CHAPTER 1

THINKING SKILLS

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TABLE OF CONTENT
What is Thinking Skills

Decision Making

Problem Solving Skills

Critical Thinking Skills

Creative Thinking

Analytical Thinking

Mind Map

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 THINKING SKILLS DEFINITION
• A mental activity that can take in many forms
& help your mind organized:

Forming
an opinion Remembering Reasoning
or belief

Creating
ideas Reasoning

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THREE MAJOR TYPES OF THINKING SKILLS

a) Decision-making skills

b) Problem solving skills

c) Critical thinking skills

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 a) DECISION MAKING SKILLS
• To make a choice between two more
alternatives
• For example, you decide:
 What to wear
 Whom you want to be with
 Where you want to go
 What you want to do

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 DECISION MAKING
• Process of resolving whether something is
worth doing or not worth doing
• “Process” point in time before which the
decisions was not made and after it has been
made
• E.g.: Buying/purchase, sales, marriage,
routine decision

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LEVEL OF DECISION MAKING
a) Personal
b) Family
c) Group
d) Community
e) Organizational
f) National
g) International
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SIX STEPS TO MAKE GOOD DECISION
1. State the question

2. List the goals

3. List the alternatives

4. Gather some information

5. Consider and compare the alternatives

6. Make the decision

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 1. State the question

• Determine what you need to decide

• It is best to make just one decision at a time
• Try to keep the question simple
• State the question clearly and write it down

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2. List the goals
• Include the things you
hope to accomplish
• Write the goals in the
order of importance
• Most important goals at
the top, least important
at the bottom

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 3. List the alternatives
• List all the alternatives
that open to you
• Try not to settle for only
the obvious alternatives
• Discuss your situation
with another person

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 4. Gather some information
• Consider your first alternative. Try to imagine
what would happen if you choose that
alternative.
• Decide whether or not the consequences
would be good or bad
• Do this with each alternative

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 4. Gather some information
(cont.)
• Make Alternatives Chart:
It would be easier to gather information and
to make your final decision if you make
simple chart.

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Example of Alternatives Chart

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 5. Consider and compare the
alternatives
• Get out your list of goals
• Get out your alternative chart
• Compare each alternative with your list of
goals
• Look closely at the “Pro” and “Cons” of each
alternative
• Look at the consequences of each alternative
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 6. Make the decision

• Best alternatives will surfaced your decision.

• Having a “back-up” alternatives is a wise
action when decisions don’t always work out
as planned.

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 “YES” DECISION

• To agree, to adopt, to take action

• Based on sufficient information
• Adequate temptation in the information
• The decider is committed
• The type of action required after making the decision is
known
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 “NO” DECISION

• A positive rejection
• Inadequacy of temptation and motivation
• Not willing to put on the effort required
• Cannot figure out how to implement the decision at every stage
• A positive act of playing safe in case of risk and uncertainly
• Not wanting to hurt the feelings of someone that you care –
human factor
• Timidity – because of money
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 HOLDING BACK DECISION

• Decider do not have enough information

• Decider is not willing to takes an effort.
• Not willing to give up the “pleasures” of the old style
• Not wanting to hurt or disappoint some people that you
care
• Too many information may create uncertainty

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 b) PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
• A problem is a difficult situation that needs
to be worked out
• To find an answer to a difficult situation

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FIVE STEPS OF PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

1. State the problem

2. List the possible solutions

3. Gather some information

4. Consider and compare the

solutions

5. Choose a solutions

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 1. State the problem
• Determine exactly what the problem is
• It is best to solve just one problem at a time
 Try to keep the problem simple and to the point
 State the problem clearly and write it down

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 2. List the possible solutions
• Try to limit yourself to only the obvious
solutions
• Try to add different and creative solutions to
your list

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 3.2.Gather some
List the information
possible solutions
• Gather some information about each of the
possible solutions
• Look for both the good and bad points of
each solution
• Include any information that could help you
come to your final conclusion

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 4. Consider and compare
the solutions
• Look carefully at the “Pros” and “Cons” of
each solution
• Eliminate the solutions that have more
important “Cons” rather than “Pros”
• Choose the best solution from the ones
remaining

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 5. Choose a solutions
• Solutions should be flexible
• Test your solution – give trial period to see
how well it works

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 c) CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
• To evaluate carefully what another person
says or writes
• Help you to decide if what person says or
writes is true or not
• This task will be easier if you learn to:
 Listen with critical ear and
 Read with critical eye

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THREE MAJOR STEPS TO THINK CRITICALLY

1. Find out if the speaker is reliable

2. Make sure you understand the information

3. Look for tricks meant to persuade you

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 1. Find out if the speaker is reliable
• Ask yourself these questions:
 “Is the speaker giving facts or just opinion?”
 “What do other experts say on the same subject?”
• You will also want to question the speaker’s sources
 “Where did the speaker get the information?”
 “Is the information current?”

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 2. Make sure you understand the
information
• You can decide whether or not this
information is true by:
 “Do I understand all the words the speaker is using? If
not, look up any words you don’t know or ask the speaker
to explain them

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 3. Look for tricks meant to
persuade you
• There are many tricks that a speaker can use
to talk you into believing something that is
not true

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 CREATIVE THINKING
• Bringing into being something or value that
was not there before
• Not confined to the arts only, also sciences
• To generate new concepts, new ideas and
new sight.

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 To clear the mind of
wrong assumptions
To explore all the
about the subject. Thus
creative possibilities
providing space for new
creative thoughts
AIMS OF CREATIVE
THINKING
To generate ideas that
To create new
will result in specific
conceptual frameworks
actions

To develop creative
plans.

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF
CREATIVE THINKING

Use lots of Associate

imagination different ideas

Be flexible

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TECHNIQUES TO BE CREATIVE
 Associate new and unique ideas with pre-existing
ones
 Combine unusual elements
 Magnify and use dimension
 Rearrange and link pre-existing concepts
 Reverse pre-existing concepts
 Use different colours

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CHALLENGES IN CREATIVE THINKING
Refuses to accept that
the current way of
Do not set to judge,
doing things is
criticize or find fault.
necessarily the best
way

Encourages exploration
of other possibilities
 ANALYTICAL THINKING

• Process of identifying the cause of the

problem
• Try to understand complex situations by
looking at the situation through various
components or parts
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MIND MAPPING

WHAT IS
MIND MAP??

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HISTORY OF MIND MAP

Popularized by British
popular psychology
author and television
personality, TONY BUZAN
in 1974 following his
research into note taking
techniques

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HISTORY OF MIND MAP (cont.)
• He link the concept of mind
mapping to radiant thinking in his
book “The Mind Map Book:
Radiant Thinking” BBC Books, 1993
• He said that mind mapping is a
device that encourages you to put
on paper, the words, symbols,
images and codes that are
associate with one’s thoughts,
ideas, concepts, expressions, and
emotions.

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HOW MIND MAPPING WAS INVENTED?

Tony Buzan studied three common techniques for

taking notes during a lecture:

Writing a
Writing a Writing key
complete
Summary words only
transcript

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 INTRODUCTION TO MIND MAPPING
• It consist of a central word or concept
• Around the central word you draw 5 main
ideas
• Then you take each those words and again
draw 5-10 main ideas

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 ADVANTAGES OF MIND MAPPING
• Time saving : 75% to 90% of the words can be
eliminated
• Key words are used, the association and
connections are precise
• Can be in image form
• Creativity and personality is highly involved
• Free-flowing , spontaneous and free associating
• Learning process is accelerated

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THINGS CAN DO WITH MIND MAP

Creative
Studying the Studying as a
Writing &
Easy Way Group/Family
Report Writing

Meeting &
Giving a Talk Note Taking
Think Tanks

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 HOW TO CREATE A MIND MAP?
• Begin at the center of the page with the main topic or ideas.
• Work outwards from in it directions to produce a unique
pattern or ideas and sub-topics.
• Use about 5-7 clusters, where a cluster is a sub idea
• Use 3-D perspective and colours to create more interest and
dramatic
• Used one word per line to make it more concise
• Arrow, colours, and designs can be added to show
connection and associations
• Make use of a personal short-form, codes and symbols
• Be creative, original and have fun

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MIND MAPPING (cont.)

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MIND MAPPING (cont.)

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BENEFITS OF USING COMPUTER
TO CREATE A MIND MAP

Easy Restructuring
• You can restructure your mind maps by moving
words and trees of words around in seconds
• Better for quickly creating new ideas and ordering
ideas into a meaningful structure

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 BENEFITS OF USING COMPUTER TO
CREATE A MIND MAP

Highlighting
• You can instantly highlight different features of a
complex mind map
Comments
• Allows you to write sentence of explanation for
yourself or others

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 BENEFITS OF USING COMPUTER TO
CREATE A MIND MAP

Presentability
• Having the same high quality appearance as any
other document.
Export
• You can instantly export the mind map to a
normal text file or to a structured word processor
document
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Computer Mind Mapping

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SPERRY’S SPLIT-BRAIN THEORY

In mind mapping, both

side of the brain are
being used at the same
time since the “mind-
mapper” is encouraged
to use both words and
symbols/codes/images

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 Sperry’s Split-Brain Theory (cont.)

In this manner, the whole

brain is used and this
surely helps to bring
about better recall in
terms of the time period
taken and the amount of
the contents to be
learned

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 RIGHT VS. LEFT BRAIN
Right Brain Emphasizes Left Brain Emphasizes
 Forms & patterns  Language
 Spatial manipulation  Mathematical
 Rhythm & musical  Logic & numbers
 Image & picture  Sequence
 Imagination  Linearity
 Daydreaming  Analysis
 Dimension  The words of a song
 The tune of a song

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 GARDNER’S MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES THEORY

Mind map is a useful and

enhancing tool for using
the 7 intelligences that
we have.

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 GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Sensitivity to language, meanings and

relations among words.
Found in: novelist, poet, copywriter,
Linguistic scriptwriter, editor, magazine, writer,
reporter, public relations director,
speechwriter

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GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Sensitivity to pitch, rhythm, timbre,

the emotional power and complex
Musical organization of music.
Found in: performer, composer,
conductor, music audience etc.

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 GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Abstract thought precision,

counting, organization, logical
Logical- structure.
Mathematical Found in: mathematician, scientist,
engineer, animal tracker, police
investigator, lawyer

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GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Keen observation, visual thinking,

mental images, metaphor, a sense
of the whole gestalt.
Spatial Found in: architect, painter,
sculptor, navigator, chess player,
naturalist, theoretical, physicist.

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 GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Control of one’s body and object,

timing, trained responses that
Bodily- function like reflexes.
Kinesthetic Found in: dancer, athlete, actor,
inventor, surgeon, aerobic
instructress

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 GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Sensitivity to others, ability to read

the intentions and desires of others
and potentially to influence them.
Interpersonal Found in: politician, teacher,
lecturer, counsellor, salesman,
manager, “people person.

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 GARDNER’S 7TH MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES

Self-knowledge, sensitivity to one’s

own values, purpose, feelings, a
developed sense of self.
Intrapersonal Found in: novelist, counsellor, wise
elder, philosopher, guru, person
with deep sense of self

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 ANTICIPATED/EXPECTED RESULTS OF APPLYING
THE ABOVE THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES IN
MIND MAPPING

• More integrated learning

• Saving time in learning
• Remembering better and faster
• Learning becomes more organized
• Learning is more efficient
• Learning is more interesting and exciting
• Academic performance should be improved
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END OF CHAPTER 1

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