Critical thinking 101

Top Critical Thinking Skills: 

your example topic is -  Newspapers

·Analysis: the ability to collect and process information and knowledge.

This is almost a fact-finding mission:

who writes them, buys them, reads them.

Hard copy vs digital - has the digital version taken over?

·Interpretation: concluding what the meaning of processed information is.

Gather your facts and extract some meaning -  So newspapers are possibly getting outdated – the cost of printing, distribution possibly all easier/cheaper digitally

·Inference: assessing whether the knowledge you have is sufficient and reliable.

Check whether you have asked the right amount of people/ have you gathered all the info from various, different sources– are they digitally literate? Or real newspaper readers

·Evaluation: the ability to make decisions based on the available information.

make a judgement on your findings so far based on all your collected data. For our example- newspapers are old school, they are being overtaken by the digital version

·Explanation: communicating your findings and reasoning clearly.

Explain / Back up your reasoning with the data you have collected.  

·Self-Regulation: the drive to constantly monitor and correct your ways of thinking.

Be objective and slot in your judgement into a bigger picture. Make sure your theoretical findings are true to everyday life. Although the internet is easy to access, do you like to go buy the paper, sit down and read it?

·Open-Mindedness: taking into account other possibilities and points of view.

Be prepared to argue both sides of your case/ look at various viewpoints and be open to rethinking your point of view. Although digital papers are easier to circulate, there is something to be said for having a hard copy in your hands

·Problem-Solving: the ability to tackle unexpected problems and resolve conflicts.

This is where it can get quite tricky – be prepared to be faced with a new problem that is begging for a new way of thinking in order to get solved. Ie – is the availability of the internet a given? 

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