Critical Thinking

critical thinking

course handout

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Acorn Training - Critical Thinking - Handbook

Critical Thinking

Companies around the globe are dependent upon active critical thinkers in order to

develop, produce and disseminate their goods and services. Managers in a position of

creating change within their organisations need to learn, exhibit and teach critical

thinking skills to their colleagues and employees. Why? Because making decisions in

today’s world—a world of increasing pressure, uncertainty, conflicting ideas and opinions

create challenges that managers need to adeptly navigate. Understanding key methods of

critical thinking helps managers learn to address the right problems, identify risks and

make better decisions.

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Acorn Training - Critical Thinking - Handbook

What is Critical Thinking?

An ability to present, evaluate, and interpret data, to develop lines of argument and make

sound judgements.

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QAA, Framework for Higher Education Qualifications

Critical thinking is the ability to look at our thought processes and apply standards to the

information we use as the basis of our reasoning and to the structure of our thinking. It

teaches us to draw conclusions based on the evidence and to build rational arguments to

support those conclusions. In doing so it makes us more able to recognise the fallacies in

the arguments made by others and to identify the flaws in their reasoning.

Characteristics of Critical Thinking

1. It is purposeful.

2. It is responsive to and guided by intellectual standards (relevance, accuracy, precision,

clarity, depth, and breadth).

3. It supports the development of intellectual traits in the thinker of humility, integrity,

perseverance, empathy, and self-discipline.

4. The thinker can identify the elements of thought present in thinking about any

problem, such that the thinker makes the logical connection between the elements and

the problem at hand.

5. It is self-assessing...