Quality Improvement Essentials
There are many ways to define critical thinking, and a number of different methods for applying critical thinking to specific issues and problems. There is no one single, “correct” way to think critically. However, several core principles are common to almost all models. In Critical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts, Peter Facione identifies and explains these core principles and skills, and also defines several heuristics that we typically use when reasoning about topics. Recognition of these heuristics help identify weaknesses and biases in our thinking, and help us understand the importance and relevance of critical thinking to our everyday environments.
Critical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts
A feature of western education throughout history has been the tendency of teachers to tell students what to think. From the earliest universities, students learned passages from classic texts by rote and were assessed on how well they could regurgitate that content. This form of education is valuable, but it is also rigid, and may hinder development of new knowledge because it so heavily weights established knowledge patterns and modes of thinking. At the start of his book Stirring Up Thinking, Ben Johnson describes his assessment of thinking and thinking critically, and challenges his readers to develop independent thinking. His introduction is presented below: