What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is the ability to think analytically using fewer emotions and more rationality (Judson & Harrison, 2018). Critical thinking is a survival skill, it can be used in all aspects of life. Critical thinking is looking a problem or situation from a more logical standpoint and coming up with solutions to solve the problem or situation. Here are 5 steps to critical thinking.
Identify the problem.
You cannot solve the problem unless you truly know what the problem is. For example, you have scheduled an interview for later in the week, but you are not quite sure of the location because you have never traveled to that side of town before. You recognize that you are not familiar with the address, therefore you have to find a solution such as google maps or other GPS apps.
Gather information.
There is certain information that is needed after you have properly identified the problem. Moving forward with our example, the information you need is the address that the interview will take place. Other information might include, familiarizing yourself with the surrounding area and traffic patterns during that time of day.
Evaluate the information.
Once you have identified the problem and gathered all of the information, now you can evaluate the information. Look at all of the information that you have regarding the problem and ensure that it is accurate, then you can move on to the next step. For example, you now have the address for the interview, you looked at the surrounding area and traffic patterns, now you can determine how much time it will take you to get to this location.
Consider alternatives.
Whenever you are trying to solve a problem, you want to make sure that there are several options available and not just one. What if something unexpected happened and you only allowed yourself one option. For example, what if on the day of the interview your car doesn’t start. Some of the alternative to consider is public transportation or a ride service such as uber. You need to factor in the time that these options will take as well. Another alternative would be to make the trip to the address just to test the time it will take. Make sure that you have considered all of your alternatives before you make a decision.
Choose the best alternative.
The last step to critical thinking is to choose the best alternative. Look at all of the alternatives and choose the best one to fit the problem. For example, riding to the location a day before the interview to test the time and traffic patterns will give you a better understanding of the drive.
Critical thinking is a skill that can be improved over time and it will definitely take practice. Not all situations will be as straightforward as the example provided but it will give you a good idea of how to use the 5 steps to critical thinking.