Elements of Critical Thinking

Review your classmates' posts, and respond to your peer. When responding to your classmate, please provide feedback on their examples of good and poor critical thinking skills. Discuss additional ways one can think more critically.

Discussion response Learning and developing the different elements of critical thinking has been a fascinating subject for me, discovering how to examine information from an objective point of view has opened my eyes to fallacies I have read about on different people's opinions on social media. In order for us to have an educated discussion about a topic, we need to analyze a subject critically.

It is important to note that critical thinking does not involve a series of steps or procedures; it is about cautiously thinking about a problem or concern and then deciding the best course of action.

Bailin, Case, Coombs, & Daniels (1999) write "in order to become a (more) critical thinker one must understand what constitutes quality reasoning, and have the commitments relevant to employing and seeking quality reasoning" (p.281).

One must develop an adept knowledge about the thing you are analyzing. Ensuring we have a complete understanding of the subject matter is essential for developing a well-founded view-point. Carroll argued that we must "think clearly, accurately, knowledgeably, and fairly while evaluating the reasons for a belief or for taking some action" (as cited in Plencner, 2014).

Once we have established a solid understanding of the focus, we can then take a reasonable and justifiable position on the subject. Next, a choice needs to be made about the best way to move forward.

At this stage of the process, problem-solving becomes the focal point of our thinking. Based on a thorough evaluation of the pros and cons of the outcome a decision needs to be made about how to respond. In the final phase of our assessment, we need to reflect on all the aspects of the problem; we can then re-evaluate the decision and seek further clarification.

While looking for an example in which excellent critical thinking skills were being utilized, I found an article written by DiFazio (2018) on MSN. In his daily, he describes the opioid abuse epidemic in the United States and how patients are receiving these prescription medications.

This author displays the use of critical thinking by searching to find the possible root of a problem. He then researched and found information on the subject to learn more about the issue. He worked to gain a thorough understanding of the subject before writing the article.

Then he used these studies and journals from professionals in the perspective fields to substantiate his report. The studies he used are backed by multiple other studies including a study conducted by Stanford School of Medicine and another one by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Again, sticking to the critical thinking model, he described the importance of acting on the issue highlighting the rising death toll. Finally, he eludes to possible areas of improvement or an idea of how we could go about curtailing the problem.

Finding an example of an article where the author lacks good critical thinking skills was rather simple. In this article, the author writes about sanctuary cities and the government's pursuit to crack down on governors that don't back the President's plan for deporting illegal immigrants.

She warns of tactics where government officials are breaking the law to force their hand in catching immigrants, striking fear into civil liberty advocates.

Although this is a significant issue Rodriguez, (2018) does not demonstrate in-depth knowledge about the matter or support her claim with evidence from scholarly sources but uses other news stories from the same reporting agency as provisions for her writing.

Furthermore, this story limits the discussion by placing supporters of immigration on the defense, immediately stopping a debate about the right way to handle the problem and fundamentally blocking the critical thinking element of discussion.

Additionally, she states that governors are falsely accused of not following national immigration laws, and they could be facing prosecution by Trumps administration evoking added fear. Another way the author does not display critical thinking skills is by finger-pointing, blaming, and giving only one side of the story.

In addition to stimulating hysteria, there are not a means for readers to verify the accusations like lawsuits or studies showing how immigration is being illegally enforced. Lastly, she does not provide her readers possible solutions to the problem.

Textbook - General Education Text:Bhargava, V. K. (2006). Introduction to global issues. In V. K. Bhargava (Ed.), Global issues for global citizens: An introduction to key development challenges

Reference

Bailin, S., Case, R., Coombs, J. R., & Daniels, L. B. (1999). Common misconceptions of critical thinking. Curriculum Studies, 31(3), 269-283.

DiFazio, J. (2018). Study Shows Opioid Prescriptions Come From Doctor Offices, Not Emergency Rooms. MSN Medical Daily.

Plencner, A. (2014). Critical thinking and the challenges of Internet. Communication Today, 5(2), 4- 18. 

Rodriguez, N. (2018). Trump Administration Wants to Arrest Mayors of Sanctuary Cities. Newsweek.