Thinking Clearly and Boldly:
Critical Thinking Across the Campus
Presentation by:
Edna Ross, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Psychology
QEP Critical Thinking Specialist
University of Louisville
August 12, 2014
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
“Think” about the following concept:
‘The Elderly’
List 3 defining
characteristics that
immediately come to mind
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Some problems with telling someone to “think”

What happens when you admonish
students to “think” about what they’re
doing?

How do you overcome ingrained and
unconscious inaccurate information,
biases, prejudices?

How is ‘thinking’ different from ‘critical’
thinking?
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“Normal” thinking tends to be:



Self-serving
Egocentric
Myopic
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One definition of critical thinking:
Critical thinking is
the intellectually disciplined process
that results in
a guide to belief and action.
Understanding
Concepts
Appreciation
Decisions
Synthesize
Application
(Scriven and Paul, 2003)
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In Nosich’s study, what percentage of
male infectious disease physicians
DID NOT wash their hands after
using the restroom?
Handwashing
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6
In Nosich’s study, what percentage of
female infectious disease
physicians DID NOT wash
their hands after using the restroom?
Handwashing
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 ‘Critical’
thinking allows us to
not just ‘talk the talk’ but to
‘walk the walk’.
have you ‘talked the
talk’ without ‘walking the
walk’?
 When
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 Another
definition of
critical thinking:
The Intellectual disciplined
process of evaluating the
components of our
thinking--- WHILE WE ARE
THINKING
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The Paul-Elder framework of
critical thinking…
Helps with deconstructing the
components of thinking:
The Elements of Thought
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The Paul-Elder framework of
critical thinking…
Provides a structured, consistent
way of assessing the quality of
thinking:
The intellectual standards
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The Paul-Elder framework of
critical thinking…
• Gives a snapshot of what the
end result should look like:
The Intellectual Traits
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Thinking things
through
Going around the wheel…
“Becoming a critical thinker means becoming
adept at using the elements explicitly and
reflectively in your thinking.”
G. Nosich
Going around the wheel with your and others’
thinking allows you to analyze, break apart,
and understand the logic of an issue.
It allows you to think through any topic,
question or problem in a thorough way.
Going around the wheel…

The elderly: How has our perception of
this concept changed?

‘Lenses’, ‘perspectives’, ‘points of view’:
◦ Media
◦ Age of respondent
◦ Personal experience(s)

One size does NOT fit all!!
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60
64
86
72
74
73
60
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Critical thinking can be impeded
by:
Faulty
mental sets
Situations
that trigger
stereotype threat
Situations
that emphasize
external personal characteristics
Beware!
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Let’s generate 10 ideas,
insights, strategies or new
concepts you are taking
away from today’s session.
Let’s share 10 Insights
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