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Critical Thinking Skills

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Microsoft Corporation.

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Instructor Guide

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Instructional Design and Learning Philosophy

Sound Instructional DesignAll course content is developed using a variety of research techniques. These include:

Brainstorming sessions with target audience

Library research

Online research

Customer research (focus groups, surveys, etc.)

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Interviews with trainers

Expert instructional designers create imaginative and innovative solutions for your training needs through the development of powerful instructional elements. These include:

Learning objectives provide effective tools for managing, monitoring, and evaluating training

Meaningful connections between the topic and students’ past, present, and future

Appropriate organization of essential ideas helps students to focus on what they need to know in order to learn

Modeling techniques demonstrate useful behaviors and problem-solving skills

Active application, the cornerstone to learning, helps students immediately apply what they have learned to a real-life situation

Consistent instructions and design help students learn and retain new information

Accelerated learning techniques create interactive, hands-on involvement to accommodate different learning styles

Application of Adult Learning StylesAdults learn best by incorporating their personal experiences with training and by applying what they learn to real-life situations. Our experienced instructional designers incorporate a variety of accelerated learning techniques, role-plays, simulations, discussions, and lectures within each course to appeal to all learning styles and ensure that the ideas and information will be retained.



Instructional Design and Learning Philosophy (cont.)

Customizing Your ProgramThere are two ways you can customize this program: 1) Customize the content and 2) Customize the format.

Customizing the content is easy. The Instructor Guide and Participant Guide are created in Word, so you can simply modify the content just as you would any Word document. Some common reasons for customizing content include:

Changing examples to fit your industry or work environment

Modifying content to match work rules and procedures

Adding, deleting or rearranging content to meet training time constraints

The other way to customize the program is to change the formatting. Typically, organizations will do this to add their corporate logo and/or colors, or it may just be an issue of personal preference. Again, treat the Instructor Guide and/or Participant Guide as you would any Word document. The styles used in this document are labeled HRDQ in the Quick Styles tab. For additional help using Word, consult the Microsoft website.

Preparing for the TrainingAs you know, preparation is the key to conducting an effective training. Here are some issues to consider:

Logistics Advertise the training with enough advance notice that participants can block it out on

their calendars. Consider contacting potential participants’ managers to encourage their attendance.

Send a confirmation notice before the training reminding participants of the date, time and location.

Room setup: Ideally, use round tables to facilitate partner and small group interaction.

Equipment and SuppliesIn order for the training to go smoothly, have these supplies and equipment on hand:

Name tags Rulers and rubber bands

Flip chart and markers, tape Newspaper article (about 5 copies)

Laptop with projector (for the PowerPoint) Water for yourself and the participants

Blank paper and pens, sticky notes Beverages and snacks (optional)

Timer or watch

Course Activities

Facilitation



Module One: Characteristics of Critical Thinking

Type of Activity Segment Timing (minutes)

Course Objectives 5

What is Critical Thinking? 10

Why Is It Important? 5

Curiosity 10

Awareness 5

Flexibility 10

Common Sense 10

Module Two: Critical Thinking Mistakes

Rationalization 10

Emotional Thinking 10

Biases 5

WrittenExercise

Group Activity

Facilitation



Course Activities (cont.)Module Two: Critical Thinking Mistakes (cont.)Type of Activity Segment Timing (minutes)

Tunnel Vision 10

Module Three: The Critical Thinking ProcessType of Activity Segment Timing (minutes)

EEE 5

Examine 5

Explore 45

Evaluate 30

Module Four: Turning Thinking into Action

Critical Thinking Practice 45

Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool 10

Facilitation

Group Activity

WrittenExercise

Reading



ContentsModule One: Characteristics of Critical Thinking...................................................1Course Objectives........................................................................................................2

What Is Critical Thinking?............................................................................................3

Why Is It Important?.....................................................................................................4

Curiosity.......................................................................................................................5

Awareness...................................................................................................................6

Flexibility......................................................................................................................7

Common Sense...........................................................................................................8

Module Two: Critical Thinking Mistakes..................................................................9Rationalization............................................................................................................10

Emotional Thinking.....................................................................................................11

Biases........................................................................................................................12

Tunnel Vision.............................................................................................................13

Module Three: The Critical Thinking Process.......................................................14EEE............................................................................................................................15

Examine.....................................................................................................................16

Explore.......................................................................................................................17

Evaluate.....................................................................................................................21

Module Four: Turning Thinking into Action..........................................................23Critical Thinking Practice............................................................................................24

Thinking about Critical Thinking.................................................................................26

Appendix...................................................................................................................29Action plan.................................................................................................................30

Course review............................................................................................................31

Suggested resource list..............................................................................................33

Course evaluation......................................................................................................34



Module One

1


Characteristics of Critical Thinking

2


Course ObjectivesSuccessful completion of this course will increase your knowledge and ability to:

Define critical thinking

Identify and adopt the characteristics of critical thinking

Recognize and avoid critical thinking mistakes

Identify assumptions

Evaluate information accurately and thoroughly

Distinguish between fact and opinion

Implement the critical thinking process in business situations

3

Trainer Notes

5 minutes

Introduce yourself and provide a brief background if participants don’t know you. Go over logistics (schedule, breaks, restrooms, etc.) and any ground rules for the day. Typical ground rules include no electronics in use, show respect for every participant, participate fully, no dominating or interrupting, etc.

Review the course objectives with participants.


What Is Critical Thinking? What kind of transportation do you use?

Descriptions of critical thinking ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Definition of critical thinking ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

What critical thinking is not Acquisition of information without evaluation

Evaluation of information without investigating it

Being argumentative or critical of other people

Why Is It Important?

Critical thinking enables you to: Think independently

Make better decisions

Solve problems systematically

Think more creatively

Increase self-reflection

4

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Activity to introduce: Work in small groups or with a partner. Share a bit about yourself, including the kind of transportation you use. Why did you choose that particular car or method? Debrief by sharing choices. Why didn’t everyone make the same choice? How did critical thinking affect your choice (or not)?

Activity: Ask participants to list descriptions for critical thinking—you will likely hear things such as logic, logical reasoning, creative thinking, problem solving, You may also hear some negative terms such as know-it-all, negative thinking, pessimism, manipulation, etc. The point is to introduce critical thinking as a positively motivated tool for making good decisions.

Here is one definition: Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe and what to do. It uses the identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making.

Discuss what it is NOT (listed in the workbook).

Trainer Notes

5 minutes

According to a study by The Conference Board, 400 senior HR professionals were asked to name the most important skill their employees will need in the next five years. Critical thinking ranked #1—above innovation or technology.

Critical thinking is a valuable skill in the workplace. It enables employees to think independently, make better decisions, deal with change quickly and effectively, think more creatively, and be more self-reflective—thus, more receptive to self-improvement.

Critical thinking helps you to do the following: Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning, recognize your own assumptions and biases, identify the importance and relevance of various ideas, and reach well-reasoned conclusions and solutions.

Definition of Critical Thinking

•Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe and what to do.


Specific benefits of critical thinking Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning

Recognize your own assumptions and biases

Identify the importance and relevance of various ideas

Reach well-reasoned conclusions and solutions

5

According to a study by The Conference Board, 400 senior HR professionals were

asked to name the most important skill their employees will need in the next five years.

Critical thinking ranked #1—above innovation or technology.


Curiosity

Think like a kid Take a “naïve observer” perspective instead of being a know-it-all

Show some humility; don’t let pride or ego get in the way of clear thinking

Ask questions that reflect your willingness to grasp and accept new ideas and conclusions

Project inquisitiveness and excitement rather than skepticism or negativity

ActivityInstructions: Take a ruler and rubber band and combine them to make as many different uses as you can think of. List them below.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

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6

Trainer Notes10 minutesIn this section, we’ll discuss four important characteristics of critical thinking: curiosity, awareness, flexibility and common sense.Curiosity: The purpose of critical thinking is not to be right, but to gather and assess the right information. Naïve observer vs. know-it-all: Approach the issue from a “naïve observer” perspective. Imagine you know nothing about the issue and are hearing about it or seeing it for the first time. Remove all your preconceived notions.Curiosity must be combined with humility. Don’t allow pride or ego to influence your position. Don’t stubbornly cling to a position when evidence points to the contrary.Sticking with the vehicle analogy, ask participants: How inquisitive are you about cars? What about how cars run—do you know about different engines, transmissions, suspensions, brakes, tires, etc.?

Make the point: If you are the type of person who only knows how to turn it on and drive it, do you see any value in learning more about cars? Would it help you make better decisions related to your type of transportation?

Activity: Divide participants into small groups. Give each group a ruler and a rubber band and tell them to create as many different objects as they can. Some uses you will probably see: Slingshot, bookmark, paper holder, guide for marking/cutting, water level indicator. Consider giving a small prize to the group who thinks of the most uses.

Make the connection to work: There are things you know how to do already, but perhaps it would be worthwhile to be curious about how or why you’re doing them.


AwarenessAwareness is knowing what you know, and knowing what you don’t know.

7

Trainer Notes

5 minutes

Awareness is knowing what you know, and knowing what you don’t know. This idea is best illustrated by Johari’s Window, a concept developed in 1955 and named for its creators, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham.

This is particularly critical when examining our assumptions (which we’ll get to later). Often, assumptions will fall in the Blind or Unknown categories—we don’t recognize our own assumptions and biases.

An effective critical thinker must be able to discover his/her blind spots as well as the unknown in order to make reasonable, reflective decisions.

Returning to our transportation analogy: How many different makes and models of cars can you name? How many different types of transportation can you name? How about around the world? Debrief: If you don’t know all your options, you might miss out on the optimal solution to your transportation needs.

Activity: Show this slide and ask participants how many human faces they see in it.

Seeing 4-5 faces is an average result, 6-7 is extremely observant and 10-11 is extraordinary. Debrief: Those who didn’t see more than 4-5 faces probably weren’t aware there were more—they had a blind spot.


Flexibility

Someone who is flexible: Is open to new information

Changes approach or perspective in response to unexpected obstacles or changing conditions

Adapts easily and rapidly to new situations and new information

Considers alternative points of view without being attached to any one perspective

Plays devil’s advocate

Deals with ambiguity without getting stressed out

Solves problems through compromise and consensus and is willing to experiment with another person’s ideas

ActivityInstructions: Look at each group of words and think of another word that is associated with all three of them.

1. turkey shoulder war ______________________

2. sun back television ______________________

3. floor play fair ______________________

4. coffee heart down ______________________

5. rage tobacco rash ______________________

8

Trainer Notes

XX minutes

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Show the following slide and ask people what they see.

Most people will immediately see the outline/profile of a face. If they can also see the word “Liar” written diagonally from upper left to lower right, they have a flexible perspective.

The opposite of flexibility is a need for certainty, resistance to ambiguity or considering any alternative besides their initial one.

Play devil’s advocate: Explore the opposite point of view from your original one and see what new opportunities or options arise.Back to the transportation analogy: Ask participants how many have purchased the same car or brand more than once? Note: That’s not necessarily a bad idea if they used a critical thinking process and arrived at the same car.


Common Sense Pay attention to the obvious

Verification and accuracy: Are numerical figures accurate?

Does it pass the “sniff test”? Think of outlandish urban legends, like stories of people who follow their GPS when it tells them to drive into a building!

Consider the source

Common sense quiz1. How many birthdays does the average man have?

2. You have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the coins?

3. If there are 3 apples and you take away two, how many do you have?

4. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What is the answer?

5. Two men play five games of checkers. Each man wins the same number of games. There are no ties. Explain this.

6. If you had only one match and you walked into a room where there was an oil burner, a kerosene lamp, and a wood-burning stove, what would you light first?

7. A farmer has 17 sheep; all but 9 die. How many are left?

8. Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow’s sister? Why?

9

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Common sense means paying attention to the obvious. It’s not as easy (or as common) as it sounds.

Example: A resident doctor was making the rounds and saw a patient with a black tongue. She immediately ran through all possible diagnoses with that symptom. Meanwhile, the attending doctor asked the patient if he used black cough drops—he had. Lesson: Pay attention to the obvious.

Common sense quiz: Conduct with the entire group or allow several minutes for participants to answer on their own. Answers:

1. One

2. A 50 cent piece and a nickel. Only one is not a nickel.

3. Two

4. 70

5. They were playing different people

6. The match

7. Nine

8. No. He’s dead.


Module Two

10


Critical Thinking Mistakes

11


Rationalization Evidence → Conclusion = Logic

Conclusion → Evidence = Rationalization

Commonly known as excuses!

Arises from a desire to avoid being wrong or not wanting to accept another conclusion

Examples A manager who wants to hire a personal friend keeps finding

reasons to reject resumes from other, perhaps more qualified, applicants

A restaurant cuts the portion sizes of its entrees without reducing the price to save money and tries to convince customers that the “healthier portion size” is better for them

To avoid: Determine your true motivation for thinking or believing a certain

conclusion.

Listen carefully to others’ explanations—both to uncover valid reasoning you haven’t thought about and to detect whether they are using invalid reasoning.

12

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Critical thinking mistake: Rationalization. Rationalization is the opposite of logical thinking. When thinking logically, you start with evidence and move to a conclusion based on the evidence. With rationalization, you begin with the conclusion you want and then gather evidence to support that conclusion.

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Critical thinking mistake: Rationalization. Rationalization is the opposite of logical thinking. When thinking logically, you start with evidence and move to a conclusion based on the evidence. With rationalization, you begin with the conclusion you want and then gather evidence to support that conclusion.

Car analogy: Rationalizing is choosing to buy an expensive car and convincing yourself and others that it is the best deal.


Emotional Thinking Reacting to a feeling

Reacting to emotional language

Example: “Public employee” vs. “Bureaucrat”

Wishful thinking

Polarization: Emotional attachment to one side of an issue

Trusting evidence for your belief/position without questioning it

Rejecting evidence for other beliefs/positions without examining it

Thinking: Good (“us”) versus bad (“them”)

To avoid: Separate facts from feelings

Focus on developing flexibility

Carefully follow the critical thinking process

ActivityInstructions: Read the sentence below and rewrite it to eliminate any emotional or polarizing language.

The new manager’s leadership is disastrous; she intends to dismantle a perfectly good system just so she can cling to her familiar way of doing things.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

13

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Note: This is not the same thing as intuition. Intuition has a place in critical thinking, and we’ll look at that later in the program. We’re using the term “emotional thinking” to mean the absence of logic.

Wishful thinking is an unrealistic belief in something you wish were true. Think of products people use to try to lose weight or cure an illness.

Polarization often occurs when someone we trust persuades us that a particular belief is good, and is threatened by opponents. We are afraid to question the belief/position because that would look like we are siding with the “enemy.” So we become ingrained in our position and eventually refuse to consider the possibility anything about the opposing belief/position could be valid.

To avoid:

Carefully follow the critical thinking process (Module 3) until it becomes second nature.

Activity: Have participants work with a partner or in small groups to rewrite the emotionally-charged statement. Emotional words that should be replaced: Disastrous, dismantle, good, cling,. Possible rewrite: The new manager’s leadership is uninspiring; she intends to rework a system to make it more familiar to her.

Emotional Language

Neutral Term Emotional Loaded Term• Public employee • House • Tax reduction• Plant • Smart person• Evacuate• Disturbance

• Bureaucrat• Home• Tax relief• Weed• Nerd• Flee• Riot


BiasesConfirmation bias The tendency to seek information that proves, rather than

disproves, our theories. Example: Deciding your boss doesn’t like you and providing examples to support that conclusion, while ignoring instances that might refute that conclusion.

One piece of false evidence can completely invalidate other, more visible supporting factors.

Hindsight bias The tendency to see past results as different or more probable

than initially thought. “I knew we were going to lose.”

Recency effect The tendency to give more credence to the most recent data you

receive. Studies show that people remember information more easily from the end of a list than from the middle.

Overconfidence Studies show that people tend to overestimate their abilities—

asked to rank themselves against others, more than 80% of people place themselves in the top 30% of the group.

Trusting a source just because you’re familiar with it.

To avoid: Carefully reflect on your reactions, looking for bias.

Trust, but verify.

14

Trainer Notes

5 minutes

Bias is a preference, partiality, or favoritism toward a certain point of view. It can be the result of any of the following:

Confirmation bias: Related to rationalization in that you look for evidence to support your position. You ignore evidence that contradicts your position.

Trusting a familiar source: A great deal of what we believe, whether it’s true or false, is based on what we have heard from others. This information may be misleading or outright wrong, even if the people sharing it believe it is correct and accurate. Don’t allow your relationship with a source to influence your judgment so much that you ignore or disregard documented evidence. Remember the adage, “Trust, but verify.”


Tunnel Vision

Arises from conditioning that causes us to behave in certain patterns

Blinders

Missing the big picture

We can’t grasp any options other than the ones we see/know

Example When is four half of five?

Activity Just _________________________________________________

Good to the ___________________________________________

We try _______________________________________________

Melts in your mouth ____________________________________

Takes a licking and _____________________________________

To avoid: Actively consider other perspectives

Seek out someone with a different perspective and ask for his or her input

15

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Tunnel vision occurs when we behave in a set way without considering or even realizing that there are other options. Tunnel vision represents an ingrained way of thinking that is often a result of our upbringing, culture, etc. We believe there is only one right answer to the issue or problem facing us.

Example: When is four half of five? Answer: When it is a Roman numeral: F (IV) E.

Tunnel vision causes us to consider only one way of thinking about the number “four.” Here’s a more relevant example: A boss is continually late to meetings. He hasn’t responded to polite requests to arrive on time, and no one can think of a different way to approach the situation.

Activity: Make a list of well-known taglines from famous ads. Ask participants to replace the taglines with a new ending. Their conditioning will make it difficult for them to envision a different ending. Suggested taglines (the part in parentheses is what participants should fill in with something different):


16

“Just (do it)”“Good to the (last drop)”“We try (harder)”“Melts in your mouth, (not in your hands)”“Takes a licking and (keeps on ticking)”

Ask participants to think of a situation where they feel stuck. Chances are, tunnel vision is contributing to their “stuckness.”


Module Three

The Critical Thinking Process

17


EEE

Examine Identify the issue or problem

Collect information

Explore Uncover assumptions and biases

Interpret information

Brainstorm alternative explanations or solutions

Evaluate Assess explanations or solutions

Reach a conclusion

18

Trainer Notes5 minutesTrainer Notes5 minutes

The critical thinking process can be split into three parts: Examine, explore and evaluate.

Examine: Consists primarily of identifying the underlying issue or problem and collecting evidence related to it. This can be more complex than it sounds, as we’ll see on the next page.Explore: This aspect of the critical thinking process is where you want to let your creativity flow. You want to suspend judgment, recognize assumptions, and interpret information objectively. You may also need to brainstorm alternative explanations or solutions to the issue you have identified.Evaluation: The last step of the process is what many people may think of as critical thinking. It consists of assessing the information and evidence, and reaching a conclusion about the issue or problem. However, the first two steps are also necessary to make certain you are analyzing accurate, relevant and complete information about the issue.


Examine

Identify the issue You can’t evaluate what you can’t identify

Issue: The question or situation that requires an answer or conclusion

What the issue is NOT:

Examples

Statistics

Evidence

Conclusion

Collect informationSearch for the 5 W’s and H

Observation/personal experience

Intuition

Recognize a situation that may mislead other people. Example: When a sensational but extremely rare catastrophic earthquake occurs in a city, people may begin to think of that city as earthquake-prone or unsafe, even though that may not be the case.

Examples

Statistics

Research findings

Expert testimony

19

Trainer Notes5 minutesBe sure to separate the issue from the evidence. A brief note on conclusions—they are ideas that require other ideas to support them. So when you’re identifying the issue, make certain it’s the fundamental question or problem, and not a conclusion or side issue. 5 W’s and H: Who, what, where, when, why, and how.Intuition may not seem like evidence; however, it is based on past experiences, which are often the best indicators of future behavior or performance. However, intuition can be unreliable when it disregards other evidence. So, include it as one element of evidence, but not the only element.Expert testimony: Who is the expert? What is the depth and breadth of his or her experience as it relates to this issue?


Explore

Interpret information Separate fact from opinion: look or ask for the evidence to back up

the information.

Clarify ambiguous words, phrases, examples, or statistics.

Example: “Produced excellent results.” What does “excellent” mean? What “results” were produced?

Clarify numbers that are too big or too small to picture

A million versus a billion versus a trillion dollars

Recognize euphemisms

Examples:

“Profit-taking” = selling or cutting losses

“Downsizing,” “rightsizing,” “RIF” (reduction in force), “reorganizing” = cutting jobs, layoffs, or if you want to call it what it is, firing people.

“Categorical inaccuracy” = lie

“Asset” or “resource” = people

ActivityInstructions: Complete each sentence below.

Babies are ______________________________________________

Elderly people are ________________________________________

My neighbors are _________________________________________

Girl Scouts are ___________________________________________

CEOs are _______________________________________________

Customers are ___________________________________________

20

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

This is the next step in the critical thinking process. Once you collect your information, you must make sense of it.

Separate fact from opinion: Facts are concrete and can be documented.

Answers: 1. Opinion: suspects are not burglars until they are convicted. It would be fact to say “Police arrested three people last night.” 2. Opinion: “the most clout” is a relative term. 3: Fact: The fact is that she made this statement, not that the CEO is the smartest business person.

Clarify ambiguous items: Ask the source “What do you mean by that?” if possible, or substitute an alternative meaning for the ambiguous item and see if it changes your interpretation.

Numbers that are too big or too small to relate to can cause us to distort our perspective and affect our analysis.

Note: You can barely see the person in the red shirt in the trillion dollar diagram.

Euphemisms may cause us to overlook critical information because they’re designed to sound harmless.

Activity: Allow a couple minutes for participants to complete each sentence. Don’t give them any instructions aside from that. After they have finished, have them review their own work and decide which statements are fact and which are opinion. Next, have them pass their workbooks to a partner and see if that person agrees with their assessments. In addition, have the partners review the statements for any ambiguous words or euphemisms that color the meaning.


Explore (cont.)

Uncover assumptionsAssumptions are unstated beliefs, usually related to values, priorities, and preferences. They are the filter through which we view the issue.

Typical values conflicts include: loyalty vs. honesty, competition vs. cooperation, security vs. excitement, self-control vs. spontaneity, individual rights vs. group/community interests

Recognize the assumptions being made: Ask, “How do I/we know that?”

Seek alternative viewpoints: find out how other people view the same situation.

Consider the assumption’s relevance: understand the extent to which an assumption applies to the situation.

ActivityInstructions: Look at the photo and tell a story about what you see.__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

21

Trainer Notes

15 minutes

One primary way to remain open as you explore the issue is to recognize your assumptions. Assumptions are hidden, unstated, or taken-for-granted beliefs and therefore can be difficult to recognize, but they influence our evaluation of the issue and are critical to bring to light. Failure to recognize assumptions may lead you to reach conclusions that are not based on objective information.

Your goal is to recognize them and assess their validity and relevance to the issue, and then let them go and see the situation from a variety of perspectives.

Activity: Tell a story. Show the following slide to participants:

Ask them to write down a story about what they see. Debrief by having participants share their stories. Ask: Why are their stories different? What assumptions have they made to tell their stories? Who is the boss, employee(s), client, etc.? What are they discussing: Is it a routine meeting or is there a disagreement? Who’s in charge?

“When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.”

Oscar Wilde


Explore (cont.)

Generate alternative explanations What are all the explanations and options you can come up with?

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes: If you look at the issue and evidence from other perspectives, what possible solutions might you reach?

Dare to be different: Consider the most outlandish explanations and solutions.

Brainstorming techniques Mind mapping

Start with your issue or problem in the center of a flip chart or whiteboard. Create branches of sub-topics, and branch out from those until you capture all of the ideas related to the issue.

Drawing

Think of an issue or problem. Consider: What are the major obstacles? What isn’t working? What’s bothering me most is…

Next, draw any pictures, scribbles, doodles, etc. that come into your mind without trying to make them look decipherable. Then look at them and see what ideas or solutions arise from them.

Brainwriting

Get a group of people and have them write their ideas for how to solve the problem on their own sheets of paper. After three minutes, ask them to rotate the sheets to different people and build off what the last person wrote. Rotate as many times as you want, or until everyone has written on everyone else’s sheet.

Reverse brainstorming

Instead of asking, “How can I solve this problem?” ask, “How can I create this problem?” From those ideas, see if you can work backward to solve your actual problem or issue.

Role model

Brainstorm ideas as if you were your role model, or a public figure you admire. What would your parent do? Best friend? Beloved teacher? Bill Gates? Warren Buffett? Thomas Jefferson? Albert Einstein? Mother Teresa? What would this person think or do about the issue or problem?

22

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Sometimes you will need to brainstorm alternative explanations or solutions to the issue you identified. The key is to suspend judgment and generate as many ideas as possible. Brainstorming is a good way to do this.

There are many brainstorming techniques. We’ve listed several—some may be familiar and others may be new to you. Review them briefly with participants, and then move to the brainstorming practice activity on the next page.

Analogies compare a familiar concept to an unfamiliar one in order to bring understanding to the unfamiliar one. They can be useful in understanding the issue, but they can also be misleading if there are differences that are not mentioned.


Explore (cont.)

Brainstorming practiceInstructions: Read the following scenario and then use the brainstorming technique assigned to your group to generate ideas, options and possible solutions to the issue.

You are the supervisor for a team of 12 people. Your IT department has installed new accounting software for the entire organization. Some of your team members are eager to use it, some greatly prefer the old software, and some don’t want to use any software at all. Your goal is to get all team members to use the new software without complaining.

23

Trainer Notes

15 minutes

Practice: Divide participants into five groups, one for each of the brainstorming techniques listed on the previous page. Assign each group a different technique. Provide the following scenario (or one of your own) and ask each group to use its assigned technique to brainstorm ideas and solutions related to the issue. Debrief by having each group share its ideas. Note: The actual ideas or solutions are not the point of the activity; the point is for participants to practice brainstorming techniques.


Evaluate

Assess explanations or solutions Are there erroneous or incorrect assumptions?

Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?

Review critical thinking mistakes.

How good is the information?

What is the source?

Can you test it?

Is it vague?

Did you observe for yourself? Check for yourself?

Is the information based on only one occurrence? Or is there a pattern?

Is information omitted?

Context

Negative or opposing ideas or information

How dependable are the statistics?

Are there other statistics that contradict the data you collected?

24

Trainer Notes

10 minutes

Evaluation is the heart of critical thinking. It involves asking the rights questions to assess the explanations or solutions you are considering.

Can you test the evidence? If a statement is untestable, it should not be used to support your conclusion or decision. It may well be an opinion and not a fact. Don’t buy into untestable statements, even if (or especially if) they are made by someone who appears to have deep insight.

Vagueness: One reason evidence can be untestable is vagueness. If a statement lacks any observable consequence, it may be too vague to support or refute a conclusion. Example: “Exercise improves brainpower.” This statement sounds good, but what are the specifics? How much exercise? What is “brainpower”?

Check for yourself. Example: If someone gives you a spreadsheet with data, you should check the math yourself. If someone tells you that a certain outcome occurred, did you verify that the event actually happened?

Omitted information: Three ways information may be omitted include context, details about the process used to gather the data and, especially, negative or opposing ideas or information.

Dependable statistics: A study by Dr. John Ioannidis, an expert in medical-research credibility, found that as much as 90% of published medical information is flawed. (Source: Denver Post.) Remember, statistics don’t prove anything; they just support conclusions.

Another common place to practice evaluating information is by looking at nutritional labeling, especially on organic or “natural” foods. Many foods claim to be natural, but what does that really mean? Point: It can take a lot of digging to accurately assess seemingly simple statements or claims.


Evaluate (cont.)

What options/solutions/conclusions can you toss out due to faulty reasoning, incorrect assumptions, bad information, etc.?

List the pros and cons of the remaining choices.

Consider mapping choices on a value/effort grid.

Prioritize each choice.

Reach a conclusion What reasonable conclusions are possible?

Multiple conclusions are usually possible from a single set of data/information.

Beware of either-or choices.

What is the most reasonable conclusion?

PracticeInstructions: Read the article and evaluate the information and the conclusion reached in it.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

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Trainer Notes

20 minutes

One way to evaluate choices is to map them on a value/effort grid.

Look at each choice and decide its value, and the amount of effort it would take. Obviously, choices in the high value/low effort quadrant are the most desirable, while those in the low value/high effort quadrant are least desirable.

How to prioritize: Begin with the first two choices, and decide which is preferable. Then compare that choice with the next one and so on until you end up with a top preference.

Ask participants for examples of different conclusions reached from the same set of information. (Any political spin is a good example of this.)

Either/or choice: This occurs when a choice is presented as one of only two options that are mutually exclusive. Either it’s this or it’s that, when in reality other options are possible (or both are possible). Example: You can increase worker productivity or worker satisfaction, but not both.

To overcome, instead of asking, “Should we do X or Y?” ask, “What should we do about …?”

The most reasonable conclusion is the one based on the strength of the evidence and clear thinking, free from any fallacies in reasoning.

Practice: Find a recent article from a newspaper, news website or industry publication and make enough copies for each group to have one. Divide participants into small groups and hand out a copy of the article to each group. Ask them to read the article and evaluate it using the guidelines provided.

Their evaluation should include an attempt to uncover assumptions, any fallacies in reasoning, the strength of the data/evidence provided , and a decision about whether or the conclusion reached in the article was reasonable and valid, or if it’s possible to consider other reasonable conclusions. Obviously, they will not have complete information to use in their evaluation. Debrief by having groups share their insights.


Module Four

Turning Thinking into Action:

Critical Thinking Practice

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Critical Thinking PracticeInstructions: Read the following scenario and answer the questions.

A commercial building is under construction. The construction company has submitted additional bills above and beyond the signed contract because the building owner has requested so many changes. The owner believes the changes are within the allowable limits of the contract, but the construction company disagrees and is threatening to halt construction if the situation can’t be resolved.

Identify the problem or issue:__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

What information do you have?__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

What additional information would help you to reach a reasonable conclusion?__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

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Trainer Notes

30 minutes

Activity: Have participants work in small groups. Appoint one participant in each group to be the observer and use the evaluation tool (pp.26-28) to guide the debriefing after participants have answered the questions.


Critical Thinking Practice (cont.)

What assumptions have been made?__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

What alternative explanations or solutions are possible?__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

What is the most reasonable choice or conclusion?__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

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Trainer Notes

30 minutes

Activity: Since participants don’t have complete information in the practice scenario and there is no way to collect additional information, the MOST reasonable choice or conclusion may be difficult to evaluate, They should do the best they can with the information they have.


Thinking about Critical Thinking Use this tool to evaluate the critical thinking process for the scenario.

Instructions: Reviewing the behavior and conversations you observed while completing the practice activity, choose the response that most accurately reflects the performance of the group.

Accurately and thoroughly EXAMINES the issue or problem1 Unskilled

No in-depth look at the issue, no attempt to gather data or evidence outside of personal knowledge and perspective.

2 DevelopingGathers data and evidence but doesn’t verify its accuracy, limits data gathering to familiar sources.

3 ProficientMakes first-hand observations when possible, gathers data and evidence from a variety of sources and verifies its accuracy.

Comments:

Accurately and thoroughly IDENTIFIES the issue or problem1 Unskilled

Fails to identify and/or summarize the problem or issue in any detail.

2 DevelopingSummarizes the issue, though some aspects are incorrect or mixed up. Key details are superficially covered or missing entirely.

3 ProficientClearly and completely summarizes the issue, including all relevant aspects of the issue, even if seemingly small.

Comments:

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Trainer Notes:

Tell the observer of each group that they are primarily responsible for completing the form; however, all members of each group should think about each of the benchmarks and should feel free to add their own comments.

Encourage participants to use this tool for situations requiring critical thinking back on their jobs.


Accurately and thoroughly identifies theASSUMPTIONS and BIASES

1 UnskilledApproach to the issue or problem is one-dimensional, doesn’t recognize assumptions or biases.

2 DevelopingRecognizes some assumptions and biases, and attempts to account for them in the analysis of the issue or problem.

3 ProficientClearly identifies assumptions and biases. Delves into the assumptions to separate valid from invalid.

Comments:

Accurately and thoroughly EXPLORES the issue or problem1 Unskilled

Accepts evidence and statistics at face value, makes no attempt to separate facts from opinions.

2 DevelopingAnalyzes and verifies the evidence, uses objective questioning to separate facts from opinions.

3 ProficientChallenges the evidence to verify its accuracy, actively looks for fallacies in reasoning or for information that may have been omitted that may be relevant to the issue.

Comments:

30


Accurately and thoroughly EVALUATES the issue1 Unskilled

Presents conclusion as a simplistic summary of information, rather than analysis. Fails to identify implications or consequences of the conclusion.

2 DevelopingPresents conclusion as the most reasonable based on the evidence. Does not fully consider the implications and consequences of the conclusion.

3 ProficientPresents conclusion as the most reasonable based on the evidence. Carefully considers the implications and consequences of the conclusion or decision.

Comments:

Demonstrates critical thinking CHARACTERISTICS: awareness, curiosity, flexibility and common sense

1 UnskilledDoesn’t demonstrate any of the characteristics.

2 DevelopingDemonstrates some of the characteristics, or demonstrates all the characteristics but for only part of the process.

3 ProficientDemonstrates all characteristics throughout the entire critical thinking process.

Comments:

31


Appendix

32


Action PlanStep One: Skill ReviewSkills I want to master: Start/Finish Date

Step Two: ImplementationWhat do you need to implement your plan?

List additional skills and projects you could accomplish with more training.

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Course Review1. Write a definition of critical thinking.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. List three benefits of critical thinking. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of critical thinking?

a. Curiosity

b. Awareness

c. Standing your ground

d. Common sense

4. Which of the following describes rationalization?

a. Evidence → Conclusion = Rationalization

b. Conclusion → Evidence = Rationalization

5. What of the following is NOT an example of emotional thinking?

a. Checking your intuition

b. Reacting to loaded language

c. Polarization

d. Wishful thinking

6.

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Trainer Notes

1. Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe and what to do. It uses the identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making.

2. Think independently, make better decisions, solve problems systematically, think more creatively, increase self-reflection.

3. c

4. b

5. a


“The tendency to seek information that proves, rather than disproves, your belief” describes which type of bias?

a. Hindsight bias

b. Confirmation bias

c. Recency effect

d. Overconfidence

7. What are the three parts of the critical thinking process?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. List three brainstorming strategies._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Statistics serve as proof of your belief/idea/conclusion.

a. True

b. False

10. Multiple conclusions are possible from a single set of data/information.

a. True

b. False

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Trainer Notes

6. b

7. Examine, explore, evaluate.

8. Mind mapping, metaphor and analogies, drawing, brainwriting, reverse brainstorming, role model.

9. b

10. a


Suggested Resource List The following resources are suggested for further information on the topics covered in this course.

BooksBrown, M. Neil and Stuart M. Keeley. Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009.

de Bono, Edward. de Bono’s Thinking Course. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

Hurson, Tim. Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

McInerny, D.Q. Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2005.

Michalko, Michael. Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques, 2nd edition. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2008.

Schoenberg, Bob. Critical Thinking in Business. Chesterfield, MO: Heuristic Books, 2008.

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Course EvaluationCourse title: Date:

Instructor: Your name (optional):

Indicate how you would rate each item by circling the best response provided.

1 = Poor 2 = Acceptable 3 = Average 4 = Good 5 = Excellent

Course Content Rating

Practical and relevant course topics 1 2 3 4 5

Course objectives were met 1 2 3 4 5

Length of time to cover course topics 1 2 3 4 5

Effectiveness of exercises to reinforce skills 1 2 3 4 5

Course materials were easy to use and follow 1 2 3 4 5

Materials contributed to achieving learning objectives 1 2 3 4 5

Instructor Effectiveness Rating

Knowledge of course subject matter 1 2 3 4 5

Level of professionalism 1 2 3 4 5

Enthusiasm for the course 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to answer questions effectively 1 2 3 4 5

Ability to encourage participation 1 2 3 4 5

Pace of training Too slow Too fast Just right

Length of training Too short Too long Just right

General Rating

Appropriate room temperature 1 2 3 4 5

Facilities conducive to learning 1 2 3 4 5

Overall I rate the learning experience… 1 2 3 4 5

The course objectives met my expectations Yes No

I would recommend this course to others Yes No

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Course Evaluation (cont.)Additional Comments

The most valuable thing(s) I learned were…

To improve the training I would suggest that you…

Additional comments I can offer are…

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