Critical Thinking

Introduction
Presentation- 3

Col M. Javeed Khan (R)

Department of EDUCATION 1
Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
 Course Outline

Detail of course outline1

Unit 1: Introduction to Critical Thinking
i. Essential aspects of critical thinking
ii. Teacher as Critical thinker

Department of EDUCATION 2
Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lecture the students will be able to:

• Understand essential aspects of critical thinking

• Teacher as a Critical thinker

Department of EDUCATION 3
Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
 DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING

• Critical thinking is reason oriented, perceptive thinking process,

open minded and strong justifiable arguments.
• Critical thinking respects other people's opinion.
• It involves rational and insightful thinking centered or based on
making a decision on what to believe or act on.
• It leads the thinker to be very broad minded and receptive to
alternative ways of thought and also very well informed.
• It demands that the thinker examines credibility of information
sources and does not accept things at face value.

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 DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING

• Critical thinking is an organised, logical thinking required to

understand issues and solve problems.
• Students are can improve their thinking skills if they are taught
how to think.
• Students need to be taught how to think more effectively,
that is more critically, coherently, and creatively.
• Students have a natural ability to think critically, yet it is
important for teachers to guide them in order to refine their skills.

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 DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING

• Critical thinking was first highlighted by Benjamin Bloom’s

Taxonomy.
• It was perceived that a higher level of cognitive ability
involving critical thinking was a feature in the analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation levels while lower levels of cognitive ability that
is knowledge, comprehension, and application only involved
remembering, relating and applying information respectively.
• Critical thinkers as those who are able to analyze and evaluate
information.

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 DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING

• Critical thinkers are those who are able to - Raise vital questions
and problems, formulate them clearly, gather and assess relevant
information, use abstract ideas, think open-mindedly, and
communicate effectively with others.
• Critical thinking is a complex process that requires higher
levels of cognitive skills in the processing of information.

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CRITICAL THINKING DEFINITIONS
• The art of thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking focuses on deciding what to believe or do.
• Critical thinking is a mode of thinking about any subject, content or
problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her
thinking by skillful analyzing, assessing and reconstructing it.
• Critical thinking is purposeful, self-regulatory, judgment which
results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as
well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological,
criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that
judgment is based”.
• Active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or
supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which
support it and the further conclusions to which it tends.
• Critical thinking is the ability to apply reasoning and logic to new or
unfamiliar ideas, opinions, and situations.
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• Critical thinking prompts the thinker to identify conjectures, bases
and inferences.
• Critical thinking propagates the judging of the quality of an
argument, including the credibility of its reasons, substantiation
and theory.
• Armed with the power of critical thinking, a person can develop
and justify a reasonable stand very well, as it is backed by well
planned experimentation and suitable premises.

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• When judging another person's stand, an adherent of critical
thinking will ask relevant questions.
• Critical thinking advocates context specific definitions and draws
conclusions only when necessary with great prudence, integrated
by an adherent of critical thinking.

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• Critical thinking causes the thinkers to be concerned about the fact
that what they believe is the truth.
• This is what makes critical thinking very flexible, as critical thinkers
are open to other points of view, hypotheses, descriptions,
judgments and sources of information.
• Critical thinkers sanction a stand only to the extent of their
knowledge of it, and keep themselves well informed.
• Critical thinking encourages thinkers to seriously take into concern
other opinions than their own..

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• Critical thinking also advocates the presentation of a stand
truthfully and precisely - whether the position is the thinker's or
another person’s.
• The wished for connotation of what is being held, written or
communicated in any other way should be as accurate as the
circumstances demand according to the standards that critical
thinking sets.

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• The main focus of a critical thinking oriented argument is the
question or conclusion at hand, and in this process, reasons are
sought as well as offered.
• Critical thinking demands that the total situation should be
considered, while thinkers should be aware of their own
fundamental values.

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• Critical thinking also promotes the value and self-respect of every
individual, including the dispositions to find out about other
people's reasons and values.
• Critical thinking prowess should never be used to patronize, coerce
or confuse other people, because critical thinkers must always take
into account the other person's sentiments and understanding of
the world.
• Critical thinkers must be considerate towards other people and care
about their well being.

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• Critical thinking abilities include being able to focus on an issue,
evaluate opinions, being able to ask and challenge as well as offer
clarification, being capable of judging the reliability of the source,
be able to monitor and also judge the reports of observation,
infer as well as judge inference, persuade and judge orientation
as well as make and judge value conclusions.
• Adherents of critical thinking are also able to attribute unspoken
postulations.

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Depending on this approach to problem-solving, there are three
important characteristics of Critical Thinking;
• Quick Thinking − It is the quality that enables a few people to give
quick and accurate answers in a flawless manner when they face
unexpected questions, while others might be caught mumbling
and fumbling over words.
• This quality needs a lot of practice and depending on the amount
of practice you put into thinking fast under time-bound
circumstances, your answers will be prompt and satisfactory.

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• Creative Thinking − Many problem-solvers can find out the
solution to the problems by the traditional method, however when
they are faced with a unique problem, they tend to stop
functioning.
• The reason behind this is they think this new situation is not their
problem and they can save the time needed to solve this new
problem in completing more tasks of the kind they can handle.
• On doing this, they restrict their thoughts and analytical skills
which is extremely important to hone creative thinking.

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• Analytical Thinking − Despite facing numerous problems and
situations daily in our life, we don’t receive any formal training on
how to handle these situations using logical and scientific
methods.
• Analytical thinking involves defining the problem and generating a
list of possible solutions for a problem. After that, the best solution
is determined of the entire list of problems.

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• Critical thinking teaches that open-mindedness is the most
important requirement for learning, as it helps people to step out of
their comfort zone, and draw effective conclusions.
• Critical thinking has many benefits, such as improving persuasion
skills, enhancing communication skills, and improving problem
solving skills.
• Critical Thinking helps us evolve our Emotional Intelligence.
• Critical thinking requires a person change his approach to problem-
solving by changing his perspective while analyzing data.

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Fundamental aspects of critical thinking
Critical thinking recognises various behaviours and dispositions
that a critical thinker must possess.
i. Abilities
• Analysing arguments, claims or evidence
• Judging or evaluating based on evidence
• Making inferences using inductive or deductive reasoning
• Making decisions and solving problems through reasoning.

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Fundamental aspects of critical thinking
ii. Dispositions
• Open-mindedness
• Searcher of truth
• Inquisition
• Fair and balanced view of one’s work and that of others.

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iii. Subject Matter
•A well-informed educationist is always in a good position to
offer better insights on the subject matter from an informed
position.
•It is important to emphasize that critical thinking and
analysis is not simply related to subject knowledge.

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Teacher as Critical Thinker
i. Ask Questions
• Asking questions, especially open-ended questions, gives
elementary school students a chance to apply what they’ve
learned and build on prior knowledge.
• It also allows them to problem-solve and think on their feet, and
boosts self-esteem by providing an opportunity for students to
express themselves in front of their peers.
ii. Encourage Decision-making
• Since a large part of teaching critical thinking skills revolves
around applying knowledge and evaluating solutions, elementary
school teachers should encourage decision-making as much as
possible.
• This enables students to apply what they’ve learned to different
situations, weigh the pros and cons of a variety of solutions, then
decide which ideas work best.

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Teacher as Critical Thinker
iii. Work in Groups
• Group projects and discussions are another excellent way for
elementary school teachers to encourage critical thinking skills.
• Cooperative learning not only exposes students to the thought
processes of their classmates, it expands their thinking and
worldview by demonstrating that there’s no one right way to
approach a problem.
iv. Incorporate Different Points of View
• Some of the very best critical thinking exercises for elementary
school students involve exploring a concept from multiple
perspectives.
• This tactic not only establishes that an idea should be assessed
from different points of view before an opinion is formed, it gives
students a chance to share their own viewpoints while listening
to and learning from others.

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Teacher as Critical Thinker
v. Connect Different Ideas
• Connecting different ideas is key to teaching critical thinking.
• For example, elementary school teachers can ask students if they
know anyone who has to take a bus to work, and if so, why it
would be important for that person to also have a train schedule.
• Questions like these help children consider different situations
(delayed buses, for example) and potential solutions (taking the
train instead), helping them apply prior knowledge to new
contexts.
vi. Inspire Creativity
• Imagination is key to teaching critical thinking in elementary
school.
• Teachers should seek out new ways for students to use information
to create something new. Art projects are an excellent way to do
this. Students can also construct inventions, write a story or poem,
create a game, sing a song—the sky’s the limit.
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Teacher as Critical Thinker
vii. Brainstorm
• Brainstorming, a time-honored tradition in elementary
education, is an excellent learning tool.
• It’s also an excellent critical-thinking exercise, especially when
paired with visual elements that bring original thinking and
classroom discussions to life.

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The End

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