Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

What critical thinking is Why it is important at university How to approach a critical thinking task What to avoid

In this workshop we will learn:

CRITICAL THINKING

Critical thinking means learning to think in analytical and evaluative ways using mental processes such as:

• attention
• categorisation
• selection
• judgement

(Cottrell, 2017)

Introduction

The importance of critical thinking at university

CRITICAL THINKING

You will have to complete assessments that require you to try different approaches and ways of reaching a conclusion. Some examples:

How to approach a critical thinking task

Critical thinking

• Identify what the problem is
• Organise your approach to the problem
• Think about the problem – from all angles
• Arrange your ideas into categories, group them as supporting or opposing a viewpoint
• Prioritise relevant ideas, reject those that seem irrelevant
• Find research that supports your argument
• Provide examples or suggest approaches
• Make sure you understand the information you find
• Check the relevance of your sources
• Only keep information that’s relevant to your topic
• Think about your argument and how you can support it
• Arrive at a personal viewpoint, write about your conclusion around your topic
• Use citations and references to support your argument

UNBIASED

Critical thinking

Your topic/argument and the research retrieved need to be: In other words, the viewpoint needs to be balanced.

Ways to avoid bias:

Critical thinking

• Read widely around the topic
• You may come across different viewpoints
• Make an effort to balance your discussion
• Mention the conclusions of the research you found and provide well-argued reasons of why you agree or disagree
• Try to keep an open mind and be aware of bias

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Critical thinking

Use facts not opinions

• It’s an expression or belief that may or may not be backed up by facts
• It is subjective
• Interprets reality
• Cannot be proved or verified

Opinion

• It’s something known and can be proven to be true or false
• It is objective
• States reality
• Can be proved or verified

Fact

Facts vs Opinions

• London is dirty
• Coffee is bad for you
• Studying at university is useful to everyone

Opinion - Examples

• London is the capital of England
• Coffee comes from coffee plants
• University is an institution of higher education

Fact - Examples

Facts vs Opinions

Click on the images (They are hyperlinked)

Useful books

Critical thinking

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