CRITICAL THINKING

WORKSHOP

By Karyn
Thng

CRITICAL
THINKING
1. What is Critical Thinking?
2. What do you expect to achieve
through attending this
workshop?

CRITICAL
THINKING
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical Thinking is the attempt to ask and answer questions
systematically.

This means
1. Asking the most useful questions in the most productive
sequence in order to yield a coherent and credible Story
2. Asking questions instead of accepting at face value what you
write or read, i.e.,
i.

separating reliable facts from false assumptions

ii. Look for evidence and good reason before believing

something to be true

CRITICAL
THINKING
During World War 1, head injury among
soldiers was very high and soldiers took
a long time to recover .
Evaluate.

Structure

CRITICAL
THINKING
Model to Generate Critical
Thinking
Descript
ion
Who?

What?

Where?

Why?

When?

Topic / Issue /
Title
What next?

Evaluati
on

So what?

Analysi
s

How?
What if?

CRITICAL
THINKING
The Common Question Words
Starters:

WHAT, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, HOW, WHY

Follow by:

WHAT IF, WHAT NEXT, SO WHAT

CRITICAL
THINKING
DESCRIBE

To describe is to clearly define what you

are talking about, say exactly what is
involved, where it takes place, or under
what circumstances.

Basically an introduction to a topic.

CRITICAL
THINKING
ANALYSE

To analyse is to examine and explain how

parts fit into a whole given reasons,
compare and contrast different elements,
show your understanding of relationships.

Analysis basically forms the main part of

any in-depth study.

CRITICAL
THINKING
EVALUATE

To evaluate is to judge the success or

failure of something, its implications
and/or value.

Evaluation leads us to conclusions or

recommendations and are usually found at
the end of a topic.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Identify a topic
This is the Topic/Issue you
might want to explore in a
particular section or
paragraph.
Write key words in the
middle of a sheet of paper,
or a blank document
screen.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Try to answer the
questions
Starting with what
questions. Your answers
may become part of an
introduction, defining your
terms or identifying issues.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using the who, when and where
questions
To generate
descriptive
background information.
This will provide context or
scene-setting material
which is also useful for an
introductory section.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using
the
How question
How
requires
consideration of the ways
that something operates or
works e.g. processes or
procedures.
Attempting to answer
questions using how
takes you from descriptive
to more analytical work.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using the Why question
Why also moves you
deeper into analytical
territory. It gets you to find
reasons, explanations or
causes.
Think about all the possible
questions to do with why.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using
the
What
if
question
Asking questions using what if
moves you into a more evaluative
phase of your thinking.
It helps you to consider the
possible implications or results of a
particular action.
This question is also useful for
considering predictive work done
by others, or engaging in
forecasting of your own.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using the So what question
So what? is really the KEY
QUESTION for an evaluation. It
gets you thinking about value or
values, meaning and significance.
It is also about discriminating
between more or less important
factors in any situation.
It helps you to think through and
justify your own position, and
discuss its implications.

CRITICAL
THINKING
Generating Critical Thinking
Using
What
next?
might
refer
to
the
What
next
question
recommendations and predictions
that your argument has brought to
light.
It leads you to consider and plan for
more specific actions that might be
necessary in certain kinds of
assignment, such as a project or
business report.

Analysis

Description

CRITICAL
Critical questions A Linear Model
THINKING
WHAT?

What is this about?

What is the context / situation?
What is the main point / problem / topic to be explored?

WHERE?

Where does it take place?

WHO?

Who is this by?

Who is involved?
Who is affected?
Who might be interested?

WHEN?

When does it occur?

HOW?

How
How
How
How

Introductory and background

information to contextualize
problem / topic.

did this occur?

does it work in theory? in practice / context?
does one factor affect another? Or,
do the parts fit into whole?
Exploration of relationship
of parts to whole.

Evaluation

Analysis

CRITICAL
Critical questions A Linear Model
THINKING
WHY?

WHAT IF?

SO WHAT?

WHAT NEXT?

Why did this occur?

Why was that done?
Why is argument / theory / suggestion / solution?
Possible situations
What if this were wrong?
and alternative
What are the alternatives?
response?
What if there were a problem?
What if this or that factor were added? removed? altered?

What does this mean?

Why is this significant?
Is this convincing? Why/ why not?
What are the implications?
Is it successful?
How does it meet the criteria?
Is it transferable?
How and where else can it be applied?
What can be learnt from it?
What needs doing now?

Implications
Solutions
Conclusions
Recommendati
ons

CRITICAL
THINKING

SO WHAT??

CRITICAL
THINKING

WHATS NEXT??

CRITICAL
THINKING
A survey conducted in
Minnesota, USA presented
below proves that Women
are better drivers than Men.
Discuss .

Age 20 - 65

Women

Men

No. of Accidents in
Year 2010

42 300

60 000

THANK YOU

 World War I
WHO WW1 Soldiers

WHAT Head Injury

 World War I
WHERE & WHEN - Brief Introduction
When: WW1 Started in 28
July 1914 and lasted till
11 November 1918 in
Where: Europe.
How: The cause of the
conflict is due to long
term imperialistic foreign
policies of the great
powers of Europe
(German Empire, AustroHungarian Empire,
Ottoman Empire, Russian
Empire, British Empire,
French Empire & Italy)

 World War I
WHY - Soldiers Helmets
SAMPLE HELMET USED PRE
WWI

SAMPLE HELMET USED IN

WWI

 World War I
WHAT IF
WITHOUT TIN HELMET

WITH TIN HELMET

CRITICAL
THINKING