Becoming a Critical Thinker

My Current Reflection

It has been close to two decades since I picked up my critical thinking hat and put it on. Until the start of this course, this is the furthest I have been from critical thinking in my life. Now reacquainted, I believe in my abilities to pick back up where I left off in the year 2000, but not without first needing some serious practice. When I start to think about my competencies in becoming a critical thinker, I want to first look at a definition of critical thinking so that I can baseline my skillset. Critical Thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it (Paul & Elder, 2014). It is not simply enough to think about my thinking, but to think to improve my thinking.

How far have I come?

When I started this course, my understanding of critical thinking was very small and narrow. I did not see critical thinking as an objective or a necessity, but instead understood it to be a concept for intellectual people. For me, there wasn’t any “going around the circle” of the elements or using intellectual standards. When would I ever use these techniques or apply them in daily situations? The truly exciting part of this course has been the application of a new way of thinking. Instead of thinking how to use elements, standards or traits in previous conversations, I’m beginning to think about my thinking while it is happening. 

Learning Habits

The best way to describe how I’ve internalized the concepts from this course is to describe how I prepare to exercise my critical thinking. I always try to clear my mind of any intentional bias, whether it be through my interpretation, assumption or point of view. If I’m able to objectively look at a situation or question, I know I’m preparing myself for being in the right frame of mind. 

I know that one of the most impactful changes I can make to my thinking habits is to consciously think about eliminating my bias before engaging in conversation or debate with someone. I feel that all too often, I’m a creature of habit and I want to apply my own perspective to a situation, rather than be consistently openminded. Much like with the Elements of Thought, I must ask myself, what is my purpose? 

To Coach Or Not To Coach

There are a few people in my circle of friends that know about critical thinking. Having someone to practice with is certainly a bonus, especially as I continue to grasp the basic understanding of critical thinking. Using a thinking partner is a great way to keep evolving my thinking and prevent it from drifting into the barriers of egocentric or sociocentric thinking. Confront the impediments to critical thinking (Nosich, 2012, p. 45). My personal experiences, patterns and fear lead to bias, so I must confront these impediments to aid in my critical thinking journey.

In order for me to fully develop my critical thinking skills, I must take part in more critical thinking exercises. I need to reflect more about my thinking, especially before I even start thinking. It will be helpful if I can spend more time with my two or three friends that understand critical thinking, so that we can keep each other on the correct path. I find that it is efficient when someone else is also being mindful of how we're using our critical thinking and to call each other out for not using the standards, elements and traits in the appropriate way. If I can lean on my critical thinking friends, eliminate my bias and practice being openminded, I believe I can continue to grow and develop these very important skills.

Marques Thomey

September 3, 2019

References:

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2014). Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools (7th Ed.) 

Nosich, G. (2012). Learning to think things through, A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.