Critical Thinking Application Paper - Essay Example

If workers have good critical thinking skills their chances of having positive outcomes to problems that arise in the workplace are good. The components of critical thinking are "perception, assumptions, emotions, language, argument, fallacies, logic, problem solving, and conclusion"3. It is important to note that different people can be given the same problem and come out with different valid arguments. Perception is how the problem is seen by the individual or group. Assumptions are the current beliefs held by the decision makers.

Emotions are personal feelings that affect how we think and act. The argument is the problem to be solved or what we believe to be true. Fallacies are ideas that are not related to the question and not related to the answer either. Logic is the facts involved and is usually what can not be changed. Problem solving is the process of weighing information and coming up with a solution. The conclusion is the derived answer from the critical thinking process. Why is critical thinking important Critical thinkers are more successful at the different situations that they encounter in their lives.

There is a positive correlation between critical thinking and college GPA4. Students who possess critical thinking scores get higher grades in school. . The benefits of critical thinking are many. For the individual it means making better decisions based on a well thought out process. Critical thinkers are valued employees especially if they have a track record of making decisions that benefit the organization (increase profits or lower cost of goods sold). For communities it means elected individuals making sound decisions based upon facts.

How does one develop good critical thinking skills Luckily these skills can be taught. There are many different methods to critically analyze solutions to problems. The CRITO5 method developed at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a good way to learn and practice critical thinking skills. The acronym CRITO6 stands for:Conclusion - conclusion or claimReasons - premises or reasonsInference - test the inference of argumentTest - test the truth of premises or reasonsObjections - construct objections, respond to objectionsBy setting up a CRITO worksheet and working through a problem with the worksheet a problem can be examined and possibly solved.

Different groups working using the same worksheet may come up with different valid solutions. Conclusions of the worksheet can be changed or implemented. Critical thinking is taught at different grades in school, at the college level, and by organizations that require their employees to use critical thinking in their jobs. Individuals can learn critical thinking skills by researching and reading relevant material."If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't.

That's logic."--Lewis Carroll7A good example of critical thinking occurred when I was working as a library aid for the county library. At that time the library had