Critical Thinking Skills

There are many things students can do to develop their own
critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is your ability
to think clearly and rationally, reflecting and developing your
thoughts. Sometimes we can get a bit lazy with our thinking and
we only consider things at a superficial level. Here are some
things you can do to enhance your critical thinking.
CLARIFY YOUR THOUGHTS: The best way to
clarify your thoughts is to try and explain your thinking to
someone else. Even if you are talking to an imaginary person, you
will find that explaining your thinking out loud helps you to see
the flaws in your argument.QUESTION
ASSUMPTIONS: Don’t take your thoughts for granted,
every now and then think about why you believe a certain thought or
how you know things to be true. Get in the habit of pausing and
looking at what you are thinking and questioning what thoughts
underlie your assumptions. Don’t just conform and accept a view
because it is the popular one, instead pause and reflect on the
arguments for and against that viewpoint and the strengths of each
argument.LOOK FOR OTHER PERSPECTIVES: When
you are presenting an argument, imagine yourself in a debate and
think about what the opposing side might say. What would someone
with a completely opposite view to you believe? Can you understand
why they might think that way? Can you see some validity in their
viewpoint?KEEP AN OPEN MIND: In order to look
for other perspectives keep an open mind. If you immediately
dismiss any thought that does not fit into the way you see the
world, you will never be able to expand and develop your
viewpoints, you will have a very fixed and limited view of the
world.BE CURIOUS: Start to look outside the
things you normally read and watch and think about. Learn more
about things you know nothing about and were not previously
interested in. Listen more to what people say, we learn so much
more when we really listen rather than spend time planning what we
will say next.MAKE INFORMED JUDGEMENTS: It is
ok to not have an opinion about something because you don’t have
enough information yet. Avoid rushing to judgements, take your time
to gather information and evidence and assess it before making a
decision. Try not to let yourself be swayed by emotion as this can
affect your ability to assess information intellectually.