Critical thinking skills Sara Steinke

1. GET AHEADUNDERGRADUATE SUMMER PROGRAMME 2012 Critical thinking skillsSara Steinke

2. Aims of the session • To recognise the value of your everyday critical reasoning skills for academic studies • To identify what is meant by analytical thinking at university • To reflect on how you can translate your everyday critical reasoning skills into analytical thinking for your academic studies

3. Why consider everyday critical reasoning skills? • Adult learners process a diverse range of knowledge, experiences and skills that involve critical reasoning, involving family and work; these qualities are of great value for university studies • Everyday decisions are rarely straightforward. Similarly, analytical thinking at university is ‘messy’, topics are not seen as ‘black or white’.

4. Think about the following What factors were involved in your decision to study a particular course at Birkbeck? • Job opportunities /promotion • Desire to return to learning • Financial concerns • Time constraints • Course subject • Other reasons

5. What is critical thinking? • Persistence – consider an issue carefully, and more than once • Evidence – evaluate the evidence put forward in support of the belief or viewpoint • Implications – what conclusions would follow; are these suitable and rational; if not, should the belief or viewpoint be reconsidered? Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook page 275

6. The importance of analytical thinking at university • Core of academic study • Takes place across a variety of study skills – reading, note-taking, writing essays /reports, exams, revision, presentations • Involves thinking analytically about yours and other peoples work/ideas • Actively engage with these activities. You will be constantly updated your study skills.

7. What is analytical thinking? • Stand back from the information given • Examine it in detail from many angles • Check whether it is accurate • Check each statement follows logically • Look for possible flaws in the reasoning/evidence/conclusion • Compare the same issue from point of view of theorists /writers • Explain why different people arrive at different conclusions • Argue why one opinion/result/conclusion is preferable to another • Be on guard for devices that encourage the reader to take questionable statements at face value • Check for hidden assumptions • Check for attempts to lure the reader into agreement Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook page 275

8. Think about the following You have been asked to read an article in preparation for a lecture. What questions might you ask in order to undertake a critical reading of the article? • What is the main argument of the article? • What are the reasons given to justify the argument? • What evidence has been used? • What do you know about the author? • What audience is the author addressing? • What sources has the author used?

9. Definition of a ‘critical thinker’ • Intellectually independent • Distinguishes between theory, facts and opinions • Recognises and resists manipulation • Reads ‘between the lines’ • Distinguishes between emotive and neutral vocabulary • Sees connections between subjects

10. What is wrong with this piece of analytical writing? Mount Pepe is going up – it’s going to take everything with it when it goes. And I mean everything – villages, farms, trees, the lot. It’s frightening to think of how powerful a volcano can be. Think of the damage they cause! Remember Pompeii and Mount Etna! Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook page 209

11. What is right with this piece of analytical writing? In order to assess whether it is necessary to evacuate the villages on Mount Pepe, three main factors need to be taken into consideration. The first, and most important, of these is the element of safety. According to seismic experts currently working on the volcano, there is likely to be a major eruption within the next ten years (Achebe 2007) According to Achebe, the eruption is likely to destroy villages over a radius of 120 miles (Achebe 2008, p.7). Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook page 209

12. Create a critical thinking action plan 1. Write down the three most important critical thinking skills that you have learnt /thought about in this session? Why are they important to you? • Identify which of your current knowledge, skills, qualities and experiences can be turned into analytical skills. How are you going to make this happen?

13. Recap of the session • We have thought about your everyday critical reasoning skills • We have started to consider how to turn your everyday critical reasoning skills into analytical thinking skills for your academic studies • We have introduced what is meant analytical thinking at university

14. Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd Edition (London, Palgrave)chapter 12 ‘Critical analytical thinking’ pp.275-292 Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical Thinking Skills (London, Palgrave) http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/ mp3s.asp#Critical 12 minute audio file based on Cottrell’s Critical Thinking Skills book http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/ services/facilities/support/critical- thinking online resources on critical thinking skills available on the Birkbeck Library website http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/get- ahead-stay-ahead/skills/critical-thinking 5 minute interactive tutorial supporting this Student Orientation programme http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/ studyskills/course_timetable study skills workshops which deal with critical thinking skills – and other study skills – in greater detail http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/ studyskills/thinking/index.asp helpful information on critical thinking skills on the Skills4Study website