Defining Critical ThinkingCritical thinking- the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment-Purpose: form a well-reasoned and fair minded judgment regardingwhat to believe/doCritical Thinking is NOT:-About bashing people’s beliefs-About using argumentation to defend beliefs we know are trueCritical thinking in a Comm class-Encoding & decoding-Listening and speaking required when dealing with an important/complex message>Listening intelligently requires CT skills>comprehensive and critical listening requires CT skills>responding intelligently requires CT skillsCognitive Skills Of Critical Thinking1. Interpretation-Comprehend the meaning / significance of a variety of experience, situations, events, etc.-To use it ask questions such as:>What does that mean?>What’s the best way to categorize that?2. Analysis-Identify the intended and actual relationships among statements, questions, and concepts-To use it:>why do you think that?>What is your basis for thinking that>What assumptions must we make to assume that conclusion?3. Evaluation-Assess the credibility of statements and logical strength of the actual/intended inferential relationships-To Use It:>How Credible is the claim?>Are the Facts Credible? Accurate?>How confident can we be in this conclusion?4. Self-Regulation-Monitor one’s cognitive activities, the elements in those activities, and the results-To use it:>Before we commit what are we missing?>I think we could be less vague, could you describe more precisely?5. Inference-identify elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; form hypotheses; consider relevant information-to use it:>given what we know, what conclusions can we draw?>what does this evidence imply?>What additional info is needed?6. Explanation-stating and justifying reasoning in terms of argument and evidence……. and doing so clearly-to use it:>What are the findings of this investigation?>What analysis did you use to come to this interpretation?Inductive Reasoning-Drawing inferences about what is most likely to be true or not rue, given certain information (the info comes first)-“bottom up” approachBroad Conclusions^^^^^^^^^Specific ObservationsDeductive Reasoning-Drawing inferences when it appears that, if all of the premises are true, the conclusion cannot possinly be false-“top-down” approachBroad Observations*Down To *Specific ConclusionsStrong Critical Thinking Requires Both Willingness AND AbilityHabits of Strong Critical Thinkers-Truth-seeking – having intellectual integrity, desire to strive for best-possible knowledge-Open-minded – tolerant of divergent views, sensitive to possibility of own biases-Analytical – Alert to potential Problems, anticipate consequences-Systematic – take an organized and thorough approach to identifying/resolving problems-Confident in Reasoning – trustful of own reasoning skills to yield good judgements-Inquisitive – strive to be well-informed, seeks to learn new things about a range of topics-Judicious - approach problems knowing there can be more than one plausible solutionHabits that hinder thinking-Mine-is-better – believing our ideas, values, group memberships, etc. are superior than others’, based only on our ego-Face Saving – Protecting or restoring our self-image following some threat to it-Resistance to Change – rejecting new ideas without objectively considering them; may be due to laziness, fear, or need to uphold routine/traditionComm 02/02/2015Defining Critical ThinkingCritical thinking- the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment -Purpose: form a well-reasoned and fair minded judgment regarding what to believe/doCritical Thinking is NOT: -About bashing people’s beliefs  -About using argumentation to defend beliefs we know are trueCritical thinking in a Comm class -Encoding & decoding -Listening and speaking required when dealing with an important/complex message >Listening intelligently requires CT skills >comprehensive and critical listening requires CT skills >responding intelligently requires CT skillsCognitive Skills Of Critical Thinking1. Interpretation -Comprehend the meaning / significance of a variety of experience, situations, events, etc. -To use it ask questions such as: >What does that mean? >What’s the best way to categorize that?2. Analysis -Identify the intended and actual relationships among statements, questions, and concepts -To use it: >why do you think that? >What is your basis for thinking that >What assumptions must we make to assume that conclusion?3. Evaluation -Assess the credibility of statements and logical strength of the actual/intended inferential relationships -To Use It: >How Credible is the claim? >Are the Facts Credible? Accurate? >How confident can we be in this conclusion?4. Self-Regulation -Monitor one’s cognitive activities, the elements in those activities, and the results  -To use it: >Before we commit what are we missing? >I think we could be less vague, could you describe more precisely? 5. Inference -identify elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; form hypotheses; consider relevant information -to use it: >given what we know, what conclusions can we draw? >what does this evidence imply? >What additional info is needed?6. Explanation -stating and justifying reasoning in terms of argument and evidence……. and doing so clearly -to use it: >What are the findings of this investigation? >What analysis did you use to come to this interpretation?Inductive Reasoning -Drawing inferences about what is most likely to be true or not rue, given certain information (the info comes first) -“bottom up” approach Broad Conclusions ^^^^^^^^^ Specific ObservationsDeductive Reasoning -Drawing inferences when it appears that, if all of the premises are true, the conclusion cannot possinly be false -“top-down” approach Broad Observations *Down To * Specific ConclusionsStrong Critical Thinking Requires Both Willingness AND AbilityHabits of Strong Critical Thinkers -Truth-seeking – having intellectual