Cox 1 Michael Cox Assignment 1 Take a Stand Argument of Definition Section HAMcGough 14 November 2013 Misinterpretation of Critical Thinking

g Plagues Society Society is constantly changing, and with these changes comes the responsibility of those living within it to make smart, well-informed decisions. Why does this matter? This matters because most decisions have a ripple effect: they do not just affect the decision-maker. Similar to the Butterfly Effect, the repercussions of any decision made will spread beyond the decision-maker, touching the lives of many other people, intentional or not. How does one go about changing his/her thought process to form well-educated decisions? The first step is to gather information relevant to the topic at hand. Once this information is gathered, one must use critical thinking skills to determine the best possible decision. Thinking critically is a process through which a person is able to determine the pros and cons of a decision based on the information gathered, but what exactly does critical thinking entail? One of the most commonly held beliefs about critical thinking is that it must be negative. Critical, after all, is a word generally associated with negativity. I disagree with this definition of critical thinking as a negative process. Rather than being something to be dreaded because of its negativity, critical thinking should be embraced for the benefits it provides to those who use it. Critical thinking is a great tool for analyzing information to help make the best possible decision. Figure 1 shows the dilemma faced by many as they go through the decision-making process. What path should I take? What are the consequences if I decide to choose this path over another? Questions similar to these can confuse the decision-maker, and critical thinking provides a way to determine the clearest answer. All this talk about critical thinking is great, but what exactly is it? Dictionary.com defines critical thinking as, the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion. While this dictionary definition provides a nice framework for the process of critical thinking, it does not in any way discuss what should be the answer or conclusion.

Figure 1: Making decision is often a difficult and confusing process. Thinking critically can help point one in the right direction.
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Adding on to the standard dictionary definition, Daniel Feldman, on page 10 of his book Critical Thinking: Making Strategic Decisions with Confidence, defines critical thinking as, evaluating a situation, problem, or argument and

Cox 2 choosing a path of investigation that leads to the best possible answers. Feldmans definition is especially important because it adds one vital aspect to the definition that the dictionary fails to include. Feldmans definition includes the word best. The goal of critical thinking is to use the resources and information available to determine the best possible outcome. Critical thinking is present everywhere, but perhaps its most common occurrence is in peer review. Critical thinking is a vital aspect of peer review, but unfortunately students have been misled by instructors into believing it is a purely negative process. One of my earliest memories of critical thinking took place in the second grade. For my class, we were required to write small essays only about three-fourths of a page and exchange essays with our classmates for peer review. Upon receiving someone elses essay, my teacher gave me these instructions: read the essay, think critically, and tell the author what I thought. Similar to most eight-year old children, I was hardly aware of what critical thinking was and even less aware of what it meant. When I asked my teacher, she told me to, read it [the essay] and mark all the things I thought were wrong with it. (Figure 2 is an accurate embodiment of how I thought my teacher expected me to perform.) I had no alternatives, so I did just as my teacher said. I read the short essay written by my peer, marking everything I didnt like or thought was wrong. As a young child, I felt uncomfortable with the idea that I was expected to tear apart the writings my peers had worked so hard to compose. As a result, I often found myself giving less than helpful comments on written pieces so as not to injure my friends feelings. What is the effectiveness of teaching students to think and perform like this? Personally, I did not receive any of the valuable skills that come with critical thinking until I reached my freshman year in high school. All the years prior that were spent in an English class were a waste of my time and a stunt on the growth of my thinking process.

Figure 2: Students have been taught since a young age to attack someones written piece when performing peer review.
Source: Peer review for SEO. on ScienceforSEO.com

All this turned around my freshman year of high school, and fortunately it was just in time to prevent an unchangeable habit of incorrect critical thinking. In ninth grade, I was informed by my English teacher that critical thinking in academia consisted of more than criticizing and thinking of negatives. It involved thinking of two questions while reading: Do I understand what the author is trying to say here? and Is there anything I can suggest to improve upon this piece? If these two questions were answered in conjunction with the regular criticism given to the author, the critical on the part of the reader would be not only more effective, but also more helpful.

Cox 3 From this point, it was just a short jump to the life application of critical thinking. I suddenly found that I was able to make better informed decisions because of this new perspective concerning critical thinking. Now when I need to make a decision, I ask myself two main questions: What do I hope to accomplish as a result of this decision? and What are the possible repercussions of each of these decisions? I was one of the lucky ones. I have seen all too many students who did not have the luxury of a teacher correcting their thinking before it was too late. By the time these students were told the real meaning of critical thinking, they had been practicing it incorrectly too long to change. For some students, this uber-critical thinking plagued them all the way up to college. Critical thinking is an immensely important process. In addition to its usefulness within academia, critical thinking can be used daily when making decisions. The youth are losing their chance to develop a strong critical thinking skill due to the incorrect teachings in school, but it is not too late to stem the tide and reverse the damage. Students must be educated in the proper methods of critical thinking, as well as the circumstances under which it can be used. If these two goals are accomplished, the ability of people in the United States to accurately analyze information and come to a great conclusion will skyrocket. Decisions have repercussions, whether we intend for them or not. It is important to ensure people are critically thinking and applying it to their lives correctly, because if this does not happen, everybody will be worse off.

Cox 4 Works Cited Critical Thinking. Dictionary.com. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Feldman, Daniel. Critical Thinking: Make Strategic Decisions with Confidence, Second Edition. Fairport: Axzo, 2009. Print. Peer review for SEO. ScienceforSEO.com. Web. 8 Dec, 2013. Physical Therapy Marketing: Consumer Decision Making Process. theravid.com. Web. 8 Dec, 2013.