Building Critical Thinking
To start off, what exactly is critical thinking and why is it important?
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and understand the logical connection between ideas. Nowadays, critical thinking is one of the most sought-after skills in almost every industry and workplaces. Most employers search for job candidates who can evaluate a situation using logical thought and come up with the best solution. Critical thinking also allows us to continue to develop intellectually because we will always encounter new information in our lives and knowing how to think critically will help us evaluate and use it to our benefit. Other advantages of critical thinking are such as it helps us when it comes to making hard decisions by allowing us to compare the pros and cons of the available options and most of the time, we end up finding that we have more options than what we’ve imagined.
There are 5 critical thinking skills which are used most often in workplaces. Those skills are analytical skill (ability to examine something), communication skill (ability to deliver an information or ideas), creativity (the use of imagination or original ideas), open-minded (willing to consider new ideas) and problem solving (skill that involves analysing a problem, generating and implementing a solution, and assessing the success of the plan).
So, how does one improve their critical thinking skill? There are several ways that can be done in order to achieve a better critical thinking skill such as:
- Become a self-critic: The very first and most important step to develop critical thinking skill is to become a critic of your own thoughts and actions. Without self-reflection, there can’t be growth. Another aspect of becoming a self-critic is acknowledging your strengths, weaknesses, personal preferences and biases. When you’ve acknowledged this information, you can understand the reason you approach certain situations from a specific perspective, and then you can step around that viewpoint because you are aware of its presence.
- Active in listening: To become a critical thinker, you need to be able to listen to other people’s ideas, arguments, and criticisms. When we listen to their perspectives, we can take that information and analyze it.
- Analyzing problem: Sometimes we struggle to focus on the central issues at hand. When that happens, what we can do is to step back and analyze an argument, because it’ll allow us to approach it from an objective viewpoint.
- Developing foresight: Every decision should be weighed carefully with consideration of how the choices will affect your bottom line and the people who are working towards success alongside with you.
Source :
https://collegeinfogeek.com/improve-critical-thinking-skills/
https://www.success.com/how-to-develop-critical-thinking-skills/
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/critical-thinking-definition-with-examples-2063745
