A500.5.3.RB - Critical Thinking about Critical Thinking

I made the assumption that most of the material would be focused on organizational leadership when I made the decision to pursue my master’s degree in leadership. Organizational leadership just seemed like the logical focus since organizations are where most leaders operate and most of us are in some type of organization.  Right?  Wrong.  Not only did I make another assumption about what material this course would focus on, but I assumed that everyone had the same intention for pursuing their Master’s degree in leadership.  My current position as a program coordinator has forced me to have an analytical mind.  I perform audits and evaluate processes on a daily basis so analyzing is essential towards being successful.  I actually thrive in this environment because I have found over the years that I instinctively analyze things.  Things like people, processes, and basically anything else I come in contact with.  I believed I understood this process to the fullest extent before I began this course (Leadership Foundation in Research).  When I received my textbook Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (Nosich, 2012), I noticed it didn’t even mention leadership.  This confused me a bit.  I mean, I am taking a leadership course.  However, I now realize that I was not an expert on analyzing, critical thinking and analyzing are two different things, and I was not practicing critical thinking to the fullest extent possible. 

 

I have already noticed a difference in the way I approach things in my career, at home, and life in general from the few weeks of learning about critical thinking.  There are many interpretations and terms associated with critical thinking such as reasonable, reflective, and authentic.  But I think that Richard Paul defines critical thinking best in stating, “critical thinking is thinking about your thinking, while you’re thinking, in order to make your thinking better” (Nosich, 2012, p. 2).  That is a simple yet profound summary of critical thinking.  A few areas I have studied within the critical thinking process have given me a better understanding of what critical thinking is and how it works.  For example, there are elements of reasoning and standards of critical thinking.  I exhibited the element of making an assumption in my aforementioned example about what I assumed in regards to this course.  I learned that making an assumption is acceptable because there is no starting point to when reasoning.  And the SEE-I process has become essential in my critical thinking.  SEE-I has made things I am working on much clearer, especially in my academics.  I am just starting to be able to put what I have learned into practice.  I know if I continue to familiarize myself with critical thinking, it will only lead to a better understanding and positive changes in all aspects of my life.  I believe I can accomplish familiarizing myself and becoming more comfortable with the process through genuinely learning my textbook and continuously applying it to my academics, my career, and life.  I understand using a textbook is only part of making positive changes to the way I think.  I will also use my experiences to progress, shape my thinking, and grow.

Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th edition). Boston, MA: Pearson.