Critical thinking Is the process of conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing,
and evaluating information gathered by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning
or communication, as a guide to belief and action. When I apply critical thinking
more ideas are develop, fewer mistakes are made and better decisions are reached.
Instead of using critical thinking act on beliefs or without giving it a second
thought, the end results are poor decisions and as a result have a disaster at
hand. Critical thinkers are fair and focused. They are rational and not impulsive
while making a decision. Critical thinkers have high awareness that also plays an
important role. Thinking out of the box has resulted in many great inventions as
well ideas. Creative thinkers are modest and humble. Being modest can make you
become a better critical thinker.Thinking critically in my past life has always
became a rise and fall for me, having doubts, being questionable but at time
thinking through and reasoning my doubts and reflecting on my experiences.
Observing and analyzing the negative and eventually evaluating all my problems
and turning it into positive. Basically, all the “I can’t” and “I won’t” gave me
strength to look and think better of myself. I would describe critical thinking
evaluating and researching something. In order to make a clear judgment. I would
have never thought grocery shopping would have been considered as critical
thinking until I watched the video. When I grocery shop I have to consider what
my family likes and things that my family is allergic to.Good characteristics of a
good critical thinker are effective communication, open mindedness, flexibility,
tolerance for ambiguity, and problem solving. I work as a phlebotomist a lab. In
order to work in a hospital you have to be flexible. Schedule can change at
anytime. There are many barriers to critical thinking such as resistance, avoidance,
anger, denial ignorance, conformity, and distractions. I sometimes can get easily
distracted when it comes to completing my assignments. Motherly duties, social
media, tv , and playing on my phone. sometimes gets the best of me. So to keep
from getting distracted by my phone. I put it on airplane mode while I study. It's
good to know which barriers affect you most. So you can work on them.I never
realized how much critical thinking played a major part in my everyday life. It is
something I do everyday naturally on my own. The videos made understand more
about critical thinking. I know now I need to work more on open mindedness.
Sometimes I can really be blunt. Don't be meaning to cause harm. But at times
I hurt people feelings. That's why it's always to think before I speak. Critical
thinking is important in many ways because it helps us to become better thinkers.
One way people can overcome barriers is by being open to new thoughts from
other. Another way is not by judging a person based on their thoughts and
opinions. Knowing that everyone is entitled to an answer, with no right or wrong
answers. Everyone opinion should matter. I found that in the learning activities
very interesting that there are different stages of cognitive developments that
college students can relate to along with different characteristics of a thinker that
me myself can relate to. Also on how it can effect a person mind and ability to
be a critical thinker. I think this critical thinking course is really going to help to
me. Fear of challenge is one that really caught my eye. Because sometime a
person can feel a certain way about something and once they hear others thoughts
on it, it can easily make them change they mind out of fear. Being a critical
thinker you should always stick to how you feel about something because it
pieces of your thoughts could he helpful to someone else. I would define critical
thinking as a combination of skills that we use daily that we need for our full
intellectual and personal development. It's important to learn so not only do we
know what to think, but how to think as well.A critical thinker is effective at
communication, has analytical skills, possesses research and inquiry skills, has
flexibility and tolerance for ambiguity, has open-minded scepticism, creative
problem solving, are attentive, mindful, and curious, and is a collaborative learner.
Barriers many of us face are exactly what you'd expect them to be. Resistance
being one, comes in different types such as anger, avoidance, cliches, denial,
ignorance, conformity, struggling and distractions. Also, narrow mindedness and the
inability to see anything besides your own opinion and thoughts. Absolutism,
egocentrism, anthropocentrism, stress, and ethnocentrism. We can overcome these
barriers by learning and practicing the skills of a critical thinker. A critical thinker
to me is someone who is very observant and not biased because when giving
advice or help to a situation you'll need a very strong minded person intake,
Being misunderstood and lacking knowledge can be a problem when having a
conversation with someone who has a hard time understanding a topic of
conversation you know very well about. Critical thinking is putting your thought
and ideas together and analyzing what needs to be done to make a well thought
out conclusion to your thought. Being smart and thought out about an idea is how
you apply critical thinking.Main characteristics of critical thinking are being
thorough about ides, being conscience about the idea and apply the
"who,what,where,why" of the topic .I believe the biggest barrier that people have
is themselves. They get an idea in their heads and that is what they need, want,
or must have. This is not how you approach critical thinking at all, in fact it is
the exact opposite .I found that the "Self-evaluation Questionnaire" was the best
activity. Anytime we can try and analyse how we think and how we approach
our thinking process is a step in the right direction. Being able to answer
questions about hope we look at something and how we put thought into
something is good for us to see hoe we approach the ideas. We can find out a
lot about ourselves when we are forced to answer questions of how we approach
an idea or thought. I would define critical thinking as being open-minded when
presented with a situation, issue or statement and is able to gather the information,
use logic, analysis and evaluate then being able to come up with a conclusion or
a plan of action.
Some characteristics of a critical thinker is being an effective communicator;
flexible and have a tolerance for ambiguity; open – mindedness; ability to problem
solve.
Some common barriers to critical thinking narrow mindedness and resistance. You
can encounter narrow mindedness when you have your own personal experiences
that can block our ability to see another position. Another barrier is of resistance
in which there are several types such as avoidance of seeking information from
other sources or people. Anger comes into play when you have people who are
steadfast in there way and want to persuade another. People can overcome or
avoid these barriers by being open – minded and willing to seek other information
and positions .I honestly never realized how very important critical thinking is and
not learning these concept can make getting along with peers, family and
relationships very difficult, in fact in some instances detrimental. According to
Boss (2016), some skilled critical thinker characteristics are:
• The ability to demonstrate good analytical skills
• Possess effective communication skills and technique
• Be well informed and have excellent research skills
• Present flexibility and the tolerance to handle ambiguity and uncertainty
• Adopt a position of open-minded skepticism
• Be a creative problem solver
• Be attentive, mindful, and intellectually curious
• Engage in collaborative learning
After this week's reading assignment, I can identify numerous common barriers to
critical thinking. According to Boss (2016), resistance is recognized as a common
barrier. Most people do not like to proven wrong or challenged. Resistance,
defined as "the use of immature defense mechanisms that are rigid, impulsive,
maladaptive, and nonanalytical," can act as a barrier to critical thinking. Resistance
becomes a problem when it is used as a habitual way of responding to issues.
There are different types of resistance. Common barriers of resistance are:
• Avoidance
• Anger
• Cliches
• Denial
• Ignorance
• Struggling
• Conformity
• Distractions
• Absolution
• Fear of challenge
All of these barriers all have negative consequences and block or hinder one from
developing critical thinking skills. Based on this week's assigned reading, I'd define
critical thinking as the process of trying to analyze your own bias and the bias
of others in relation to information, in order to obtain a clearer understanding of
that information.
Critical thinkers tend to have a healthy level of self esteem, and are usually pretty
in touch with their own thoughts and feelings. This is because of their ability to
view themselves and their actions critically, without the normal cloud of personal
bias.I think fear is the greatest barrier to critical thinking, and it comes in many
forms. Fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, fear of disappointing oneself,
fear of not fitting in, and so on. In many situations, fear can excite people and
make them jump to conclusions, or make them take an unusual thought process.
For example, a child afraid of not fitting in might assume that anyone whispering
is gossiping about them, even if all logic points to it being an unrelated
conversation. Critical thinking would tell the child that the people whispering
around the corner aren't talking about them - but fear presents an obstacle to that
critical thinking and sends them down another thought process.The multi-level
analysis of how to properly define critical thinking was a really enjoyable read for
me. It was broken down just enough to be digestible without being broken down
so much as to be unengaging or dry. I would define critical thinking as the
process needed to absorb life around us; in fact the reading this week stated it is
a set of skills needed to live your best intellectually. Without the development of
critical thinking achieving goals can become very difficult. Learning how to think
rather than just what to think will ensure your making the best decisions for you
personally. A critical thinker will be able to problem solve and get past obstacles.
The common characteristic of a critical thinker that is noted in the reading is
logic. A critical thinker will base decisions on evidence and facts rather than
emotion. Due to a defense mechanism, stubbornness, also known as resistance, can
become a barrier. Avoidance was a form of resistance I could relate with. I
realized I also lean on some of the mechanisms in my everyday life. I found it
very interesting that I am not as much of a critical thinker as I thought. The
quiz that was included in the reading did bring to light how much I let emotions
affect my choices. I have learned I need to practice on some of my critical
thinking skills. I define critical thinking as something you have a strong mind set
on, you have to think wisely about your decisions. Some characteristics of a
critical thinker are Logic, Opinions, Cognitive Development, Analytical Skills, they
all have they own opinion on critical thinking. The barriers i think that's common
to critical thinking are Absolution and Fear of Challenge, because most people act
before they think, and the things they say or do effect that person they acting on.
fear of challenge some people are scared of they own shadow, some will hide in
that shell for a long time, because they fear what other people might think of
them. I have learned a lot, I mean critical thinking is really a good motivation, I
know I use to act before I think, but I'm way smarter, aware, and wiser, I think
before I do anything. Critical thinking can help solve problems and arguments if
you all have the same concept of the situation, I learn so much in this lesson
and psychology listen that I know how to move, set schedules, and etc. I love
the fact i choose to come back to school and finally can make it through a
course. I plan on learning more, I enjoy handling my priorities. I would define
critical thinking as our way of making rational decisions in a timely manner under
some sort of pressure. At some point every day we all use critical thinking as a
skillset, whether it be parenting, school, work, I mean the list goes on. Thinking
critically requires our minds to almost immediately have a solution to a problem,
without fully even understanding the problem at hand and in doing so we make
decisions that are sometimes good and sometimes can be bad but in that moment
not having the time to process we may not consider the outcome.Some
characteristics of a critical thinker include open mindedness, attentive, and even
well informed and flexible. Which I believe all ties together in a way, but can
also not tie together so well. There have been times when I've had an open
discussion about my sexuality with my family I had to remain open minded but
wasn't very attentive because in all reality their opinions meant nothing to me.
Those type of conversations with my family always present themselves which
allows me to use critical thinking to get out of the conversation as quickly as
possible. I also have moments when I want to be irresponsible and purchase some
shoes or a bag knowing I have a bill to pay. I'll use critical thinking to help me
make the best decision and it typically helps because I end up being responsible
and paying my bills on time because I'm well informed on why it's important to
not be flexible at times. These are two very different examples of my
understanding of critical thinking.One common barrier of a critical thinker that I
know affects us all is being narrow minded. When we are well informed about
something and someone or something presents us with a counter argument about
that something we tend to hear nothing. I'll give an example, I know if my
grandmother sent me to the store for some collard greens not to come back with
a can of pre-cooked collard greens and she doesn't have to elaborate as to why
because I absolutely know that she expects fresh collard greens. If I get to the
store they're sold out of fresh collard greens and only have pre-cut bagged collard
greens and pre-made collard greens in the can. The fact that I know if I bring
home the pre-cooked canned collard greens I'd never hear the end of it is what
makes me narrow minded to that option. So I know to go with the pre-cut
bagged collard greens because they are the closet to what I know my grandmother
is expecting. When she cooks she expects to make everything from scratch and
does not look for short cuts so her narrow mindedness towards those pre-cooked
collard greens rubbed off on me over the years and now I don't care how
convenient the canned collard greens are my mind is going to always eliminate
them as an option, if the store is sold out of fresh collard greens I will check
every store until I find them or go with the pre-cut bagged collard greens (critical
thinking). Not sure if in this situation I can ever overcome this barrier but there
is a work around so I guess I have because the bagged greens are still
convenient. I enjoyed the videos the most this week on critical thinking because
there were examples used for the questions that needed to be answered that helped
me with the answers for the discussion which I feel I executed well. I'm always
very critical on my responses because I want to know that I'm answering the
question properly. So that really helped. Based on this week's readings and
activities, I would define critical thinking as a way of reasoning and analysing
daily decisions that affect your life on a daily basis. Some characteristics of a
critical thinker are analysing and flexibility. Being a critical thinker means to
analyse every factor that will lead to a decision. For example, deciding what to
wear for work; is it dress code appropriate? Do I look good? will it keep me
warm or cool throughout the day? Flexibility means to be flexible to the
possibilities if your decision. What I see as a common barrier to critical thinking
is Anger. Anger can become a huge barrier, because when you are angry, you let
your emotions take over critical thinking. We tend to act on those decisions when
angry and not think of the consequences that come after. People might be able to
overcome this barrier by just being angry, let the anger out before making a
decision. And after one is more calm, them we can analyze and decide what we
will do. There are certain situations that you may be able to avoid that might
make you angry. All of this first week's learning activities and videos have been
very straightforward and great. I have learned a lot. I knew we used reason to
make decisions but I never thought about it as "critical thinking". Like the
example on one of the videos when Dr. Jackie said that even when we are out
buying milk, we are doing some critical thinking, because we have to decide
which milk will suit best for my family at home. Critical thinking is being able
to think with logic instead of opinions or feelings. It’s defined by “how” to think
versus “what” to think. Critical thinking means you take emotion out of the
equation and to think without considering how it will affect you personally but
more so thinking with logic.
Some of the characteristics of being a critical thinking would include being
analytical; being analytical means you are able to take into consideration other
peoples perspectives and dissect fact and fiction. Other characteristics of a critical
thinker are being open minded, being well informed and doing research. Along
with being flexible and having good communication skills.
Common barriers to critical thinking are really our own thoughts and opinions. We
allow negative or cynical thoughts of our own interfere with logic. Considering
most people hate to be wrong or proven wrong there is a level of humility that
comes with letting go of the thoughts you have and truly hearing someone else
out as well as analyzing the situation and making sound thoughts and decisions
on facts not ideas.
The most interesting learning I had this week was on the three stages of critical
thinking and how that becomes more relevant on age and experience. How we can
be “trained” to think a certain way or due to lack of life experiences we tend to
be more vulnerable to scams or making rash decisions because they seem enticing
instead of logical. I am still interested in digging deeper into developing a life
plan and to sharpen up my self-awareness. Critical thinking is a life skill that a
person learns from either an example set by them or adversities a person has been
through and has given them the experience needed to be a great critical thinker.
I would describe someone that is a critical thinker based on the persons attitude,
character, and willingness to never give up. Common barriers in critical thinking
could be fear of the unknown, lack of desire to problem solve, and no life
experience or depending on someone else to fix the persons problems. The best
way to improve your critical thinking skill is facing your fears and deciding. If a
person does not decide, then they will never experience the satisfaction of knowing
they made a difference in their own life. This week I enjoyed the videos and
questions that followed along as you watched. The questions were challenging and
made me think critically while answering the questions. Critical thinking is defined
as the evaluation and analysis of an issue or situation that will allow you to form
a judgement when making a decision. Some characteristics of a critical thinker are
flexibility, open-minded, communication, creative, good problem solver. The example
used for flexibility was if your boss asks you to attend a last minute meeting or
complete a last minute project, you'll need to know how to move your schedule
around in order to make it work. Not only for your boss but yourself, as you'll
still need to meet your prior engagements and complete what you already had on
your schedule. Some of the common barriers to critical thinking are distractions,
avoidance, denial and anger. I personally run into this situation at work. I like to
plan my day and know what I need to do when I get to work but my boss will
have a different agenda. I learned to not get upset and just move my schedule
around by prioritizing. Things that I learned was that critical thinking is self-
directed, self- monitored and self-disciplined. I learned that it's a complex and
lifelong skill that we will continue to develop in. Critical thinking to me is using
some or all of the skills you have to accomplish any goal or solve any problem.
I think it's very important to be a good critical thinker or to work on becoming
one. Some characteristics of being a good critical thinker are, effective
communication, flexibility and tolerance, problem solving etc. but I think the most
important one is being open minded. Being openminded is very important for
critical thinking because you're able to see others points of view and accept the
fact you can be wrong. Some barriers to critical thinking are, resistance,
avoidance, anger and a few more but to me the one that stand out the most is
conformity. I feel as though in a work place or even educational, like group
projects conformity can be a huge problem. If a majority of the group is set on
one idea or solution it may be hard for them to see any other options. If
everyone were openminded this probably wouldn't happen.
My favorite activity from this week was the video about barriers to critical
thinking and how tot avoid them. I really valued this because it showed me so
many things I need to work on. Now that I know how to become a good critical
thinker I can start taking the steps to get there. In my own words critical
thinking is when you come across a situation and come up with multiple answers.
Critical thinking is a way of being open minded and allows you to tackle
situations in many different ways without struggling with just one answer. The
most important characteristic for a critical thinker is being open minded. The
reason being is that when you are open minded your options are limitless which
will help you make a decision regardless of the situation. Being confident is
another important one as well because the confidence you have towards any
situation will be less stressful and more than likely you will come out successful
in the end. Some barriers one might face is confidence and being narrow minded.
Majority of people do not have high confidence because they are scared to fail
and leave their comfort zone which leads into being narrow minded. To overcome
low confidence and being narrow minded you have to open your mind to new
options which will boost your confidence in situations and help explore your
options and knowledge. Critical thinking is an accumulation of skills and a process
of thinking in a way that allows a person to make rationale and unbiased
decisions. Critical thinking to me is the removal of ego when confronting a
problem. This form of thinking is not reserved for complex issues only. People
use critical thinking in everyday life. Doing things such as clothes shopping,
picking a college, and relocating all require a certain degree of critical thinking.
Critical thinkers tend to be open-minded, flexible, and be effective communicators.
These traits are vital in order to be able to think outside of a persons own
agendas, beliefs and biases. Some barriers people can face when trying to use
critical thinking are at the opposite end of the characteristics I just named. So a
person may be more narrow-minded, less flexible, and lack good communication
skills. A way to overcome these barriers could be to self-evaluate and look outside
of your social circles. Communicating with people who have different opinions and
beliefs is a useful and powerful thing. We should not narrow our reality to people
who reinforce our own ideas. Echo chambers can make us ignorant or unaware of
the complexity of certain issues. A good way to become a better critical thinker
is to expand your social circle.The TED talk by Margaret Heffernan was
absolutely beautiful. I love the relationship she described between Scientist and
Statistician. How someone who is trying to disprove another persons work can
actual flourish a type of admiration and respect as opposed to hate or animosity.
I also love the message at the end. Daring to speak up. Most times people have
the same thoughts, concerns and worries. As far as any concerns or confusion
regarding the materials this week. I do not have any. Everything was easy to
comprehend and access. Critical thinking also means you know how to analyze a
situation from a different point of view rather than being completely biased to
facts. there are many characteristics to a critical thinker, two of my personal
favorites is observation and determining relevance of sources. observation is more
than just listening in on the conversation, it is also looking at the facts and where
those facts came from. it also requires a personal outlook on what is going on in
a situation and is a trait that is utilized in more than just critical thinking. which
ties into determining the relevance, finding out if this information that is given is
trustworthy and can be used as an undoubtable fact. you would trust a doctor
more than the people around you to give you a medical diagnosis on symptoms
you may have for an illness. one barrier that i know any critical thinker has is
overthinking. while one can analyze facts and discern what is relative and what is
biased, a critical thinker may struggle with finding these facts and using them
correctly. another barrier is emotional thinking, while even though you may want
to change your mind based on facts that are given, if you hold onto a belief or
an opinion so heartedly you may encounter the denial of facts. one thing that has
confused me so far is the stages of a students cognitive development in the
learning assignment, while there are obvious stages to each student I did find that
many of each stage has even applied to me leading me to question which stage
I am in for my cognitive development. Even though there was a "rate yourself"
questionnaire that helped guide me I am still a little lost on how relevant it is
to me as an individual. Critical thinking is the collective abilities to communicate
and act on what is ethically and morally the right decision to make in difficult
situations. Critical thinkers must be confident, open minded, outspoken, and
unafraid to challenge authority or to be challenged on their point of view. The
barriers that are most common are narrow mindedness and anger. People need to
free their mind to see other people perspective, that their own way of doing
things or decisions is not the only correct action. People’s emotions can make
them make the wrong decision. People can consciously decide not to make
important decision when they are anger. People have the ability to wait to make
a right decision when they are calm and collective. The videos were more
interesting activity than reading the chapter on critical thinking. I learn better with
visual aid than just reading information out of a textbook. The videos quickly and
simply explained the concepts we are learning this week. I thought Milgram’s
study of obedience was interesting, that most of the test subjects were still willing
to inflict pain on a person, just because an authoritative figure was telling them
to do it. People are conforming without even knowing that they are doing it. I
would define critical thinking as one's ability to analyze and sort through a series
of scenarios or suggestions before making a decision about something. To me
critical thinking is like having a machine mind. You out weigh the pros and the
cons before making a decision about a thought that came to mind. A critical
thinker is a person who is not biased. A person who thinks about other people's
opinions and ideas is a critical thinker. Knowing that you will not always be right
and that it's okay to be wrong defines a critical thinker also. For me I'm always
believing that I'm right about any given situation well that was in the past. That's
a big barrier when it comes to critical thinking though. If you always believe that
you are right you automatically become closed-minded and narrow-minded and
that's not a good look. To avoid looking like a know-it-all it's best to just be
quiet and think before responding. Making sure that when you do respond you are
taking into consideration the thoughts and ideas of others. Critical thinking is the
ability to think through the problems of life and deal with them in a logical way.
Critical thinking gives us the tools to resolve the issues in our lives. Opinions are
ours, to be sure, but it takes one to look at what we believe is true, and not
something that is somewhat true. Some of the characteristics of a good critical
thinker are: a good analyzer, a good effective communicator and a good researcher
are all helpful in being a good critical thinker. In being an effective communicator
also involves being a good listener. And listening is half the battle to
understanding the problem. The common barriers to critical thinking are many. You
have Resistance, as well as, Narrow Mind-ness to mention a couple. How do
people work around these things, Well, that is the $64,000 dollar question isn't it.
People need to sit down and work through these problems in a critical-thinking
way. People need to research the problem and get the right facts before they
move forward. They can not rely on simple opinions without the value of the
proper research to help them to the right conclusion. Looking at what we had to
learn this week. I really enjoyed the videos that were presented to us. They were
informative in a good way. The reading was informative, but was long. I thinks
overall the presentations were great. Critical thinking is learning how to think
rather than what to think. Critical thinking provides us with the tools to identify
and resolve issues. Some characteristics of a critical thinker is analytical skills,
effective communications, being open-minded, and creative thinking to name a few.
I believe some common barriers to critical thinking is being biased,
misunderstanding, also having a selective perception. People can overcome these
barriers by just doing the complete opposite meaning not being biased or having
a selective perception versus being those ways. Being biased is a really big barrier
to critical thinking in my opinion because it prevents people from even trying to
see other sides of things or the potential. I believe that all the concepts i have
learned is interesting. The activity and readings definitely helped me understand
how important being a critical thinker is and why it is so important. Being a
critical thinker will help you in your academic life as well as your personal life.
It is a very important skill that we all should learn. I would define critical
thinking as common sense. You use critical thinking daily when in your home.
When you are at the grocery store, or at work.
Characteristics of a critical thinker are the way someone communicates either
verbally or non-verbally. The speaker is clear when communicating a thought or
need making the receiver understanding what the goal is.
Barriers to critical thinking are co-workers that are angry and avoid job duties that
are critical they complete. People that can not see past what they want causes
barriers to see the big picture. People that are open minded can overcome barriers
once they see the good in it. Using listening skills can also help you understand
and remove barriers.
The learning activities from this week were eye opening. I never really gave it
much thought that critical thinking was used making a grocery decision or that we
used verbal and non-verbal communication during critical thinking. Knowing that
someone that is a critical thinker needs clarity, flexibility, open mindness, problem
solving skills and tolerance was something that I don't think you gave much
thought about it is just something that we do. The one that has me still asking
questions is Logical Falicies although this seems like it would involve a critical
thinker, its also falls under resistance. I would define critical thinking as an
evaluation in decision-making utilizing one's intellectual abilities and analyzation. A
critical thinker is someone that can properly make decisions and learn to overcome
barriers in that process. Some barriers that critical thinkers, or anyone, make can
include bias. Everyone has an opinion whenever it comes to just about anything,
but whenever a decision needs to be made, sometimes it can be difficult to make
a decision with the presence of bias. A critical thinker is someone that opens
their mind and may try and explore other options to overcome that resistance.The
most important thing that I will be taking away from this week's learning
activities are the barriers that may restrict someone from thinking critically. I think
that in any situation it is important to acknowledge barriers of any sort and try
to work through them. This can range from the smallest decisions, to big life
decisions like moving across the country. Practicing this skill can make it easier
over time to think more critically quicker and more effectively. I would define
critical thinking basically as the ability to think for yourself in order to come to
a viable solution or judgment in regards to whatever issue may be at hand.
Critical thinkers are open minded people, they are effective communicators, they
are flexible and have problem solving abilities. Some things that could be
considered barriers to critical thinking, that is characteristics or ways of thinking
that hinder the critical thinking process, are things such as narrow mindedness,
conformity, and even pride. Barriers to critical thinking can be overcome by being
willing to do the research, ask the next question; for instance asking then what,
why or what next? Of course, you have to be able to get over the laziness
hurdle in order to do the research or ask the questions. You have to be willing
to go all the way to the root of the problem in order to most effectively work
through it. The most interesting thing I relearned this week was the characteristics
that were common among critical thinkers, the different barriers to critical thinking.
I enjoyed the videos that were in the learning activities this week. Everyone, as
critical thinkers, one of the first things we must do is to recognize and remove
the barriers in our thinking. This is not pleasant to do! Suddenly, we are asked
to look at ourselves under a critical microscope. We may have always thought of
ourselves as open-minded. Yet, most of us really are not. While we may be very
accepting of some lines of thought, we are closed to other lines. Recognizing and
removing barriers will not be easy; however, it is quite worth the effort! Once we
begin to recognize our barriers, we can take steps to remove them. I do
understand that it can be difficult to set aside emotion, biases, and personal
opinions about topics; however, if you are intentional with developing your critical
thinking skills, setting aside emotions, biases, and opinions will be easy to do.
The first step is to recognize when you are thinking about something and those
elements are present. Gathering credible information can also help with being
objective and is, of course, necessary in critical thinking.
