Critical Thinking

{Excerpt} Blaise Pascal felt that “Man is obviously made for thinking. Therein lies all his dignity and his merit; and his whole duty is to think as he ought.” A contemporary of René Descartes, Pascal is however best remembered for resisting rationalism, which he thought could not determine major truths: “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.” Blaise Pascal and René Descartes are reference points for two major attitudes to conscious representation of the world: although both saw reason as the primary source of knowledge, they disagreed profoundly over the competence of Man—the truth, as always, lies between faith and radical doubt. For sure, pace the propensity of intellectuals to promulgate eternal truths, or at least make a lasting impression, the idea of critical thinking neither begins nor ends with Pascal or Descartes. Socrates set the agenda nearly 2,500 years ago when the “Socratic Method” established the need to seek evidence, analyze basic concepts, scrutinize reasoning and assumptions, and trace the implications not only of what is said but of what is done as well: “Knowledge will not come from teaching but from questioning.” Thereafter, within the overall framework of skepticism, numerous scholars raised awareness of the potential power of reasoning and of the need for that to be systematically cultivated and cross-examined. Critical thinking, by its very nature, demands recognition that all questioning stems from a point of view and occurs within a frame of reference; proceeds from some purpose—presumably, to answer a question or solve a problem; relies on concepts and ideas that rest in turn on assumptions; has an informational base that must be interpreted; and draws on basic inferences to make conclusions that have implications and consequences. To note, each dimension of reasoning is linked simultaneously with the other; problems of thinking in any of them will impact others and should be monitored. Hence, effective, full-spectrum questioning that connects from multiple perspectives must illuminate each element of thought so it may permeate the model

Analysis Students' Critical Thinking Skills in Solving Problems in Terms of Cognitive Style

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam menyelesaikan masalah yang ditinjau dari gaya kognitif. Penelitian ini termasuk dalam Penelitian Kualitatif dengan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Subjek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VIII MTSN 3 Rokan Hulu. Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan tes GEFT (Group Embredded Figure Test) yang dikembangkan oleh Witkin dan tes kemampuan berpikir kritis berupa soal uraian. Teknik analisis data dilakukan dengan reduksi data, pemaparan data, analisis data pada kedua kelompok subjek dan penarikan kesimpulan. Analisis kemampuan berpikir kritis dalam penelitian ini menggunakan indikator dari Ennis yaitu merumuskan strategi, memberikan alasan, dan menyimpulkan. Penelitian ini menunjukkan perbedaan gaya kognitif siswa mempengaruhi kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa siswa dengan gaya kognitif field independent memiliki kemampuan berpikir kritis lebih baik daripada siswa dengan gaya kognitif field dependent. Kata Kunci : Berpikir Kritis, Gaya Kogniti

Critical thinking and systems thinking: towards a critical literacy for systems thinking in practice

About the book: In reflective problem solving and thoughtful decision making using critical thinking one considers evidence, the context of judgment, the relevant criteria for making the judgment well, the applicable methods or techniques for forming the judgment, and the applicable theoretical constructs for understanding the problem and the question at hand. In this book, the authors present topical research in the study of critical thinking. Topics discussed include developing critical thinking through probability models; the promotion of critical thinking skills through argument mapping; an instructional model for teacher training in critical thinking; advanced academic literacy and critical thinking and critical thinking and higher education

CCIT Report 2022

Content About us Incubation National Health Incubation Program (2021-2022) what we do System Innovation Research & Communication Our path in Education 2023: onwards & upwardshttps://ecommons.aku.edu/ccit_newsletter/1006/thumbnail.jp

CCIT Report 2021

https://ecommons.aku.edu/ccit_newsletter/1005/thumbnail.jp

An "infusion" approach to critical thinking: Moore on the critical thinking debate

This paper argues that general skills and the varieties of subject-specific discourse are both important for teaching, learning and practising critical thinking. The former is important because it outlines the principles of good reasoning simpliciter (what constitutes sound reasoning patterns, invalid inferences, and so on). The latter is important because it outlines how the general principles are used and deployed in the service of ‘academic tribes’. Because critical thinking skills are—in part, at least—general skills, they can be applied to all disciplines and subject-matter indiscriminately. General skills can help us assess reasoning independently of the vagaries of the linguistic discourse we express arguments in. The paper looks at the debate between the ‘specifists’—those who stress the importance of critical thinking understood as a subject-specific discourse—and the ‘generalists’—those that stress the importance of critical thinking understood independently of disciplinary context. The paper suggests that the ‘debate’ between the specifists and the generalists amounts to a fallacy of the false alternative, and presents a combinatory-‘infusion’ approach to critical thinking

Identification Critical Thinking Stages Of Students’ Mathematics Education Study Program FMIPA UNNES For Solving Mathematics Problems

This research is qualitative research that purpose to describe critical thinking stages of college students for each level of critical thinking skills in Mathematics Education Study Program FMIPA UNNES for solving mathematics problems. In the clarification, a subject in critical thinking level 0 until level 3 showed the same characteristic that is getting the information in the picture, and be able to create images to get additional information. In the assessment, subjects in critical thinking level 0 just dig a small portion of relevant information, the subject in critical thinking level 1 until level 3 dig most of the information. In the inference stage, a subject in critical thinking level 0 to level 2 only using inductive thinking, subject in critical thinking level 3 using deductive thinking. In the strategy stage, a subject in critical thinking 0 using the analogy or not can come up with strategies employed, subject in critical thinking level 1 and level 2 using the analogy, subject level 3 using his own ideas by looking for relationships in solving problems. Keywords: critical thinking, the stages of critical thinking, clarification, assessment, inference, strategies , and solving mathematics problem