21st Century Capabilities: Critical Thinking

As noted at our April 1 meeting, the plan is to address one capability per week for the next five weeks. This week we're moving on to Critical Thinking. (If you haven't responded to Global Thinking, there's still time).

Below you'll find the definition of Critical Thinking as determined by the two teams from the April 1 meeting along with ideas about how that capability might translate to the workplace, higher education and community life.

After taking a moment to review the definitions, respond to the following questions:

• How important might this capability be for SPS students?
• What might be the implications if we don’t explicitlyaddress the capability through curriculum, instruction, and assessment, i.e., if we maintain the status quo?

Team C, Definition/Description: Utilizing a process to analyze and evaluate problems.

Team D, Definition/Description: Utilizing a process to analyze and solve problems.

What might this capability look like in business or the workplace?

Team C

• Ability to analyze data and implement change in marketplace

• Ability to filter large volume of data that is growing exponentially

• Analyzing data

• Being proactive--PDSA

• Challenging/avoiding “group think”

• Identifying needs

• Solving problems to avoid crisis

• Thinking outside of the box

Team D

• Anticipation of implications

• Creating problem solving processes

• Evaluate decisions

• Evaluate validity of data

• Identify problems and possible solutions

• Identify strengths and weaknesses

• Prioritizing options

• Solving problems that are new to our generation, example; limited resources, health literacy

What might this capability look like in higher education?

Team C

• A safe environment to practice solving real life problems utilizing acquired skills

• Need to have these skills when they get to college

• The goal of higher ed is to create (employable) critical thinkers

• To question and how to reconstruct

Team D

• Apply previous learning to novel situations

• Courage to question

• Creating problem solving processes

• Demonstrating understanding

• Evaluate validity of data

• Prioritizing options

• To question

What might this capability look like in the community or life experience?

Team C

• Avoiding the unexamined life

• Decision making; family, community, politics, and personally

• Having a larger view to be able to think more creatively

• Successfully budgeting

Team D

• Assuring equity of resources

• Evaluating history and acting on it. Knowing what went wrong and think of how to make sure it doesn’t happen again

• Financial decisions

• Making good choices

• This is the common sense Dr. Ridder was referring to