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Critical Thinking

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1. Critical thinkers conceptualize the broad outline of a question to be answered.

1. They seek and compare various perspectives on the question.

2. They clarify important concepts and assumptions of each perspective.

3. They generate more than one potential answer to the question.

2. Critical thinkers gather evidence appropriate to evaluating potential answers.

1. They develop a workable approach to gathering evidence.

2. They identify reliable sources of evidence.

3. They distinguish relevant from irrelevant information.

4. They distinguish significant from insignificant evidence.

5. They recognize analogous situations and transfer insights to the question they are addressing.

3. In using this evidence to evaluate potential answers, critical thinkers identify biases and assumptions.

1. They strive to identify biases and to control for them.

2. They search for unstated assumptions inherent in the question and the potential answers.

4. In using this evidence to evaluate potential answers, critical thinkers use rational processes of thought.

1. They make credible inferences from the evidence based on rules of logic.

2. They recognize similarities and differences among the potential answers.

3. They explore the implications and possible consequences of potential answers.

4. They distinguish among fact, opinion, inference, interpretation, and judgment.

5. They recognize when the evidence contradicts a potential answer.

6. They can present a coherent summary of their thinking at any point during their evaluation of potential answers. 

5. Based on their evaluation of the various potential answers, critical thinkers tentatively choose one answer as the most likely to be correct.

1. They communicate in some conventional manner the reasons for their choice so that others can examine the validity of these reasons.

2. They realize that their chosen answer is provisional and are open to modifying their choice after such examination.

3. They continue to acquire more knowledge about the broad area related to the question in order to prepare themselves for its further examination.

CT Web Pages Content:
Jeffry Ricker

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