critical thinking

  Compare different critical thinking models, and share your understanding of synthesis. Become familiar with different critical thinking models, and understand why critical thinking is so important. Analyze the resources you found for your Annotated Bibliography to find themes and synthesize those resources into a cohesive review.

 In this week's discussion, you will compare and contrast different models of critical thinking and provide examples

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the foundation of many skills in the field of psychology. In this course, you will need these skills for this week's discussion and both of your remaining assignments. Explore definitions and strategies for critical thinking in psychology by completing the following:

• Facione, P. A. (2015). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.insightassessment.com/pdf_files/what&why2006.pdf
  • Provides a simple definition and examples of critical thinking in everyday situations.
• Read Stages of Thought and complete the self-assessment to determine how you apply critical thinking in your life.
• Granello, D. H. (2001) Promoting cognitive complexity in graduate written work: Using Bloom's taxonomy as a pedagogical tool to improve literature reviews. Counselor Education & Supervision, 40(4), 292−307.
  • This article contains strategies for improving the complexity of your thinking and writing in the field of psychology.
• Read Analytic Stage of Thinking and spend some time reviewing Paul and Elder's elements of thought.
  • Think about how you might apply them to your own thinking, to your peers' writing, and to scholarly articles.
• Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2007). Critical thinking model 1 [PDF]. Available from http://www.criticalthinking.org/
• View Bloom's Taxonomy. This media presentation provides an introduction to the model and its use in practice.

What did you learn about this week that grabbed your attention or caused you to think more deeply about it? In previous weeks, you located and evaluated high-quality research to support your practice in the field of psychology. This week, you added critical thinking tools to your repertoire to further critique research and its relevance to research questions and practice. You were introduced to the following models that support critical thinking:

• Bloom's Taxonomy.
• Facione's Critical Thinking: What it Is and Why it Counts [PDF].
• Paul and Elder's elements of thought from Analytic Stage of Thinking.

For this discussion:

• What interested you about these theories?
• How do they play a role in your personal or professional life?
• How do you see them applied in the world around you or in current events?
• How could you imagine using each model as a practitioner-scholar working in your specialization?

If you have any trouble understanding these models or the strategies in the article, Promoting Cognitive Complexity in Graduate Written Work, use this discussion to receive support from your peers and instructor to work through your challenges.