...does Brookfield define the notion of critical thinking? What are specific tools and techniques Brookfield presents to help uncover and check assumptions and biases in the classroom? After reading Teaching for Critical Thinking by Brookfield, I noticed that Brookfield chose to define critical thinking as primarily a way of living that helps oneself stay intact despite who other people, organizations and communities try to get you to act in ways that serve to benefit their own individual needs and demands. In a sense it is seen as a “survival necessity.” Brookfield draws parallels to how critical thinking can be both in and out of the classroom. He primarily suggests that there are several methods to develop someone’s critical thinking skills and suggests that they may not necessarily be confined to the classroom alone. To define this idea, Brookfield describes how critical thinking is a process involving four steps: hunting assumptions, checking assumptions, seeing things from different viewpoints, and taking informed action. Brookfield suggests that humans constantly make mental assumptions to guide and justify our day-to-day actions. Like muscle memory, I find it interesting how Brookfield suggests that humans will continue to have repeated interactions with them if they believe such assumptions will be successful. This process is also checked as we choose to carry them out as well. Brookfield notes The next step in critical thinking – checking assumptions – involves...
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...Critical Thinking And Asking the Right Questions Mark Buscemi Introduction: To survive in such a complex and diverse world we as people must possess the ability to think critically in highly complex situations. The world is an extremely challenging place, all of us are forced to adapt by constantly challenging existing principles and performing certain methods to ensure our growth both physically and mentally. Many claim that contemporary society needs a skill called critical thinking to adapt and survive. Critical thinking is a higher level of intellectual progression that makes use of diverse information, skills and attitudes in interpreting situations and confronting problems. Critical thinking is done by everyone, it is all around us. But how many of us actually understand the critical thinking model created by Browne and Keeley? Critical thinking can only be effective if the one who engages in the process understands the 11 questions and steps created by Browne and Keeley while adapting them to each situation. This paper is an attempt to evaluate and converse the nature of critical thinking as an intellectual process based on the given situation (ex. the memo to evaluate the merit of Ms. Forsythe’s proposal to establish and fund a new leadership development program for junior insurance executives). Critical Thinking: According to Brown and Keeley (2007) critical thinking is an organized intellectual process that an individual undergoes while using...
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...What Is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or false. Critical thinking is an important component of most professions. It is a part of the formal education process and is increasingly significant as students’ progress through university to graduate education, although there is debate among educators about its precise meaning and scope. Critical thinking has been described as "reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do." It has also been described as "thinking about thinking. Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions. Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically. It has been described in more detail as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. More recently, critical thinking has been described as "the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which...
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...Quiz Review Outline “Critical thinking is the systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards.” • It’s systematic because it involves distinct procedures and methods (not just gut feelings). • It’s used to evaluate existing beliefs and formulate new ones. • It evaluates beliefs in terms of how well they are supported by reasons. Key Terms: Assertion/Statement - A declarative sentence that is intended to make a claim of some sort. Sometimes these are called statements or propositions. eg.I am taller than you, It is raining, She will win the race. Premise- A statement that is offered in support of a conclusion Conclusion - A statement that is held to be supported by a premise or premises eg. All whales are mammals. Moby Dick is a whale. Moby Dick is a mammal. Argument- a set of statements one of which (the conclusion) is taken to be supported by the remaining statements (the premises). • The conclusion is what the speaker wants you to accept. • The premises state the reasons or evidence for accepting the conclusion. Inference- is the process of reasoning from a premise (or premises) to a conclusion (or conclusions) based on those premises. Explanation- tells you why something happened. Argument- tells you why you should believe something. • Arguments have something to prove; explanations do not. eg. 1. Adam stole the money, for three people saw him do it. 2. Adam stole the money because he needed to buy food...
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...definitions of critical thought Differing Definitions of Critical Thought Victor M. Fraser Capitol College Abstract This paper attempts to compare and contrast the differing definitions of critical thinking as defined by various writers on different publications. It appears that no matter how critical thinking is defined, the same components are standard, and the conclusions are somewhat similar and hold true. A true definition of critical thinking is by no feat an easy task. It is a complex and controversial notion difficult to define and also to study. Many definitions have been proposed by several experts. One high profile definition states, “We understand critical thinking to be purposeful, self regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based ….. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well informed, trustful of reason, open minded, flexible, fair minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit.” (Facione, 1990a, p.3). As can be seen from the all encompassing definition a lot goes into determining the meaning of Critical Thought....
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...What are assumptions? How do you think assumptions might interfere with critical thinking? An assumption is something that we normally take for granted. We believe it to be true because of something that we are basing it on from a prior experience. We assume that our beliefs are true and we normally will use these assumptions to the way we look at the world around us. While assumptions are a part of our critical thinking which really an everyday occurrence is, we do this to be able to make sense of what we are told or what we are thinking. An assumption is like a judgment we interpret things differently than then next person, and even though we need to learn to take a step back and not listen to what we think is right, we usually do without thinking further. Interfering with our critical thinking is because we automatically think that we know that what we are assuming is to be correct, by doing this we are clouding our critical thinking of something or someone. We need to learn to look at the important part of the question to analyze it and not let our previous thoughts cloud it. What might you do to avoid making assumptions in your thinking? Something we might think about to make sure that we are not making assumptions is to look at the big picture, look at the facts, even research facts to make sure we have a clear and concise knowledge of the issue or question we are thinking or talking about. What are fallacies? How are fallacies used in written, oral,...
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...Consider Notes Chapter 2 * WE need to set aside our passion in order to think clearly, to think critically, to make wise decisions. * How do we know the difference between noun and verb words like read and read? Understanding the context is necessary in critical thinking. * We need discernment. The path to discernment is through critical thinking. * Being able to critically think and intelligently challenge incorrect thinking is essential in making wise decisions. What is Critical Thinking? * Definition: A self-guided, self-disciplined process which directs individuals to think correctly about themselves and the world around them. It is an essential method that guides its adherents (someone who supports a particular party, person, or set of ideas) towards truth. It involves investigation, analysis and self-corrective decision-making which provide a consistent and coherent (of an argument, theory, or policy) logical and consistent) way to solve a problem and conclusion. * It is through the process of questioning what you see, hear, and experience that you can come to a conclusion to make a wise decision * Point of this book is to challenge you to “know what you believe” and “why you believe it” not to make you a skeptical question everything weird-o. * Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and...
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...CRITICAL THINKING AND CREATIVE THINKING The play and subsequent movie “Twelve Angry Men” is an examination of the dynamics that plays in a jury room in the 50’s in the United States. The action revolves around the opinions, perceptions, reason and logic of twelve diverse characters that are tasked with pronouncing the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of patricide. The extraordinary element is that their finding will determine his life or death. This work will explore some elements of critical thinking and creative thinking found within the context of this remarkable movie. Critical thinking involves the use of a group of interconnected skills to analyze, creatively integrate, and evaluate what you read and hear. To become a critical thinker you must be able to decide whether an author’s opinions are true or false, whether he or she has adequately defended those ideas, whether certain recommendations are practical, as well as whether particular solutions will be effective. The characteristics of that kind of thinking are: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Within that movie, there were three points raised in the trial that juror #8 believed argument analysis: 1- The knife that was the murder weapon was unique and the boy was seen with it, although he said he had lost it. 2- The old man gave evidence that he heard the boy say “I’ll kill you” from his apartment below and he saw the boy running from the down stairs of...
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...of Ms. Ford to evaluate the state’s proposed option to privatize the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) information systems management function. In order to validate each argument in the memo I will apply the critical thinking model from the book “Asking the Right Questions” by Browne and Keeley (2010). This model is comprised of ten steps for an audience to critically analyze a conclusion by speakers and writers. The first step of the critical thinking model is to identify the conclusion of a speaker’s or writer’s argument (Browne & Kelley, 2010). Browne and Kelley (2010) define the conclusion of a speaker or writer as the “message that the speaker or write wishes you to accept”. The conclusion of the business memo is stated by Ms. Ford, “APEU Local No. 121 should challenge the governor’s proposed privatization of the DMV information systems management function as an unfair management practice”. The conclusion in this memo is located at the end of the memo and clearly stated in the conclusion section however to validate that this statement is the conclusion, identification of the issue is necessary. Browne and Kelley (2010) define an issue as a “question or controversy responsible for the conversation or discussion”. The critical thinking model describes two types of issues that could exist in a speaker’s or writer’s argument: Descriptive issue which raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions; or Prescriptive issues which raise questions about what...
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...Becoming a Critical Thinker By Dr. Lew A. Weider “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.” Proverbs 14:15 What Was He Thinking?! How many times have we said these words out loud as we watch reality home videos on television? You know the kind—the people who will do anything to get on TV! Like the guy that took his sled up onto the roof after a heavy snowfall. His bravado was showing all over as he stood on the roof, waving his sled for all to see. The stunt he intended to perform was to go sledding off of his roof and happily land on the deck below. No doubt he thought that all of that snow would help him make the perfect soft landing. Boy was he wrong! It was a brutal scene. He made a crash landing onto the deck. There was no more bravado. His body was crumpled in a heap in the midst of the splintered pieces of his sled. What was he thinking? His passion to attempt the impossible overshadowed his ability to think at all. We often have to set aside our passion to think clearly, to think critically, in order to make wise decisions. Critical Thinking It is a common practice we do every day, but we may never even be aware of it. For example, in the English language, how do you know whether the word “r-e-a-d” should be understood as a directive to “read a book,” or if it is to be understood as a past-tense word describing a moment that someone “had already read that book last week?” Critical thinking. Another example is with...
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...obvious! 1 Format Date of final examination: Thursday 22 September Time: 2 pm (2 hours) This is a closed book examination. Section A Answer True / False questions. (10 marks) Section B Multiple Choice questions (10 marks) Section C Answer short structured questions (15 marks) Short essay type responses (15 marks) 2 Section D How you should prepare Define terms you have learnt in this unit and think about examples of these concepts. Review the slides and refer to the respective pages in the textbook. The summary of each chapter is also a very useful reference. Practice the exercises in the textbook and handouts / slides to reinforce your learning Practice writing essays 3 Lesson 1a & 1b Critical Thinking What is What are critical the barriers thinking? to critical Why is it thinking? important? How to develop critical thinking skills? What is an argument? How to differentiate arguments from nonarguments? 4 Lesson 1a What is Critical Thinking? Complex process of deliberation involving a range of skills and attitudes Identifying arguments Reading between the lines Drawing conclusions Evaluating Evidence Recognising techniques Presenting viewpoints Weighing arguments Reflecting on issues Critical thinking focuses on: Arguments Evaluate messages conveyed through speech, writing, performance or other media Identify the obvious and hidden messages more accurately...
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...taken for granted: something that is believed to true without proof 3. belief without proof: the belief that something is true without having any proof 4. act of undertaking something: the act of taking something upon yourself • • How do you think assumptions might interfere with critical thinking? Without seeinh the whole picture for what it worth a person assumption may cloud the critical thinking and make the person not see it at all • What might you do to avoid making assumptions in your thinking? I will make sure I have all supporting evidence before making any assumptions. I will consider other option before assuming anything and I will ask any necessary questions needed for me to see the whole picture. • What are fallacies? a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.: That the world is flat was at one time a popular fallacy. 2. a misleading or unsound argument. 3. deceptive, misleading, or false nature; erroneousness. 4. Logic. any of various types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound. 5. Obsolete , deception. • • How are fallacies used in written, oral, and visual arguments? Either/or thinking is in the believing that there are only two choices, when there may be more. To correct this error you should conscientiously search out all points of view before choosing one. Avoiding the issue may occur by an unintentional misunderstanding or by an unconscious slip to something irrelevant • We see...
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...Abstract Critical thinking skills is determined by many factors, especially the structure of one's thinking. The structure of thinking will be expressed through language, both verbal and written. Critical thinking also berambivalensi with the level of literacy a person either orally or in writing. Literacy ability is what will determine whether students are suceptive to the issues around them. Critical thinking skills are absolutely required by students and scholars, because at every opportunity they will decide the issues, both related to the field of scientific and social issues. According to Paul (2011), critical thinking comes from two Latin root word in the language of "kriticos" which means an intelligent assessment (discerning judgment) and "criterion" means a standard. Critical word is also marked by careful analysis to achieve an objective assessment of things. Thus, critical thinking means thinking to make judgments, opinions and objective evaluation using a standardized evaluation of the right to determine the good, the benefits and value of something (Emilia, 2007). Conception of critical thinking can be viewed from two ways, namely the general conception and conception of the specific subject. General conception viewed as a set of skills and dispositions that can be generalized and can be applied in various situations and conditions and various domains of knowledge. Meanwhile, the specific subject conceptions regard as a specific form of thinking in terms...
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...Chapter 01 An Introduction to Assurance and Financial Statement Auditing True / False Questions 1. | Independence standards are required for audits of public companies, but not for audits of private companies. True False | 2. | Decision makers demand reliable information that is provided by accountants. True False | 3. | Information asymmetry seldom occurs. True False | 4. | Conflicts of interest often occur between absentee owners and managers. True False | 5. | Auditing services and attestation services are the same. True False | 6. | Auditing is a type of attest service. True False | 7. | Testing all transactions that occurred during the period is cost prohibitive. True False | Multiple Choice Questions 8. | Why do auditors generally use a sampling approach to evidence gathering? A. | Auditors are experts and do not need to look at much to know whether the financial statements are correct or not. | B. | Auditors must balance the cost of the audit with the need for precision. | C. | Auditors must limit their exposure to their auditee to maintain independence. | D. | The auditor's relationship with the auditee is generally adversarial, so the auditor will not have access to all of the financial information of the company. | | 9. | Which of the following statements best describes a relationship between sample size and other elements of auditing? A. | If materiality increases, so will...
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...Appendix D Assumptions and Fallacies Nanette McDowell Hum 111/ week 8 Assignment April 13, 2013 Bethany Bigler • What are assumptions? How do you think assumptions might interfere with critical thinking? What might you do to avoid making assumptions in your thinking? An assumption is a thought or a way of someone’s thinking in which they believes are true without proof. For example, when I was young I thought that all white people did not like black people. As I became older to understand my thoughts and judgments, this assumption was not true at all. The assumption back then was perceived in my mind because of the kinds of people that I was around that influenced my judgment. I was overgeneralizing about white people not liking black people because of the environment at the time. We must identify inferences and assumptions in order to see what inferences are illogical when the assumptions that lead to them are not justifiable. Once you become skilled in identifying the inferences and assumptions you are in a better position to question the extent to which any of your assumptions are justified. The key is recognizing and questioning our inferences and assumptions. To avoid making false assumptions here are some tips that I follow: (eHow article), • “Be as objective as you can in making evaluative decisions. Whether you're at work, at home or with your friends, be as logical and fair as possible in your judgments. • Resist the urge to accept stereotypes. Even though...
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