Becoming a Critical Thinker: For Your University Studies and Beyond Practical, approachable, and thought-provoking: your complete companion to critical thinking.Becoming a critical thinker is a straight-forward, reassuring, and complete guide to critical thinking - one that helps you to understand critical thinking and develop the skills needed to employ it. This book supports the reader to not only think critically, but to do so independently, as a student, professional, and global citizen. The book has a clear three-part structure: firstly, examining what critical thinking is; secondly, exploring the three overarching aims of critical thinking; and finally, focussing on how to develop the essential tools to support those aims. This text assumes no prior knowledge or understanding: it has been developed to gently guide the reader from school-level education to university-level thinking in a clear and engaging manner. This is the only critical thinking skills text to offer insights and advice from professionals and students, helping the reader learn from the experiences of others in a range of contexts. Each chapter also offers guided exercises, checklists, and further reading to encourage the reader to apply techniques learnt to real situations. It is also the only text to offer chapters dedicated to listening and speaking, which are often overlooked, but are vitally important skills. |
Contents
What is a critical thinker and why become one? | 1 |
Understanding the three aims of critical thinking | 61 |
Mastering the five tools of critical thinking | 165 |
Glossary | 307 |
| 311 | |
| 315 | |
Common terms and phrases
academic journal achieve active listening active reading strategy Alexander McCall Smith analyse answer appeals to emotion approach argument map assessment audience becoming a critical chapter CHECKLIST claim communication complex comprehend consider context counter argument critical thinking dedicated thinking depth Direct Premise doesn’t elements engage essay Eva Brann evaluate evidence example explore feedback Figure focus focused foundational knowledge free writing gatekeepers Guided Exercise Guided Reflection ideas identify impact important interpretation issue judgement Kiribati learning lecture look meaning Moreover online resources ourselves paragraph practise Practitioners Say presentation productive struggle professional question reliable role Say feature sentences skills social media speaking speaking-to-think specific supporting premises System 2 thinking TASK things thinker thinking session thoughts Tim van Gelder tool topic tutorial understand undertake university studies Visit the online voice Wi-Fi words writing-to-think written