in their perspectives
– less likely to agree with those around them
– apply their curiosity and come up with bold ideas
– willing to try out ideas that are not accepted by
others
– experiment with possibilities that are disliked by
others
– accept bad experiences and learn from them
 Resourcefulness
• The ability to act effectively and conceptualise
the approach that solves the problem.
• Resourceful persons are able to solve a
problem that perplexes others when the
resources at hand are insufficient.
• The most important aspects of practical
intelligence.
Students’ Self Test

List and describe the Five (5) most

important characteristics of
creative thinking
 Application of creativity to
problems and issues
include:
• Taking an innovative and new approach;
• Devising or changing a process or system;
• Coming up with a new product or service;
• Searching for new uses for existing things;
• Improvising on existing things; and
• Discovering or redefining a concept.
 Lateral Thinking
• Lateral thinking has the ability of:

– transforming problems into opportunity,

– search for alternative solutions and
– significantly increase the number of original and
practical ideas

employing unusual thinking techniques that are

normally not within the ability of our normal
methods of thinking
Techniques in Lateral Thinking
 Application of Lateral Thinking
• Challenging of a present situation in a positive
manner to allow room for new ideas.
• Search and build on the concept behind an idea in
order to generate more ideas.
• Resolve problems in methods that were not thought
of initially.
• Utilise alternatives to produce and harness the
creative energy of an organisation.
• Transform problems into opportunities.
• Choose the optimum alternate ideas and put them
into operation.
 Right and Left Brain Crossover
• An individual uses both sides of the brain
when making a decision.
• The right hemisphere of the brain is
responsible for intuitive, subjective and
holistic thinking.
• The left brain is in charge of logical, analytical,
rational and objective reasoning.
• The crossover of both sides of the brain
produces a sound, rational and logical decision
that gives you satisfaction.
Off-line Teaser
 Effective Work Group:
Communication Behaviours
• Successful working groups are marked by a
range of different communication behaviors
– actions people do with words and gestures, which
they can practice and improve over time.
1. Listening: hear and make sense of what your
colleagues are saying; use good, active non-
verbal behaviours like looking at people when
they speak, nodding your head when you
agree with something, and sitting forward to
show involvement.
2. Making clarifying statements: offer an
explanation of a concept or issue the group is
trying to understand.
3. Deliberating and discussing: respond to other
people, don’t simply push your agenda
regardless of what anyone says; engage them
by agreeing and extending what they say or by
respectfully disagreeing with it and offering
reasons.
4. Keeping the discussion on task: if the
conversation drifts, bring the group back onto
task.
5. Eliciting viewpoints from others: ask people
who haven’t spoken what they think about an
issue.

6. Offering feedback: give a colleague

constructive comments on a project they did.

7. Mediating conflicts: if there are

disagreements and conflicts, try to find middle
ground that satisfies everyone.
 Effective Work Group:
Collaboration Behaviours

?
 Students’
Next Tutorial Presentation

New Lecture Notes

•Topic 3
•Topic 4
 Old and New
Topic 3
Identifying Reasons and Conclusions
Topic 3: Identifying Reasons & Conclusions
1. Determine if reasoning is present in an
argument;
2. Identify words used in the language of
reasoning;
3. Use the Thinking Map to analyse and evaluate
arguments;
4. Apply tests to evaluate the validity and
acceptability of claims; and
5. Identify assumptions and evaluate inferences
in an argument.
 Topic 4
Problem Solving
 Chapter 4
• Define problem;
• Problem as an opportunity for improvement;
• Problem solving stages and processes;
• Goal setting in the problem-solving process
• Guidelines to effective problem solving;
• Role of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) technique;
• Constraints in the problem-solving process;
• Approaches to problem solving.
Thank you