The video, 5 Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking by Samantha Agoos, discusses five steps to go through which will allow one to carefully deconstruct a situation and reveal any bias and manipulation which may sway an initial response to a difficult question. By systematically moving through these steps, only the most useful and reliable information will remain allowing for the best possible decision.
Let's take a look at her 5 steps:
1. Formulate Your Question: by asking yourself clearly what specific answer you are looking for. The more specific and honestly you look at your needs, the better you will be able to find the best answer.
2. Gather Your Information: Research possible answers by looking at relevant information and seeking expert advice or testimonials. The more information you have surrounding your question, the more educated you will be about possible options and therefore final solutions.
3. Apply Information to Your Developing Answer: Based on the information you have gathered, how does it challenge your interpretation of things you know? Are your thoughts and ideas logically sound? What other influencers are shaping your interpretation of information?
4. Consider the Implications: What would the long term results be following your response, and would there be any unintended consequences to your solution? Would the cons outweigh the initial pros to our decision?
5. Explore Other Points of View: Learning from others' experiences and knowledge will allow for better evaluation of all possible choices, resulting in informed decisions through greater understanding of multiple views. Understanding other's points of view will also help you to better understand your own.
Critical thinking skills are important to develop as it works to motivate your intellectual self improvement and promotes a more creative mindset by opening yourself to discovering new thoughts, ideas and concepts. In doing so, you will also become a better team-player as you will be better able to understand another's way of thinking and provide you alternate views to solving the same question.
Video Source: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw