The Power of Critical Thinking: Why It's Important and How to Develop Your Skills

Hey there, let me tell you about critical thinking! It's basically the superhero power of analyzing information objectively and making logical, evidence-based judgments. You get to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, consider different perspectives, and make well-reasoned conclusions. It's like thinking about thinking in a super smart and rational way so you can make informed decisions based on evidence and reason.

Why is critical thinking important? 

Let me count the ways! For starters, it helps you make better decisions by weighing the pros and cons and considering different options. It also improves your problem-solving skills by helping you identify, analyze, and solve problems in a structured and logical way. And let's not forget about the increased creativity and innovation that comes with exploring different ideas and perspectives. Plus, critical thinking helps you communicate more effectively by analyzing arguments, evaluating evidence, and identifying potential biases.

But watch out, without critical thinking, you could end up making some serious blunders. You might struggle with decision-making, and problem-solving, and be limited by preconceived ideas and biases. That could seriously hinder your ability to consider different perspectives and come up with creative solutions. You might even struggle to communicate effectively and end up in misunderstandings and miscommunications.

So, how can you develop your critical thinking skills? 

It takes time and practice, but it's totally worth it. Start by asking questions that challenge assumptions, evaluating evidence, and considering alternative perspectives. Learn to analyze arguments, identify logical fallacies, and assess different positions. Break down complex problems and look at them from different angles to find different approaches. With dedication and effort, anyone can improve their critical thinking skills and make more informed decisions.

And speaking of being narrow-minded, imagine someone who refuses to try new foods because they have preconceived ideas and biases about certain types of cuisine. That's like limiting yourself to a life of blandness and missing out on delicious opportunities. But if you use critical thinking to challenge your assumptions, you could develop a greater appreciation for a wider range of foods and experiences. Plus, it's way more fun to be open-minded and adventurous!

How to begin?

One easy way to start practising critical thinking is to ask yourself questions that challenge assumptions and encourage you to consider alternative perspectives. For example, when you encounter a new piece of information, ask yourself:

• What evidence supports this claim?
• Are there other possible explanations or viewpoints?
• What biases or assumptions might be influencing my understanding of this information?
• By consistently asking these types of questions, you can start to develop a more objective and evidence-based approach to evaluating information and making informed decisions.

Remember that critical thinking is a skill, and like any skill, it takes time and practice to develop. Don't be discouraged if it feels challenging or difficult at first. With dedication and effort, you can improve your ability to think critically and make more informed decisions. Each time you challenge assumptions, evaluate evidence and consider different perspectives, you are strengthening your critical thinking muscles. So keep at it, and remember that every step you take towards becoming a better critical thinker is a step towards a more informed and fulfilling life.

Gen-Y Mindset: What a 'Waste'

Teaching the Gen-Y allows me to observe their behavior and understand how they think. I personally find that it is important to study their attitude towards assignments or work. This could explain why many companies have been questioning about the quality of work from Gen-Y.

I gave an assignment to my students this semester where they have to form a group of 5 and identify a company of their choice for examining the marketing strategies. After a week, they came back to me with a company they have chosen.

Everything looks fine but not until I asked them how many companies they have selected as alternatives before they make their decision to choose one of it. The answer given by almost all the groups.... one. Basically, they don't have any alternatives but decided on a company that they know and thought it is the only company that is the best for the assignment.

So, what is the reason and why don't they look for more alternatives before making a choice? I want to know why. The answer I got from them are:

"We thought this company we "know" is the best.
No time.
We want to focus on one company"

From their feedback, I learned that they do not like choices when it comes to a task or assignments. They find that it is a waste of their time and effort if the companies that they investigated were not chosen. Meaning to say that if given a choice, the students do not see it as an advantage but more work is needed to identify the alternatives. They are lack inquiry skills and do not see the benefits of the exploratory approach in the learning process.

In life, we need to make a lot of decisions to solve our everyday problems; and we always have many choices/alternatives to solve a problem. While we explore alternatives, we learn and improve our skills in making a decision. Nothing is a waste if we keep exploring the alternatives/choices; even if it is not the best choice for solving the current problem it can be used for the future.

Learning is a process. If one only focuses on the goals and ignores the process of achieving the goals, then it is really "WASTED"!

Reading Academic Textbooks for Undergraduate Studies

While I was having dinner with my ex-colleague, another lecturer, we were having a debate over the use of textbooks for undergraduate studies. I got so engaged in this debate because before I went for the dinner today, I just told a few of my current students (Gen-Y) about the importance and usefulness of reading academic textbooks.

Personally, I always think that one of the best way to improve on academic writing is to start with reading the subject related textbooks. Althought there are various alternatives for readings, such as online journals, websites and even blogs; these are all good to have alternatives for reference purposes but it is not the core materials and blogs cannot be used as academic reference. 

I agree that some of these alternatives sources may be easily accessible and very looks informative but the scope can be very wide too as there are uncountable websites when searching by keywords. Also, a lot of web publishers simplify the subject information to make it easy to read, keeping it short and simple. By doing so, it will only provide some points or even without appropriate explanation on any concepts or models.

Web sources can be very specific on explaning some terms, concepts or models that myay provide limited elaboration or justification. Many web authors simply extract points from textbooks (in note form), similar to a student taking their notes in the class or while reading a text.

In this circumstances, how can a student learn the subject matters properly and able to see how the topic area can be explained or elaborated? Therefore, students only able to provide answers in point form and if essay is required, the student will just combine all the points they learned from the Internet in a paragraph, without taking into consideration the efforts of writing an essay.

At this point of time, I am not against the use of Internet as the medium for undergraduate studies. There are benefits of using the Internet for research or reading e-book too. However, how many students or even lecturers prefer to read e-book online and use the e-book as a main source of reference for assignment and preparing for exam? I am referring to academic e-books, not fictions or online magazine. Maybe there are some who prefer to do so, but how about you? Does your university or college provide e-books?

I belief the fundamental of learning comes from reading, and if it is for academic purpose, it should start from reading subject related textbook. This helps to build cognitive skills and expose the student to the fundamental academic writing style. Only when this is achieved, the student may go online to identify and read more sources to extent the knowledge and scope of the subject area. Textbooks provide definitions, explanations, implications, pros and cons, and illustration using valid examples, which are all critical for developing strong foundations of subject matters. Being in undergraduate means a student should build on the foundation of degree specialisation. To achieve this, there is no other better way but to read textbooks or e-books (as long as it is a published subject related book).

My philosophy is very simple. If someone want to think out of the box, this person should fill up the box with content before thinking out of the box. Think out of the box doesn't meant must go away from the box and never come back. A great mind can think out of the box only if this person has gained significant knowledge inside the box. If want to go to the world wide wide to look for answers for your studies, first thing to do is to understand the basic subject matters from textbooks, which are dedicated for teaching the subject purpose. This is the reason why textbooks still exist today (for a reason).