CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY Team-LRN Team-LRN CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY ® Lauren Starkey NEW YORK Team-LRN Copyright © 2004 LearningExpress, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Starkey, Lauren B., 1962– Critical thinking skills success / Lauren Starkey.
Critical thinking—Handbooks, manuals, etc.S73 2004 160—dc22 2003017066 Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition ISBN 1-57685-508-2 For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.com Team-LRN Contents INTRODUCTION How to Use this Book vii PRETEST 1 LESSON 1 Recognizing a Proglem 11 LESSON 2 Defining a Problem 17 LESSON 3 Focused Observation 23 LESSON 4 Brainstorming with Graphic Organizers 29 LESSON 5 Setting Goals 43 LESSON 6 Troubleshooting 51 LESSON 7 Finding Resources 57 LESSON 8 Evaluating Facts 63 LESSON 9 Persuasion Techniques 71 LESSON 10 Misusing Information—The Numbers Game 79 LESSON 11 Checking Your Emotions 87 LESSON 12 Deductive Reasoning 93 LESSON 13 Misusing Deductive Reasoning—Logical Fallacies 99 LESSON 14 Inductive Reasoning 105 LESSON 15 Misusing Inductive Reasoning—Logical Fallacies 111 LESSON 16 Distracting Techniques 117 LESSON 17 Judgment Calls 123 LESSON 18 Explanation or Argument? 131 LESSON 19 Critical Thinking for Exams 137 LESSON 20 Putting It All Together 151 POST-TEST 159 Team-LRN v Team-LRN How to Use this Book C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G S K I L L S S U C C E S S is about changing the way you think about the way you think. Sound complicated? It’s not, especially when you learn how, lesson by 20-minute lesson. A critical thinker approaches problems and complicated situations aware of his or her thoughts, beliefs, and viewpoints. Then, he or she can direct those thoughts, beliefs, and viewpoints to be more rational and accurate.
A critical thinker is willing to explore, question, and search out answers and solutions. These skills not only mean greater success at school and at work, but they are the basis of better decisions and problem solving at home, too. Critical thinking has been specifically identified by colleges and universities, as well as by many employ- ers, as a measure of how well an individual will perform at school and on the job. In fact, if you are apply- ing to college or graduate school, or for a job, chances are your critical thinking skills will be tested.
Standardized exams, such as the SAT and ACT, have sections on critical thinking. Employers such as fed- eral and state governments, and many Fortune 500 companies, routinely test job applicants with exams such as the California Critical Thinking Test or the Cornell Critical Thinking Test. Team-LRN vii – HOW TO USE THIS BOOK – Generally, critical thinking involves both problem with your goals. Effective troubleshooting removes set- solving and reasoning.
In fact, these terms are often backs and keeps you on task. But specifically, what are critical Lessons 7 and 8 explain how to find the infor- thinking skills? They include the ability to: mation you need to make sound decisions, and how to evaluate that information so you don’t end up relying ■ make observations on facts and figures that aren’t accurate. You will specif- ■ be curious, asking relevant questions and find- ically learn how to judge the content of websites, which ing the resources you need are increasingly used for research, but can be biased, ■ challenge and examine beliefs, assumptions, misleading, and simply incorrect. and opinions against facts In Lesson 9, you will get a lesson in the art of per- ■ recognize and define problems suasion.
Not only will you be able to recognize when it ■ assess the validity of statements and arguments is being used against you, but you will find out how to ■ make wise decisions and find valid solutions implement persuasion techniques effectively yourself. ■ understand logic and logical argument Lesson 10 is about numbers, and how they are manipulated. Surveys, studies, and statistics can look You may already be competent in some of these important and truthful when in fact they are mean- areas. Or, you may feel you need to learn or improve on ingless.
You will learn what makes a valid survey all of them. This book is designed to help you either way. or study and how to watch out for their invalid The pretest will pinpoint those critical thinking skills you counterparts. need help with, and even direct you to the lessons in the In Lesson 11, the topic of emotion, and its effect book that teach those skills.
The lessons themselves not on critical thinking, is explored. You can’t think rea- only present the material you need to learn, but give you sonably and rationally if you allow yourself to be opportunities to immediately practice using that material. affected by bias, stereotyping, stress, or your ego. Learn- In Lessons 1 and 2, you will learn how to recog- ing how to keep these emotional responses in check is nize and define the problems you face.
You will prac- one of the best ways to improve critical thinking. tice prioritizing problems, and distinguishing between Lessons 12 and 13 explain deductive reasoning, actual problems and their symptoms or consequences. one of the two forms of logical argument covered in Lesson 3 shows you how to be a better observer. You will learn about deduction and how to When you are aware of the situations and contexts tell the difference between valid and invalid deductive around you, you will make good inferences, a key to arguments.
Logical fallacies such as slippery slope and critical thinking skills success. false dilemma are explored. In Lessons 4 and 5, you will learn how to use Lessons 14 and 15 are about inductive reasoning. graphic organizers such as charts, outlines, and dia- You will learn how to construct a valid inductive argu- grams to organize your thinking and to set goals.
These ment, and how induction is misused to create logical visual tools help to clearly define brainstorming fallacies such as confusing cause and effect, and mak- options and lead you from problems to solutions. ing hasty generalizations. Lesson 6 is about troubleshooting. This skill helps Lesson 16 shows you other ways in which logi- you to anticipate and recognize problems that interfere cal arguments are misused intentionally to distract.
Team-LRN viii – HOW TO USE THIS BOOK – Fallacies such as the straw man, red herring, and ad higher education admissions and on the job. In Lesson hominem are explained, and you are given many prac- 19, you will learn about theses tests, see exactly what tice exercises to help reinforce the lesson. such questions look like, and get to practice answering In Lesson 17, you will learn about judgment calls. some of them.
These are difficult decisions in which the stakes are Lesson 20 summarizes the critical thinking skills high, and there is no clear-cut right or wrong answer. that are taught in this book. It is a valuable tool for rein- Understanding how these decisions should be forcing the lessons you just learned and as a refresher approached and how to evaluate risks and examine months after you complete the book. It is followed by consequences will improve your ability to make judg- a post-test, which will help you determine how well ment calls.
your critical thinking skills have improved. Lesson 18 teaches you about good explanations, For the next twenty days, you will be spending what they are, and when they are needed. Since it is twenty minutes a day learning and improving upon important to be able to distinguish between explana- critical thinking skills. Success with these skills will tions and arguments, you will learn some key differ- translate into better performance at school, at work, ences between the two and use exercises to practice and/or at home.
Let’s get started with the pretest. Good telling them apart. luck! The beginning of this introduction discusses the use of critical thinking questions on exams—both for Team-LRN ix Team-LRN CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY Team-LRN Team-LRN Pretest T H I S T E S T I S designed to gauge how much you already know about critical thinking skills. Per- haps you have covered some of this material before, whether in a classroom or through your own study.
If so, you will probably feel at ease answering some of the following questions. How- ever, there may be other questions that you find difficult. This test will help to pinpoint any critical think- ing weaknesses, and point you to the lesson(s) that cover the skills you need to work on. There are 30 multiple-choice questions in the pretest.
Take as much time as you need to answer each one. If this is your book, you may simply circle the correct answer. If the book does not belong to you, use a separate sheet of paper to record your answers, numbering 1 through 30. In many cases, there will be no simple right or wrong choice, because critical thinking skills involve making the most reasonable selection, or the one that best answers the question.
When you finish the test, use the answer key to check your results. Make a note of the lessons indi- cated by each wrong answer, and be sure to pay particular attention to those lessons as you work your way through this book. You may wish to spend more time on them, and less time on the lessons you have a bet- ter grasp of. Team-LRN 1 – ANSWER SHEET – Pretest 1.
a b c d Team-LRN 2 – PRETEST – 1. You conducted a successful job search, and 4. Which one of the following is NOT an example now have three offers from which to choose. of a persuasion technique? What things can you do to most thoroughly a.
Tigress jeans are available at your local investigate your potential employers? (Fill in all Mega Mart store. The very best mothers serve Longhorn a. check out their websites Chili-in-a-can. watch the news to see if the companies are c.
“Vote for me, and I promise our schools mentioned will improve. My opponent just wants to c. research their financial situations cut the school budget!” d. speak with people who work for them d.
Our tires not only look better, but they ride already better, too. Every Monday, your teacher gives you a quiz 5. Which is a sound argument? on the reading he assigned for the weekend. I had a dream that I got a D on my biology Since he typically assigns at least 50 pages of test, and it came true.
If I want to do better textbook reading, the quizzes are difficult and next time, I need to have a more positive you have not gotten good grades on them so dream. Which answer represents the best idea for b. Beth wanted to become a better driver, so troubleshooting this problem and improving she took a driving class and studied the your grades? Motor Vehicles manual. Her driving really a.
ask for the assignment earlier in the week improved. schedule in more time on Saturday and c. After a strong wind storm last October, all of Sunday for reading and studying the leaves were off the trees. That is when I c.
get up an hour earlier on Monday morning learned that wind is what makes the leaves fall. to go over the reading d. When Max realized he was getting a cold, d. get a good night’s sleep and eat a good he started taking Cold-Go-Away.
In four breakfast before the quiz days, he felt much better, thanks to the Cold-Go-Away.