John Silva Blog

Personal Reflection #2: In your blog, answer the following questions:

In Module 1, when you read Chapter 3 section 3.2 and beyond, you were introduced to the phrase “critical thinking.” Define critical thinking.

According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking (2008), “critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.”

In my professional life, I consider critical thinking to be the idea that you shouldn’t accept information at face value. As a history teacher, I try to teach my students to form their own opinions about historical events based on evidence and their own evaluative processes. When I present students with information from the Internet I try to first have them look for bias. So much information online is based on opinion and conjecture rather than facts or is just simply false. I use a lot of urban legends to show how information can seem reliable but be completely false. The best way for students to think critically about information is to use multiple sources from multiple medium to compare and contrast information.

Foundation for Critical Thinking (2008). Defining Critical Thinking. Retrieved December 2, 2008 from http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm