For several months, culminating in my certification in June, I participated in an online course at the Pearson TalentLens University of Critical Thinking. My intention was to improve my own abilities and be a better resource for my clients regarding critical thinking. For me, with such an immense amount of information available to us (overload!) And with so much mere “noise”, the ability to think critically and make sound decisions (at work and at home) is more important, but more difficult. , never.
The topics addressed by the University Critical Thinking course are collected in the book “Now you are thinking … Revolutionize your career … Transform your life”. Stedman Graham eloquently summarizes the importance of critical thinking in the book Forward:
In our world today, it is important to learn the art of critical thinking. Critical thinking is needed to cut through the noise of other people’s opinions swirling around you like the mist of darkness that threatens to engulf your soul. Surrounded by experts and pitchers offering mostly unsubstantiated claims, you need a disciplined style of thinking to establish your own authentic identity. Examining experiences for the dream of a future exclusively yours is a task of critical thinking and development. When everyone has access to a flood of information, becoming a master thinker is very important to your safety for life.
The first part of this book is written as a story about a team of people who are charged with saving the life of a terminally ill two-year-old girl.
Starting in the Middle East, the team, including US military personnel, must deploy highly effective thinking to transcend the rational, emotional, and political challenges along the way. It’s an amazing and emotional story of determination, perseverance, going the extra mile, and employing strong critical thinking skills along the way.
The rest of the book focuses on your thinking styles and skills, those of the reader, as follows:
Chapter 1. How Your Mind Works: Some Assembly Required
The first thing to understand is that thinking is a skill, it is not inherent present, so it is something that can be improved. Three important areas of your mind, according to the authors, are dreams (goals, desires), feelings, and thinking, and you want all three to be in sync. Dreams determine the direction of your behavior and therefore, to get the most out of your thinking skills, you need to know what is important in your life and what is not.
Feelings create momentum and speed, which is necessary to move on and act. Emotions can best help you achieve a dream when they are under control; however, when your feelings and emotions “run hot,” an imbalance is created that makes it more difficult to make good judgments.
The authors write that “thinking plays a key role in recognizing and evaluating life-changing opportunities, solving difficult problems, and making wise decisions.” Thought must also act as an emergency brake when feelings run too fast. Accessing your thinking side during everyday situations will greatly improve your life, allowing you to be in control, shape intentional behavior, and move in a positive direction.
Chapter 2. A new way of thinking
An expert in any field learns to organize and group information around principles. That allows the expert to quickly extract information when needed. A newbie organizes information in a more random and error-prone way. By putting a thinking pattern in your head, you are organizing important information and steps, helping you learn faster and more efficiently. A model, like a recipe, helps you see the ingredients and steps for success. These are the five steps of a model that can become a valuable part of your own thinking.
Five steps to a new thought
1. Stop and think: Being able to stop and think is a thinking skill; it is the ability to stop and figure out what kind of thinking skill you need right now. By reflective thinking, you put yourself in a position to identify the real problem or put small problems in perspective so you don’t waste valuable time and energy.
2. Recognize assumptions: Assumptions, statements, or beliefs that you assume to be true operate almost automatically, so you take them for granted without verifying the facts. They are useful because they save you time, but the problem with assumptions is that sometimes they are wrong. So learn to recognize assumptions by distinguishing facts from opinions and identifying stated and undeclared assumptions.
3. Evaluate the informationBefore you can seize an opportunity, you must assess its merits. When trying to choose between alternatives, you need to rank their relative strengths and weaknesses. To make a good choice, you must evaluate the information. Ask yourself (over and over again): “Is the relevant information based on my keys to success?” and “Is the information accurate?” It is also important to look at the source of the information. Finally, ask yourself, “Am I being objective?” Through this question, you pause to take a closer look at what you are seeing or hearing.
4. Draw conclusions: We would like to think that we accurately evaluate the information and draw a conclusion that follows logically from the information; every time. Unfortunately, mistakes often occur at the intersection of evaluating information and drawing conclusions, including two common mistakes: jumping to conclusions and over generalizing. Good decision making (or problem solving) consists of drawing conclusions that follow logically from accurate and relevant information. Use deductive and inductive reasoning skills to make the connection between the information and the conclusion.
5. Develop an action plan: An action plan helps you anticipate consequences and brings your decision to life. The type of planning required depends, to some extent, on the type of decision. However, when you move from decision to action, three questions will help you get off on the right foot: What are the consequences of this decision? What plans must be made to implement this decision? What kind of resources are needed to implement this decision?
Chapter 3. Evaluate Your Style
In this chapter, the authors discuss using the My Thinking Styles assessment to determine preferred thinking styles. They then discuss the various resulting styles: analytical, inquisitive, insightful, open-minded, systematic, timely, and in search of truth; as well as how to make the best use of one’s own preferred thinking styles.
Chapter 4 is titled Change Your Way of Thinking … Revolutionize Your Career … Transform Your Life; and offers suggestions for putting it all together to develop as a great thinker. As the authors write: “Critical thinking is about taking charge of your own thinking and owning your life. Totally!”
The book concludes by explaining some common mental traps, such as fundamental attribution error, selfish bias, confirmation bias, anchoring, framing effect, groupthink, optimistic bias, planning fallacy, and sunk cost.
Note: A New of Way Thinking is based on Pearson’s RED model of critical thinking. The RED model (Recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments and draw conclusions) arises from more than 85 years of research on critical thinking. This research program is primarily based on the Watson-GlaserTM II Critical Thinking Assessment, a leading assessment of critical thinking ability.
