A500.5.3.RB - Blog - Critical Thinking about Critical Thinking

For this assignment, there are several questions I must address.  The first being that I must take time for reflection of my critical thinking competencies, I am not sure if I really know how much improvement I have made.  I am not sure if I have an understanding of the textbook definition of the difference between ordinary thinking and critical thinking.  From a personal perspective, I have always questioned what everyone else considered normal.  I never really thought what I was doing was critical thinking I just wanted to know why and what was next.  As I matured, I developed my leadership skills through various career endeavors; I learned to use these skills like a game of chess.  I learned to ask the right questions so I could think about my next three moves for future success and not what was directly in front of me.  That being said, I now must address the question of “has my thinking process changed.”  Yes, it has changed to some degree; but the main issue is how much has it changed?  To be honest, I am not happy with my progress because I yearn to learn more about the process of critical thinking. 

As always, there are personal problems in which I must overcome.  The first being that there is not enough time in the day to devote to this learning process the way I would like to.  I seemed to have stretched myself thin over the last year and find myself not giving 100% on many tasks.  Even more so, to concentrate and learn the way I should, I need to give something up.  There are personal hobbies I have, being an adjunct teacher part time, a professional educator full time, kids, hobbies, family time and not to mention that my current college course has so many assignments; I cannot dedicate the time I need to really focus on the art of critical thinking and how to improve my comprehension of it. 

The next question I must address is “have I been able to internalize any of the techniques and concepts I have learned?”  To this question, I must answer yes and no.  Even though I have always asked in-depth questions, they may have not been the correct questions or be in the correct context.  One way I have truly internalized different techniques is through the videos we are assigned to view.  For some reason I learn better through watching videos than by reading material; I have never been a fan of reading.  One thing I have learned so far in this course is to ask questions in different ways.  I also have a new understanding of my personal assumptions and biases and how I apply them to critical thinking.  Last but not least is being comfortable with the SEE-I model and applying it in certain situations.  Am I there yet, no; and I have a long way to go when it comes to new techniques and concepts of critical thinking. 

What will it take to make lasting, positive changes in the way you think?  This is a very complicated question to me because I know that critical thinking in itself is a science that cannot be mastered in a short time period.  Honestly, I wish I was at a level where I could evaluate information with a little less bias, but that has not been proven yet.  What I can say with certainty is that I have become more aware of the information set before me.