I would define critical thinking as a thought process based on reason and evidence. Critical
thinking allows us to judge a situation objectively base on logic. Through the process, we
will collect evidence, evaluate it, and ultimately come up with an action plan. Characteristics
that make a good Critical Thinker are open-mindedness, flexibility, and creativity. A
common barrier in critical thinker is when a group of people or key players lack such
characteristics. As a group, it can cause delays and additional roadblocks. Typically, the
average person is not just born with these types of skills. These are skills that need to be
worked, and over time cultivated. I have difficulty with these characteristics and it is
something that I have to work on every day. Push myself each day and seeking mentorship
from my leaders has helped me overcome these barriers. Each week, I would set goals/tasks
for me to work on that would help me grow. That could be something as simple as sitting
listening to my peers' suggestions. It could also be something more elaborate, such as
working on a project to improve customer satisfaction and bringing creative solutions.
Building my self-esteem and confidence has allowed me to expand my ideas and critical
thinking drive. Prior to this week, I did not think they had a correlation. Now, I understand
how these two come together to create a strong foundation. Critical thinking is trying to see
things from more than one point of view, and realizing that you are not always correct or
that there isn’t necessarily a right answer. In my career I have always tried to look at things
from all points of view. I try to come up with a resolution, if at all possible, that will fit
everyone’s needs. That is not always possible; however, you have to at least try.Critical
thinkers are effective communicators and are flexible in their thinking. Not everyone thinks
the same way, so you have to be able to communicate what you are trying to say in a way
that your audience will understand it. When speaking to a co-worker about a specific topic, I
can speak a whole lot different than when I am speaking to a provider or beneficiary about
the same topic. Because my co-worker has all the same information and has had the same
training as I have, where especially the beneficiary has not. So, I have to change the way I
say what I am saying so that they will understand it better. I think the most challenging
barrier to critical thinking is experience.It takes time and practice (experience) to be able to
think outside the box and to learn that it is ok to say “I don’t agree” or to ask “Can you
explain to me why/how you came to that conclusion?” I have said for a very long time that
it never hurts to ask a question. Even if the answer is no, at least you asked. Even if it
doesn’t change the outcome.The examples of real-life scenarios are what expanded my ideas
about critical thinking the most. It helped me realize that while I definitely have room to
grow, and always will, I use critical thinking in my everyday life, more then I realized. I
really liked the video though. I liked the idea of having a co-worker/friend that doesn’t have
the same “beliefs” as I do so that they are constantly challenging me and making me think.
Not to be mean, but just so that I can look at things from all points of view before coming to
a decision. I would define it as the process of gathering factual data and analyzing that
information to form a conclusion to a certain topic or idea. Meaning, someone who is a
critical thinker, would not make a blanket statement or judgement based on their opinion of
something but instead, research and gather relevant data to back up their justifications.
Contrarily, being a critical thinker can have it’s disadvantages. Just as it is stated in the
discussion post topic, “sometimes, the word critical means being picky” and I can agree with
that.
Criticism, in my opinion, is normally something that is not appreciated amongst most people
I know, because it’s basically a form of judgement of another person or anything. For
instance, while a critical thinker could be addressing an issue from an analytical point of
view, to someone who doesn’t think that way, may feel as if that person is being very
judgmental.
The best way to overcome or avoid a situation such as that, in my opinion, is to first
acknowledge the other person’s viewpoint before dissecting or critiquing them or their work,
then engage them in your thought process by using effective communication so that no one
misinterprets the message and actually become open-minded and appreciate the critical
perspective.I found the Cognitive Development in College Students piece to be very
enlightening. Reading about the 3 different stages: dualism, relativism and commitment
expanded my understanding of the many classifications of critical thinking and how we each
can have a different approach to a situation at certain times in our lives. Critical thinking is
having the ability to analyze information open-mindedly and using that information to form
an opinion on the given information. Some characteristics of critical thinkers can include
(but are not limited to): open-mindedness, problem solving, optimism, and etc.
Some barriers to critical thinking might be group thinking, laziness, or fear. Group thinking
can lead to less critical thinking on each persons part within a group. While laziness and/or
fear can cause lack of motivation or a lack of confidence in ones critical thinking abilities.
Ways to overcome such barriers as these might include using other areas to gain more self-
confidence and using methods to decrease procrastination and/or laziness in order to have
the time to put into research and such to form an educated opinion or judgement. There were
many things within the reading assignment for this week that expanded my ideas about
critical thinking. But, I think that the one that stuck out to me the most was reevaluating how
open minded I actually am. I always thought I was very open minded, however I was a little
less than I originally had thought. Overall, I really enjoyed the first readings of this class and
think they were very informative. I would define critical thinking as the key to being able to
obtain a deeper understanding of different people and subjects that we encounter throughout
our daily life. The reason I would define it as that explanation is because if you don't accept
certain information at face value, and you find yourself wanting to know more or why or
how, that information that you obtain is more knowledge than you knew before, and more
than what a standard thinker would learn.Some characteristics of a critical thinker are being
able to be flexible. You want to allow yourself to be flexible because when you are used to
analyzing things you know that, not everything happens the way it is set to. Allowing
yourself to be flexible correlates with the characteristic of being open minded too. When you
are able to listen and understand all points of view and degree's of certain things, surprises
are less likely to through you off the horse and cause a stir.Common barriers to critical
thinking and its' characteristics are resistance. I'm not sure if there is one person on the Earth
that doesn't have something that they are completely passionate about. When you feel strong
towards something, it is normal to become resistant when there is something pushing
against. With critical thinking, you should be able to back yourself up with logical reasoning
and not running solely on what you've heard or seen, and you also have to be accepting of
what the other party has to say as well.I really liked the self assessments. I'm always a
sucker for seeing where I am at on a scale, whether it's like the one from our reading, or
knowing what color my personality is. I learned that I have become more of a critical thinker
and I believe I have to owe that to my job working at the Childrens Hospital when I lived in
Phoenix, and my job now that I hold after I moved back to where I was raised. I knew I
grew as a critical thinker because I was able to compare where I am at now, being able to
understand different people, their way of thinking, and problem solving, to where I was
before I moved out to Arizona, which was the type of person that thought the world was
going to end with every bump in the road. Being able to move to AZ on my own and learn
that independence when I didn't know the area, or the people, I realized I had obtained many
critical thinking skills during those three years, and honestly I am very grateful for it.
Critical thinking can be defined as the ability of a person to be well informed, attentive,
creative, and open-minded with the ability to evaluate, analyze, and problem solve in a
intellectual manner and identify and resolve issues that may happen in our lives. Most
people can be good critical thinkers as long as they are able to communicate and be open
minded to any situation without bias. Some common barriers are self-centered or
societal/cultural-centered thinking. As human beings we tend to be bias and let our emotions
and feelings get the best of us and it can cloud our judgement.Having a open mind and
putting yourself in the other person shoes. Being empathetic and sometimes sympathetic can
help avoid a lot of barriers that we face everyday. Taking a second to think and process
before speaking and having the correct information as well and not being narrow-minded.
Many of us have resistance as well that affect our critical thinking.Reading the assignment
for this week really stood out because in certain situations I am narrow-minded and I can
also be open-minded as well. I feel as long as I can communicate and understand a person
point of view I can critically think clearer. Critical thinking, in my opinion, is evaluating
something or a situation and making a decision about how you feel about it. I think it was
really interesting to see how the participants in the experiment reacted to the instructions
they were given. Many of them only continued to give the electric shocks because they were
responding to authority and were afraid of being defiant. The other participants knew it was
wrong and made the decision not to continue with the experiment after a certain point. This
really expanded what I thought I knew about critical thinking before this course. Some
characteristics of critical thinkers are self- confidence in your ability to reason, openness to
learning and thinking and the willingness to change your opinions when necessary. When it
comes to critical thinking, it can be difficult sometimes to form our own opinions about
situations and how we believe we should react. It can be much easier to follow the directions
or opinions of others and take them on as our own even though we may feel differently. It's
important to stay strong in our beliefs and use critical thinking skills to evaluate every
situation and form your own opinions. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate
issues/topics to develop informed opinions or action plans in an intellectual manner. A
critical thinkers is someone who has good communication and analytical skills, is open
minded, creative and is good at problem solving. Barriers to critical thinking are narrow
mindedness as well as resistance/denial. Overcoming barriers to critical thinking such as the
ones I have mentioned can be challenging as we are sometimes set in our ways. Allowing
yourself the ability to approach critical thinking with an open mind (doesn't mean you agree
with everyone) will give you the opportunity to see things in a different light and to learn
something about a topic/issue you would have never thought. It also may bring you
tolerance and compassion toward others. Resistance/denial restricts our ability to make well
informed decisions therefore selling ourselves and others short in our decision making.
There were many things in reading this assignment that expanded my idea regarding critical
thinking but the one thing that really stood out to me was how although I perceived myself
as open minded I just may not be as open minded as I thought. Listening to someone else's
perspective on issues does not make me open minded, having the ability to change the way I
think (not always agree) and work with others constructively is really having an open mind.
Critical thinking requires that we reflect upon our own experiences and then participate in a
systematic examination of other views and facts related to the topic. A key component
within this process is the willingness to ask questions. This process enhances and deepens
one's understanding of an issue or a problem. As part of the examination of one's thinking,
he or she should explore the strengths and weaknesses of the views held. In addition to
understanding the strengths and weaknesses of our one's views, it is important to understand
the strengths and weaknesses in any opposing views. As emerging professionals in your
career you are expected to understand a body and foundation of knowledge, as opposed to
having specific answers to questions or a fixed set of facts. As technology and culture
change, so will the questions being asked and their answers. They key is that you know how
to solve complex problems and create solutions to tough problems and situations. If you
only had answers to specific questions, you may be limited on your ability to apply problem
solving skills.
