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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
Critical Thinking and Ethical Practice Assignment
HLSC 3420 – Ethics
Caitlin J McCredie
001129686
January 23 2014
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
In today’s fast paced world people often function completely on auto pilot in order to get
through the busy days without expending much energy on unnecessary details. By keeping the
mind free from unimportant thoughts, decisions and conclusions can be drawn faster, without so
much as a consideration. Humans have become experts at split second decision making,
especially regarding the mundane, ordinary, and repetitious questions they are faced with every
day. However, what is the protocol when a more difficult question is posed? How do humans
address dilemmas that require more attention than a simple yes or no? The answer is different for
everyone and every profession. But one item that can arguably be found in all people in all fields
is that of critical thinking. When a situation comes to fruition, which is not in the wheelhouse of
standard answers, critical thinking must be applied to reach the best solution. For the purpose of
this paper, critical thinking will be discussed as a function and critical contributor to ethical
decision making.
Critical Thinking
So what is critical thinking? Critical thinking is a working definition. This means that it is
an evolving concept with working parts. It is not defined only by what is in the dictionary, or
only by what is written about it in a text book. Each school of thought will understand critical
thinking in the most practical way for that school. Each part of critical thinking can be
understood as a concept on its own, while all parts can be viewed as one whole process. Critical
thinking is, just that, a process. What does the process of critical thinking include? “Critical
thinking includes creative thinking, open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, and is not bounded by
predefined standards and objectives.” (Yildirim & Ozkahraman, 2011) This definition regarding
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
critical thinking comes from a nursing journal; however, it can also be applied to counselling,
social work, and even business, as it is an all-encompassing definition that works for all schools.
A main function of critical thinking is to reach a higher cognitive domain. By reaching a
higher cognitive domain, more sound and thoughtful decisions can be made. However as
previously noted, this is a process and not something that can necessarily be easily achieved.
Along with this, there are many types and frameworks of critical thinking, based on different
schools of thought. Selecting the type of critical thinking model or framework to use can serve as
much importance to the situation as professional using it. Finding and choosing the framework
that works best is the first step to good critical thinking.
Approach to Critical Thinking
There are countless types of approaches to critical thinking. Some approaches are simple,
with few steps. Others have many steps that work to deepen the understanding of the proposed
question. However, before choosing a critical thinking approach, one must understand the
question that they are being asked to answer.
For the purpose of this assignment, Bloom’s Taxonomy will be used as the critical
thinking framework to be applied to the case example. Bloom’s Taxonomy was created by a
psychologist (Benjamin Bloom) in 1948. (Coffey, 2002) Bloom’s Taxonomy was originally used
as a method for teaching critical thinking skills to students and has evolved in its purpose over
the last 65 years. While its intended purpose was to teach and analyze students’ knowledge, the
concepts and step by step application can easily be applied to situations in which critical thinking
is required. (Coffey, 2002)
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
The critical thinking process of Bloom’s Taxonomy can be broken down into 6 steps.
These are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation and creation. (Anderson
& Krathwohl, 2001) Bloom’s Taxonomy also proposes verbs (actions) to each of these steps in
order to apply them to practice. These verbs are words like listen, re-read, respond, explore, try
and focus. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) The step by step process allows for critical thinking to
be developed in all ages, and this is often why elementary teachers use this model when creating
assignments for their students in order for them to achieve higher learning. (Anderson &
Krathwohl, 2001)
This approach to critical thinking was chosen for this case example for several reasons.
The first is simply that due to the complexity of the case example, a formal process of thinking
and reasoning is required to make a sound and ethical conclusion. By using Bloom’s Taxonomy
the guess work is taken out of the equation. If these steps are followed all of the necessary
information will be presented with the case, before the step of decision making. Secondly this
process for critical thinking was chosen because it is well rounded and complete. Many critical
thinking frameworks only require four steps and there is little meat to the steps. Here, we can see
that the six steps promote re-evaluation of the information to promote the highest level of
cognitive thinking abilities. Lastly, this framework was chosen because of the sensitivity of the
case example. The case example includes many ethical considerations and is not to be taken
lightly. In order for a proper case and decision to be made this critical thinking framework is the
best procedure to be applied.
Application
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
Understanding the value and process of critical thinking is inherently important, but
understanding how to apply critical thinking to situations and questions is the most difficult and
most important step. Given the case example of Sarah the first step will be to read the scenario
without making any judgments or decisions. The scenario must be taken in with an open mind
that is receptive to all the important details.
Knowledge
The first step of critical thinking according to Bloom’s Taxonomy is knowledge. In other
words this step is asking, what does Sarah know? Here is where information required to make
ethical and sound decisions is collected. From the case example of Sarah, there is much relevant
information that is needed in the decision making process. After reading the case Sarah knows
that this is a voluntary detoxification program with a strict five day maximum mandate. This
program receives its funding from Alberta Health Services and is operated by a community
board of directors. Sarah also knows that the goal of this program is to aid in non-medical
detoxification for clients who are seeking long term treatment for addiction. Also, some
flexibility has been given to clients in the past if they were requiring additional days of detox
while waiting for admittance into a treatment program. Sarah is required to evaluate whether or
not this program is meeting its goals without violating its mandate. This program could be at risk
of losing its funding if it is not operating within its mandate. She knows that there are two main
issues regarding the mandate of this program. The first is that some clients require stays longer
than 5 days because they are not to be admitted to treatment for some time. The second is that
there are reoccurring clients who appear to be using the program as a homeless shelter and show
little motivation for detox or recovery. It is important to note that the staff at the treatment centre
feel that both of these groups of clients need these services for harm reduction and relapse
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prevention, however, access to the centre is limited for new clients when the beds are full. Now
that all of the information given is documented, Sarah can move onto the next step.
Comprehension
The next step in Bloom’s Taxonomy is comprehension, or understanding the information
being presented on a deeper level. Sarah needs to understand what the real issue is, before
proceeding any further. It can be determined that there are two main issues that need to be
addressed. The first is that there are two types of clients who need the services provided by this
program but do not meet the mandate. The second issue is that as a professional Sarah has an
ethical obligation to provide the best care to the clients the program serves. Here, an ethical
dilemma has presented itself. Should care be extended to individuals that do not fit the mandate
if it is at the expense of clients trying to access the program who do meet the mandate? And if
these clients who do not meet the mandate are denied service, this that ethically sound? Now that
the main issues that need to be defined are understood the next step can be addressed.
Application
The third step in this critical thinking framework is application. This step is based on
applying what is known, and how it is understood, to create an initial proposed solution. Keeping
Sarah’s main issues in mind from the previous step there are several applicable solutions. The
first solution is to dismiss all of those who do not fit the mandate in order to preserve the
integrity of the program. The second is to allow repeat visits or additional days only if the client
is enrolled to a treatment program to follow detox. Thirdly is that repeat and long term clients
will be allowed to continue utilizing the program only if they work with program staff to
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advocate for themselves to enter treatment. Obviously these are not perfect, or the final solution,
but it is the first step in applying the knowledge collected and understood regarding the problem.
Analysis
The fourth step in Bloom’s Taxonomy is analysis. Here, the steps have moved into higher
order of thinking, and this is because now the steps look critically at the work done up until this
point. In the previous step solutions were proposed based on what was learned and how it was
understood. In this step, those solutions are analyzed for validity and soundness. Important
considerations would include evaluating the client base. It is important to understand the specific
issues of the clients who do not fit the mandate before dismissing them from the program.
Ethical considerations come into play here as well because of the sensitive nature regarding
client health and program integrity. Analysis is important to assess how many more people
would be served by dismissing those who do not fit the mandate. As stated in the case example,
there is a shortage of availability for some clients, so it would be very important to assess the
amount of clients being denied admittance to the program, and how much that is based on nonmandate clients taking up beds.
Evaluation
The five step in one which reviews the entire process of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and
evaluates all of the work done up until this point. The knowledge gathered and the
conceptualization of that knowledge led into proposed solutions and a critical analysis of those
solutions. So the next step is to decide if moving forward at this point is possible or if more work
needs to be done in the previous steps. To begin, evaluating the initial knowledge of the case
scenario is the basis of all decisions from here forward. While there was some valuable
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information from the case example, there was not enough evidence of mandate violation or lack
of service to users to be able to make a clear decision. Sarah does not know why clients
repeatedly come back to the program, and she also does not know how many potential clients are
turned away directly because of this. Also, ethically, Sarah cannot refuse service to these
individuals because of professional conduct and ethics. There are gaps in the information initially
collected. The problem seemed to be clearly outlined in the step of comprehension; however, the
root of the problem may not have been able to be understood because of initial missing puzzle
pieces in program information. For example, if there are clients repeatedly using the program as
a homeless shelter rather than as a detox, is that because there are no other available programs
that provide care to them? This is an important question to go back and review before
proceeding. This step aids the professional to critically review all of the information up until this
point, to see if more research or thought needs to go into the process before moving on to the
final step.
Create
The final stage of Bloom’s Taxonomy is arguably the most important stage of the critical
thinking framework. This is the stage where decisions are made. This final stage is called create
because not only is this the point of integration of all thinking in previous steps, but it is the point
where new solutions based on the total information are formed and proposed. There are several
options and directions to go with this case example. The first is to simply advocate changing the
mandate in order to serve the greatest number of clients without risking loss of funding. The
second option is to investigate what the alternative programs are for the clients who do not meet
the current mandate and determine if a new program needs to be developed for them. The best
answer would be to continue serving those who access the program and to advocate for more
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Running head: CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL PRACTICE ASSIGNMENT
funding to broaden the mandate. Precedence for the need of a program expansion can be found in
the number of people using the program and the number of people not obtaining service from
other sources.
Value of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is important to fully understand difficult cases with many finite details,
as well as to promote new and innovative approaches to problem solving. It is clear that ethical
decision making cannot exist in its most valuable form without critical thinking. Ethical decision
making is at the foundation of counselling, social work, nursing and other professions. Like
critical thinking frameworks, there are different professional codes of ethics to adhere to.
Counsellors will refer to the CCPA (Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association) code
of ethics. There is also a decision making process that is included in the CCPA. Principle/virtue
based ethical decision making is included in the CCPA and the steps are quite different than that
of critical thinking framework guides to decision making. The 6 step principle based ethical
decision making model includes defining issues, researching relevant articles, understand what
ethical principles are involved, application and resolution of ethical concept conflicts, personal
feeling regarding the topic and finally plans of action. (McMahon, Schulz, & Sheppard, 2007)
The ethical decision making steps still break down information into a way that is easier to
analyse, but not to the level that the critical thinking model Bloom’s Taxonomy does.
The CCPA serves as a very important guide for dealing with situations like the case
example, however, selecting a critical thinking model, like Bloom’s Taxonomy, to guide
thinking into a higher cognitive realm, can be inherently helpful at reaching more sound, and
effective resolutions. A professional code of ethics can guide decision making but a critical
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thinking framework can ensure that all details of the situation are considered thoughtfully before
moving forward. There certainly is a place for ethical foundation in all professions, but without a
critical thinking framework to guide those ethical and moral codes, then thinking is not at the
cognitive level that it should be. However, that being said, critical thinking is just thinking
without a solid code of ethics and conduct to support the conclusions drawn throughout the
process. If there is no ethical backbone to base inquiry on, then there is not enough structure to
critically think successfully. One does not supersede the other; rather, critical thinking and
ethical considerations go hand in hand in the professional world.
Conclusion
Critical thinking is a vital part of ethical decision making and should always be
considered when creating solutions to ethical dilemmas. Critical thinking frameworks guide
decision making by assisting in educated inquiry and formatting study in an organized process
that addresses fundamental issues. Ethical decision making is a compass to point professionals in
the direction of where to look for answers and what questions to ask in their critical thinking
journey. Critical thinking is a vital puzzle piece in ethical decision making and vice versa.
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References
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and
assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition,
New York : Longman.
Coffey, H. (2002). History of bloom's taxonomy. Retrieved from
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4719
McMahon, S., & Schulz, W., & Sheppard, G. (2007). The code of ethics: Canadian Counselling
and Psychotherapy Association. Retrieved from
https://moodle.uleth.ca/201401/pluginfile.php/46858/course/section/1064/CCPA%20Cod
eofEthics_en_new.pdf
Yildirim, B., & Ozkahraman, S. (2011). Critical thinking in nursing process and
education. Internation Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(13), 257-262.