Life Skills III : Critical Thinking & Creative Thinking (B.A. Sem 5)

Critical Thinking:  (B.A. Sem 5, Life Skills III, Unit 1)

1.1 Concept of Critical Thinking

Definition (core): Critical thinking is the ability to analyse information and experience objectively. It is also called critical analysis.

• It has been discussed for about 2,500 years. The term became common in the mid-to-late 20th century.
• Jones (1996): Checking how good, correct, or true ideas are, so we can decide what to do.
• Barry K. Beyer (1995): Making clear, well-reasoned judgments.
• National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking: The intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and/or evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
• Universal intellectual values: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, fairness.
• In simple words: It is a careful, skilled habit of thinking used to decide what to believe and what to do.

Parts of reasoning examined: purpose, problem/question, assumptions, concepts, evidence, reasoning toward conclusions, results and effects, objections from other viewpoints, and frame of reference. It belongs to a family of connected ways of thinking: scientific, mathematical, historical, anthropological, economic, moral, and philosophical.

Edward Glaser (1941): Critical thinking involves three things:

1. An attitude of thoughtfully considering problems and subjects within one's experience.
2. Knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning.
3. Some skill in applying those methods.

Key points:

• Selfish motives lead to weak logic. Fairness and honesty lead to higher-quality thinking.
• No one thinks critically all the time. Quality depends on experience and its depth in a subject.

Other definitions:

• Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.
• Reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do.
• Purposeful, self-regulatory judgment resulting in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference.
• A commitment to using reason in forming beliefs. In critical social theory this includes participatory democracy, considering other viewpoints, and helping others become critical thinkers.
• McPeck (1981): The skill and habit of doing an activity with reflective scepticism.
• Paul (1989, p. 214): Disciplined, self-directed thinking showing the finest form of thinking for a particular area.
• Thinking about one's own thinking to improve it and spot mistakes and biases. It is directed inward, to make the thinker more rational, and is not simply "hard" thinking or only problem-solving.

Critical thinking calls for the ability to:

• Recognise problems, find workable solutions, prioritise, collect and organise relevant information, and notice unstated assumptions and values.
• Use language clearly and correctly, read data, judge evidence, evaluate arguments, spot logical connections, and draw well-supported conclusions.
• Test conclusions, rebuild beliefs based on wider experience, and make accurate judgments in everyday life.

Critical thinking involves:

• Questioning and evaluating information
• Solving problems
• Thinking beyond the immediate situation
• Seeing the big picture and context
• Asking What? How? When? Who? Why? What if?
• Relating theory to practice
• Reading different viewpoints and forming your own conclusions
• Reflecting on your work and improving it

1.2 Qualities of a Well-Cultivated Critical Thinker

• Raises vital questions and states them clearly.
• Collects and checks relevant information, and reaches well-reasoned conclusions tested against suitable standards.
• Thinks open-mindedly within different systems of thought, judging their assumptions and effects.
• Communicates well while solving complex problems.
• Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective. It requires high standards and a commitment to overcome self-centred or group-centred thinking.
• No one is a perfect critical thinker. Everyone has strengths, blind spots, and a tendency to fool themselves, so it is a lifelong effort.

1.3 Characteristics of Critical Thinking

• It uses reasoning: building and judging reasons that support beliefs.
• It involves reflection: checking our own thoughts and those of others.
• It is practical: actions become more sensible when based on justifiable beliefs.
• It is the process of deciding whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgement about a claim or a suggested action.
• It uses interconnected skills to analyse, creatively combine, and judge what we read and hear.
• It involves dispositions (tendencies to think or act in a certain way).
• Skills build on one another and must be practised to master it.

Critical thinkers are:

• Curious about the world and creative questioners
• Frequently asking "why?" and seeking reasons
• Interested only in trustworthy sources
• Aware of the whole situation and its context
• Relevant and focused on the main point
• Always looking for other explanations, arguments, or positions
• Open-minded about other viewpoints
• Willing to change position when evidence is enough
• Able to hold back judgement when evidence is not enough
• Eager to be precise
• Aware that knowledge has limits, so they seek probability rather than absolute proof
• Aware of how personal bias affects knowing
• Orderly in handling complex wholes and able to anticipate the next step
• Sensitive to others' feelings, knowledge, and understanding when sharing findings

1.4 Virtues of Critical Thinkers

Virtue Meaning Open-minded Not rigid. Sees issues from many angles, keeps emotions out of decisions, and accepts valid ideas even when they contradict earlier beliefs. This is the biggest virtue. Inquisitive Naturally curious about everything around them. Truth seeker Seeks truth and lives by it, checks facts from reliable sources, and can be convinced by stronger logic and facts. Well informed Staying informed is a way of life: they keep updating old information and adding new. Trustful of reason Trusts arguments based on sound reasons. Not swayed by illogical reasons or rumours. Flexible Weighs strengths, weaknesses, pros, and cons from different viewpoints. Fair-minded Not biased or prejudiced. Judgements are not based on emotion or gut feeling. Honest about personal biases Admits shortcomings and seeks expert advice. Willing to reconsider Revises views based on new facts and logic. No rigidity or stagnation. Clear about issues Resolves conflicts quickly using facts and logic. Not impulsive Emotions do not override logic, and they are never in a hurry to form views. Logical and calm in discussions Does not lose temper and can be convinced by logical arguments. Orderly in complex matters Organises complicated issues systematically. Diligent in seeking information Looks for relevant information in genuine sources (books, people, newspapers, etc.). Consults experts Does not hesitate to take expert opinions. Reasonable in selecting criteria Builds fair, reasonable standards for weighing pros and cons. Focused in inquiry Stays serious and focused, never casual.

1.5 Components of Critical Thinking

1. Analytic and synthetic abilities: Breaking a situation into parts and combining related issues meaningfully to weigh pros and cons.
2. Objectivity: Viewing situations calmly and fairly, keeping personal feelings and bias aside.
3. Anticipation of consequences: Guessing the results of a line of thinking in advance.
4. Intelligence: The general ability to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of a situation.
5. Logical thinking: Reasoning systematically about situations using objective principles.

1.6 Six Steps of Critical Thinking

Remembering → Understanding → Applying → Analysing → Evaluating → Creating

1. Knowledge/Remembering: The most basic level: identifying what is being said.
2. Comprehension/Understanding: Understanding what you read, heard, or saw by linking it to what you already know. The test is whether you can explain it in your own words.
3. Applying: Using what you understood to carry out a task in a real situation.
4. Analysing: Breaking material into parts to see how ideas are arranged and related, looking at both form and content.
5. Evaluation: Judging the analysed information and its supporting reasons to decide whether to believe it or act on it.
6. Creating (Synthesis): Combining analysed parts with other information to make something new and original.

1.7 Developing Critical Thinking

• It is a set of skills built up over time.
• It is not negative. It means forming your own conclusions based on evidence.
• It is the process of gathering information, thinking about it, and forming your own views.

Strategies for students:

• Classroom Assessment Techniques: Students regularly assess lessons, e.g. "What is the most important thing you learnt today?"
• Case Study / Discussion Method: Share a case or start a discussion without giving the conclusion. Let students reach it themselves.
• Conference-Style Learning: The teacher acts as a facilitator while students read and explain. The teacher is not passive and stays in control.
• Writing Assignments: Broad assignments where students reason and argue both sides of an issue.
• Ambiguity: Purposeful open-endedness forces students to think for themselves. It must not become plain confusion.

1.8 Approaches to Life Characterising Good Critical Thinking (Messina and Messina, 2005)

• Inquisitiveness about a wide range of issues
• Concern to become and stay well informed
• Alertness to opportunities to use critical thinking
• Self-confidence in one's ability to reason
• Open-mindedness about divergent world views
• Flexibility in considering alternatives and opinions
• Understanding the opinions of others
• Fair-mindedness in appraising reasoning
• Honesty in facing one's own biases, prejudices, stereotypes, and egocentric tendencies
• Prudence in suspending, making, or altering judgements
• Willingness to reconsider and revise views
• Clarity in stating questions or concerns
• Orderliness in working with complexity
• Diligence in seeking relevant information
• Reasonableness in selecting and applying criteria
• Care in focusing attention on the concern at hand
• Persistence through difficulties
• Precision to the degree permitted by subject and circumstances

Chapter Questions (for revision)

4. Discuss the concept of critical thinking.
5. What are the characteristics of critical thinking?
6. How do you develop critical thinking among children?

Creative Thinking: (B.A. Sem 5, Life Skills III, Unit 2)

2.1 Concept of Creative Thinking

Definition (core): Creative thinking means looking at a problem or situation in a fresh, new way to find solutions different from the usual ones. These solutions may feel a bit unusual or uncomfortable at first.

• It can be sparked by a free, unstructured process (e.g. brainstorming) or a structured process (e.g. lateral thinking).
• Simple definition: Creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new.
• Creativity is not creating out of nothing. It is generating new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas.
• Some creative ideas are astonishing and brilliant. Others are simple, practical ideas that no one has thought of yet.

2.1.1 Why Do We Need to Develop Creative Thinking Ability?

Creativity plays a big role in problem-solving, other advanced thinking skills, social and emotional wellbeing, and success at school and later in life (Slavkin, 2004). Children need creative thinking because it helps them:

• Expand their abilities beyond the boundaries of intelligence.
• Cope with rapidly growing competition in all walks of life.
• Make effective use of human resources.
• Discover new and better ways of solving problems.
• Help form intellectual members of society, leading to an intellectual society.
• Use their natural creative talents.
• Develop effective leadership.
• Remain mentally alert and healthy, leading to self-growth and self-actualisation.

2.2 Characteristics of Creative Individuals

Characteristic Meaning Unconventional Do not feel the need to follow society's usual standards. Go against the flow and live in their own way. Individualistic Want to find the truth and decide for themselves what works and what does not. Inventive Live in a world full of ideas, and may not always have the best people skills. Driven Cannot rest until they bring their inner vision to life. They have a "fire in their belly" to add to the beauty and betterment of the world. Visionary Carry a guiding vision in mind, heart, and soul, which they feel called to bring to life. Intuitive Stay connected to their inner selves. Notice signs, coincidences, and symbols and use them in their work. Curiosity Ask questions about everything. Have wide interests in unrelated areas and may collect unusual things. Fluency Generate many ideas or solutions, often unusual ("way out"), unique, and clever. Uninhibited Free and open in expressing opinions. Bold when they disagree and unusually persistent. Risk taking Willing to take risks. Often described as high risk takers, adventurous, or speculative. Imaginative Intellectually playful. Often fantasise, daydream, and imagine. Sense of humour Sharp humour. They find humour where others may not, and it can seem strange, inappropriate, or disrespectful. Sensitive Heightened emotional sensitivity, especially to beauty. May be visibly moved by beautiful experiences. Non-conformity Do not follow the crowd. Accept messy or chaotic situations, ignore small details, and do not mind being called "different."

2.3 Components of Creative Thinking

1. Divergent thinking: Ability to think in different ways on one issue.
2. Innovativeness: Ability to think of new ways of doing things, different from routine, cost-effective if implemented, and worthy of emulation.
3. Novelty: Ability to generate new ways of thinking that the individual or group had not used in the past.
4. Fluency: Ability to generate many ideas about a situation without any break in the flow of thoughts.
5. Flexibility: Ability to shift perspectives while thinking and generate as many ideas as possible.
6. Originality: Ability to think very differently from the large majority of people, regardless of social approval.
7. Elaboration: Ability to expand different issues to different proportions in a connected manner.
8. Unconventionality: Ability to think very differently from the conventional ways practised by the group.
9. Independence: Ability to think without being influenced by the views of others.

2.4 Steps of Creative Thinking

The five steps:

1. Deferring judgment when looking for ideas
2. Generating as many ideas as possible
3. Listing ideas as they occur and keeping a written record
4. Constantly elaborating or improving on ideas
5. Allowing the subconscious to generate ideas by incubating the subject

Explanation:

• Deferring judgment: Keeps ideas flowing. Calling something a "dumb idea" makes the mind or team stop producing ideas. Decide which ideas to pursue only after generating many, however silly they seem.
• Generating many ideas: Fills the pool of ideas. More ideas means a better chance of finding something new that works. Most will not be used, but one or two good ones are enough.
• Keeping a written record: Creative ideas are easy to lose. They often don't look creative until combined with other, very different ideas. Written notes can later be mixed, matched, reshuffled, and combined.
• Elaborating and improving: Helps discover new combinations, changes, and surprises. Creative people keep looking for other ways to think about a subject even when the old way works fine.
• Incubation: Let the subject sit in the mind. Einstein is often quoted as asking, "Why is it my best ideas come to me while taking my morning shower?" Work on the problem, step away (take a walk, paint, play a sport, etc.), then return and repeat the earlier four steps.

2.5 Stages of Creative Thinking (James Taylor)

Preparation → Incubation → Insight → Evaluation → Elaboration

1. Preparation: Fully immersing yourself in the subject or field you are working in.
2. Incubation:
   • The information gathered goes back into the mind and works quietly in the subconscious.
   • It can take days, weeks, months, or even years (e.g. starting a book or piece of music, setting it aside, and returning later).
   • It is partly out of your control and cannot be rushed, because it leads to the next stage.
3. Insight:
   • The classic sign of a creative person: the "Aha" or "Eureka" moment.
   • It is probably the smallest part of the five stages but may be one of the most important.
4. Evaluation:
   • Many creative people find this stage difficult because they have many ideas but limited time.
   • It calls for self-criticism and reflection, e.g. "Is this novel, or just re-hashed and done before?"
   • It also involves asking a small group of trusted friends, "I've had this idea, what do you think?"
   • The most "creative" people are often very good at this stage: they pick the ideas with the most merit to work on.
5. Elaboration:
   • Edison's saying applies: creativity is "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
   • This is the hard-work stage: testing and working on the idea (late nights in the studio, hours in the laboratory, days fine-tuning products).
   • A creative effort is not complete and cannot last without it.

2.6 Developing Creative Thinking

• Many think a person is either creative or not. Some may be more naturally inclined, but creativity is like a muscle that can be exercised and improved.
• Every child is born with creative potential. Creativity is an important part of personality and must be nurtured, starting in the classroom.

Strategies for teachers:

• Emotional connection: Research shows creativity is best nurtured through emotional connections. For example, a project on community problems such as domestic violence adds a human touch.
• Classroom environment: Every student's voice should matter, and involving students with the community is one of the best ways to encourage creativity. Teachers can:
  • Permit frequent discussion and interaction among students.
  • Make time for informal class opportunities.
  • Learn each student's name and ensure every student knows everyone's name.
• Use of different models: A good model helps:
  • Connect students' real lives with the classroom.
  • Inspire innovation and create chances to resolve new issues.
  • Find ways to extend learning opportunities at school and home.
• Risk-taking: Teachers should encourage risk-taking in thinking by:
  • Offering a safe environment that permits risk-taking.
  • Arousing willingness to try new ideas.
  • Accepting mistakes made while trying new things.
  • Talking to other teachers about what worked and what did not.
• Active learning: Uses creative tools like games, concept maps, and study materials. It works only when students enjoy the learning environment. Teachers can:
  • Create interactions with many problem-solving opportunities.
  • Give many chances for hands-on field work.
  • Organise round-table discussions on interesting topics.
  • Let students create some of the questions for their upcoming exam.

2.7 Techniques to Enhance Creativity

Brainstorming: A technique to generate ideas, with two main goals: (1) to break free from habit-bound thinking and (2) to produce a set of ideas to choose from.

Rules and principles:

• Suspend judgment: The most important rule. No critical comments while ideas are put forward. All ideas are written down and judged later. Creating and criticising at the same time is like watering seedlings and pouring weed killer on them together.
• Think freely: Wild, impossible, and unthinkable ideas are fine. Every session should have a few ideas so unusual they make the group laugh. Practical ideas often grow out of silly or impractical ones.
• Tag on: Improve, modify, and build on others' ideas. Ask what is good about the idea, how to make it work, and what changes would improve it. Changing just one part of an unworkable solution can make it great.
• Quantity of ideas is important: Build a large collection to sort through later. Reasons:
  • The obvious, stale, unworkable ideas come first, so the first 20 or 25 ideas are probably not fresh or creative.
  • A larger list gives more choices to adapt or combine.
  • Some brainstormers aim for a fixed number, such as 50 or 100 ideas, before ending.

Chapter Questions (for revision)

6. Define creativity and explain its components.
7. What are the steps of creative thinking? Discuss.
8. Explain the stages of creative thinking with examples.
9. How do you foster creativity among children?