Critical thinking is a complex but important skill.  Often, we get so caught up in learning our content that we forget the most important step - critically engaging with our content.  Asking good questions is the key to thinking critically. Try these question prompts to succeed at critical thinking.

So, what is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is a complex skill.  Put simply, it includes using sound evidence to create an informed viewpoint that can be demonstrated to be valid.  

It isn’t:

    • Being critical - finding the flaws in an argument
    • Giving your own opinion based on personal experience
    • Retelling content or facts from your lecturers
    • Agreeing with your course examiners’ opinions
It is:
    • Forming a reasoned judgement
    • Analysing evidence
    • Problem solving
    • Putting evidence before opinion
Would you like to watch a video that clearly defines critical thinking?  (This video goes for about 12 minutes, but is one of the best definitions I can find.  Please stay with it for at least for the first half.) 


Why is critical thinking important in your studies?
  • You have to do it in order to pass your assessments!
  • Have you ever received feedback on assessment indicating you need to include more analysis, synthesis or evaluation?  Ever struggled with creating a thesis, or essay, or identifying reliable readings? All of these requests require critical thinking.
  • Learning is about more than remembering information. Your lecturers are looking for your ability to analyse the information you find.  

How do you think critically?  

  • Theorists like Marzano and Kendall and Bloom provide us with great taxonomies of thinking skills.  They show the process that we might need to go through in order to think critically.  They all have common features:

    1. First you must know the content. (Complete course content and find appropriate readings.)

    2. Then question the content (Why? What? Who? When? Where? How?) in relation to how it fits together.  

      • What bigger picture does it reveal?  

      • What are the themes? Consistencies? Inconsistencies?  Omissions?

      • Are there any biases?

    3. Then try to explain what new knowledge you have gained by thinking critically.


Is there a short cut?

There are a couple of cognitive prompts that assist in critical thinking:

    • Ask yourself a ‘why?’ question and then answer ‘because…’ using the evidence you have.

    • Challenge yourself by asking ‘so what?’  

      • ‘So, what have you proven?’  
      • ‘So, what can you conclude?’  
      • ‘So, what does it all mean?’

How would you like to learn more about critical thinking?

Last modified: Friday, 2 July 2021, 3:41 PM