Dr Lakshika Liyanage

Two Basic Thinking Skills

The Right Brain

According to the left-brain, right-brain dominance
theory, the right side of the brain is best at
expressive and creative tasks. Some of the abilities
popularly associated with the right side of the
brain include:

Recognizing faces
Expressing emotions
Music
Reading emotions
Color
Images
Intuition
Creativity

The Left Brain

The left-side of the brain is considered to be
adept at tasks that involve logic, language,
and analytical thinking. The left-brain is
described as being better at:

Language
Logic
Critical thinking
Numbers
Reasoning

 Both critical and creative thinking are crucial

for solving problems and discovering new
knowledge.
Critical thinking is mainly about correct
thinking.
Creative thinking is mainly about thinking on
alternative possibilities how to come up
with new and useful ideas.

"Creativity is the process of producing

something that is both original and
worthwhile". - Cognitive psychologist
Robert J. Sternberg-

Creativity is all about finding new ways

of solving problems and approach

Why is thinking creatively important?

It is essential to successful
management of growth and change
in organizations (Cohen, 2002).
It is a key element of the new
paradigm to educate students for
the future (Eisner, 2003).
It proposed gifted student model
based on creative and critical
thinking (Mumfor, 1998).
It helps teachers to avoid the one
goal they want their students to
attain (Winn, 2004) .

10 Steps for Creative

Thinking
1. Commit Yourself to Develop Your Creativity
2. Become an expert
3. Reward your curiosity
4. Realize that creativity is sometimes its own
reward
5. Be willing to take risks
6. Build your confidence
7. Make time for creativity
8. Overcome negative attitudes that block
creativity
9. Fight your fear of failure
10.Brainstorm to inspire new ideas.

1. Commit Yourself to Develop

Your Creativity
The first step is to fully devote
yourself to developing your creative
abilities. Do not put off your efforts.
Set goals, enlist the help of others
and put time aside each day to
develop your skills.

2. Become an Expert

One of the best ways to develop

creativity is to become an expert in
that area. By having a rich
understanding of the topic, you will
be better able to think of novel or
innovative solutions to problems.

3. Reward Your Curiosity

One common roadblock to
developing creativity is the sense
that curiosity is an indulgence.
Rather than reprimanding yourself,
reward yourself when you are curious
about something. Give yourself the
opportunity to explore new topics.

4. Realize that Creativity is Sometimes Its Own

Reward

While rewarding yourself is

important, it is also important to
develop intrinsic motivation.
Sometimes, the true reward of
creativity is the process itself, not the
product.

5. Be Willing to Take Risks

When it comes to building your

creative skills, you need to be willing
to take risks in order to advance your
abilities. While your efforts may not
lead to success every time, you will
still be boosting your creative talents
and building skills that will serve you
well in the future.

6. Build Your Confidence

Insecurity in your abilities can

suppress creativity, which is why it is
important to build confidence. Make
note of the progress you have made,
commend your efforts and always be
on the lookout for ways to reward
your creativity.

7. Make Time for Creativity

You won't be able to develop your
creative talents if you don't make
time for them. Schedule some time
each week to concentrate on some
type of creative project.

8. Overcome Negative Attitudes that Block

Creativity

Positive moods can increase your ability to

think creatively (Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences:2006). According to Dr.
Adam Anderson, senior author of the study,
"If you are doing something that requires you
be creative or be in a think tank, you want to
be in a place with good mood." Focus on
eliminating negative thoughts or selfcriticisms that may impair your ability to
develop strong creative skills.

9. Fight Your Fear of Failure

The fear that you might make a mistake

or fail in your efforts can paralyze your
progress. Whenever you find yourself
harbouring such feelings, remind
yourself that mistakes are simply part of
the process. While you may occasionally
stumble on your path to creativity, you
will eventually reach your goals.

10. Brainstorm to Inspire New Ideas

Brainstorming is a common technique in both
academic and professional settings, but it can also
be a powerful tool for developing your creativity.
Start by suspending your judgment and selfcriticism, then start writing down related ideas and
possible solutions.
The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible
in a relatively short span of time. Next, focus on
clarifying and refining your ideas in order to arrive
at the best possible choice.

Improving Your Creative Abilities

Keep track of your ideas at all times. Many times

ideas come at unexpected times. If an idea is
not written down within 24 hours it will usually
be forgotten.
Pose new questions to yourself every day. An
inquiring mind is a creatively active one that
enlarges its area of awareness.
Keep abreast of your field. Read the magazines,
trade journals, and other literature in your field
to make sure you are not using yesterday's
technology to solve toady's problems.

 Engage in creative hobbies. Hobbies can also

help you relax. An active mind is necessary
for creative growth.
Have courage and self-confidence. Be a
paradigm pioneer. Assume that you can and
will indeed solve the problem Persist and
have the tenacity to overcome obstacles that
block the solution pathway.
Learn to know and understand yourself.
Deepen your self-knowledge by learning your
real strengths, skills, weaknesses, dislike,
biases, expectations, fears and prejudices.

 Learn about things outside your specialty. Use

cross-fertilization to bring ideas and concepts
from one field or specialty to another.
Avoid rigid, set patterns of doing things.
Overcome biases and preconceived notions by
looking at the problem from a fresh view point,
always developing at least two or more
alternative solutions to your problem.
Be open and receptive to ideas (yours and
others). New ideas are fragile; keep them from
breaking by seizing on the tentative, half
formed concepts and possibilities and
developing them.

 Be alert in your observations. Look for similarities,

differences, as well as unique and distinguishing
features in situations and problems.
Adopt a risk taking attitude. Fear of failure is the
major impediment to generating solutions which are
risky (i.e., small chance of succeeding) but would
have a major impact if they are successful. Outlining
the ways you could fail and how you would deal with
these failures will reduce this obstacle to creativity.
Keep your sense of humour. You are more creative
when you are relaxed. Humour aids in putting your
problems (and yourself) in perspective. Many times
it relieves tension and makes you more relaxed.

Try this!!!!!!!!!!
Half circle, circle, half circle, A
Half circle, circle, right angle,
A

 Critical thinking (CT) is the ability to think

clearly and rationally.
CT is thinking which helps you figure out
whether you should believe some claim,
and how strongly you should believe it.
Since you should only believe what is
true, CT is the art of being right.
CT includes the ability to engage in
reflective and independent thinking.

 CT is a cognitive activity associated

with using the mind.
Learning to think in critically analytical
and evaluative ways means using
mental processes such as attention,
categorization, selection and
judgment.
Many people who have the potential
to develop more effective CT can be
prevented from doing so for a variety
of reasons apart from lack of ability.

Definition
A reasoned, purposive, and
introspective approach to solving
problems or addressing questions
with incomplete evidence and
information and for which an
incontrovertible solution is unlikely.
Rudd & Baker (1999)

 Myth CT is negative, destructive and

criticizing thinking. It is opposed to hostile
or creative or lateral thinking.
Truth CT is positive, produce genuine
knowledge and satisfy feeling of justified
confidence in that knowledge.
Edward de Bono suggested that critical
and creative thinking as a cars left and
right front wheels; the car goes nowhere
unless both are present and doing their
job.

Why Critical Thinking?

The ability to think clearly and
rationally is important whatever we
choose to do.
Critical Thinking skills are not
restricted to a particular subject
area.
Being able to think well and solve
problems systematically is an asset

Critical
Thinking

Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following :

understand the logical connections between ideas

identify, construct and evaluate arguments
detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
solve problems systematically
identify the relevance and importance of ideas
reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

Critical Thinking Exercise

In the following line of letters, cross
out six letters so that the remaining
letters, without altering their
sequence, will spell a familiar English
word.
BSAINXLEATNTEARS

Novice VS Expert Thinker

Novice Thinkers
consider all information equally
important

develop hypothesis, test hypothesis

cannot focus on central issues

Expert Thinkers

quickly identify relevant information

can formulate a solution with

sketchy
information

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
6OLPL5p0fMg

Blooms Taxonomy (Revised)

Based on an APA adaptation of Anderson, L.W. & Krathwohl, D.R. (Eds.)(2001)

Crea
te
Evaluate
Analyze
Apply
Understand
Describe/Explain
Knowledge - Remember

CT is complicated & not natural

Research show that CT is a complicated business &
most people are just not very good at CT.
The Skills of Argument by Deanna Kuhn
A diverse selection of 160 people
Structured interviews
Opportunity to demonstrate their ability to argue in
support of their own opinions
A huge amount of data

a majority of people cannot, even

when prompted, reliably exhibit the
most basic skills of general reasoning
and argumentation.
Ex, when asked to justify their
opinion on a topic like why some kids
stay away from school, more than
half the time people cannot provide
any genuine evidence at all.

Humans are not naturally critical thinkers

Like ballet CT is a highly contrived

activity.
(ballet needs years of painful, expensive and
dedicated training to do well)

If humans arent naturally critical, what kind

of thinkers are they?
Humans are pattern-seeking, story-telling
animals
-Michael ShermerHumans like things to make sense, and kinds
of sense we grasp most easily are simple,
familiar patterns or narratives.

CT is the ability to think clearly

and rationally
CT includes the ability to engage in reflective and
independent thinking. Someone with CT skills is
able to do the following:
understand the logical connection between ideas
identify, construct and evaluate arguments
detect inconsistencies & common mistakes in
reasoning
solve problems systematically
identify the relevance & importance of ideas
reflect on the justification of ones own beliefs &
values

CT is a hard thing to master.

This is called as Makes-sense epistemology - Educational
Theorist David Perkins
According to cognitive scientists, CT is a higher-order skill
which is hard to master.
CT is a complex activity built up out of the other skills which
are simpler and easier to acquire.
Ex:- To respond critically to a letter to the newspaper, you must
already be able to read and understand the letter (text
comprehension), which is built in turn out of skills such as being
able to recognize words, which in turn.if these lower-level skills
arent properly bedded down, CT just isnt going to happen.

 Even if the lower level skills have been

mastered, they have to be combined in the
right way.
Ex:-Tennis (higher-order skills, run/hit a
forehand, hit a backhand, watch the opponent
must be combined into coherent, fluid
assemblies)
CT involves skillfully exercising various lowerlevel cognitive capacities in integrated wholes.
CT includes a complex combination of
skills

FINDING PATTERNS
Where does Z go:
A
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BCD
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Stages of Development in
CT

Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage

01
02
03
04
05
06

The
The
The
The
The
The

Unreflective Thinker
Challenged Thinker
Beginning Thinker
Practicing Thinker
Advanced Thinker
Accomplished Thinker

Stage 01 The Unreflective Thinker

Are largely unaware of the

determining role that thinking is
playing in their lives and of the many
ways that problems in thinking are
causing problems in their lives.

Stage 02 The Challenged Thinker

When they become initially aware of

the determining role that thinking is
playing in their lives thinkers move to
the stage of challenged

Stage 03 The Beginning Thinker

The Beginning Thinker actively taking up the

challenge to begin to take explicit command of their
thinking across multiple domains of their lives.
At this stage they recognize the basic problems in
their thinking and make initial attempts to better
understand how they can take charge of and improve
it.
Based on this initial understanding , begin to modify
some of their thinking, but have limited insight into
deeper levels of the trouble inherent in their thinking.

Stage 04 The Practicing Thinker

Thinkers at this stage have a sense of the habits they

need to develop to take charge of their thinking.
They not only recognize the problems exist in their
thinking, but also recognize the need to attack these
problems.
They actively analyze their thinking in a number of
domains.
They still have limited insight into deeper levels of
thought and thus into deeper levels of the problems
embedded in thinking.

Stage 05 The Advanced Thinker

Advanced thinker has established good habits of

thought which are paying off.
Based on these habits, advanced thinkers not only
actively analyze their thinking in all the significant
domains of their lives, but also have significant
insight into problems at deeper level of thought.
They are not yet able to think at a consistently
high level across all of these domains.
They continually strive to be fair-minded.

Stage 06 The Accomplished Thinker

Not only have systematically taken charge of

their thinking, but are also continually monitoring,
revising, and rethinking strategies for continual
improvement of their thinking.
Deeply internalized the basic skills of thought.
CT for them is both conscious and highly intuitive.
continually develop new insights into problems at
deeper levels of thought.

Fun With Critical

Thinking


1. How do you put a giraffe into a
refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the
refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and
close the door.
This question tests whether you
tend to do simple things in an
overly complicated way.

 2. How do you put an elephant into a

refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the

elephant, and close the refrigerator?Wrong
Answer.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out
the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the
door.
This tests your ability to think through the
repercussions of your previous actions.

 The Lion King is hosting an animal

conference. All the animals attendexcept
one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The

elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put
him in there.
This tests your memory.

There is a river you must cross but it is used

by crocodiles, and youdo not have a boat.
How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You jump into the river and
swim across. Have you not been listening?
All the crocodiles are attending the Animal
Meeting.
This tests whether you learn quickly
from your mistakes.

Skills need for CT

Rationality

We are thinking critically when we rely on

reason rather than emotion.
Require evidence, ignore no known evidence,
and follow evidence where it leads.
Are concerned more with finding the best
explanation than being right analyzing
apparent confusion and asking questions.

Self-awareness

We are thinking critically when we

weigh the influences of motives and
bias
Recognize our own assumptions,
prejudices, biases, or point of view.

Open-mindedness

We are thinking critically when we evaluate all reasonable

inferences
Consider a variety of possible viewpoints or perspectives
Remain open to alternative interpretations
Accept a new explanation, model, or paradigm because it
explains the evidence better, is simpler, or has fewer
inconsistencies or covers more data
Accept new priorities in response to a reevaluation of the
evidence or reassessment of our real interests
Do not reject unpopular views out of hand.

Discipline

We are thinking critically when we

are precise, meticulous,
comprehensive, and exhaustive
Resist manipulation and irrational
appeals
Avoid snap judgments.

Judgment

We are thinking critically when we

recognize the relevance and/or merit
of alternative assumptions and
perspectives
Recognize the extent and weight of
evidence

Honesty

We are thinking critically when we

recognize emotional impulses, selfish
motives, nefarious purposes, or other
modes of self-deception.

 Critical thinkers are by natureskeptical. They

approach texts with the same skepticism and
suspicion as they approach spoken remarks.
Critical thinkers areactive, not passive. They
ask questions and analyze. They consciously
apply tactics and strategies to uncover
meaning or assure their understanding.
Critical thinkers do not take an egotistical
view of the world. They areopento new ideas
and perspectives. They are willing to
challenge their beliefs and investigate
competing evidence.

Critical thinking enables us to

recognize a wide range of subjective
analyses of otherwise objective data,
and to evaluate how well each
analysis might meet our needs. Facts
may be facts, but how we interpret
them may vary.

Importance of CT
CT should not be confused with being
argumentative or being critical of other
people. CT skills can be used:

in exposing fallacies & bad reasoning

in cooperative reasoning
in constructive tasks
to acquire knowledge
to improve theories
to strengthen arguments
to enhance work processes
to improve social institutions

Assisted Suicide
Critical Thinking Exercise

Read the summary on assisted

suicide
& answer the questions.

A well-cultivated critical
thinker:
Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and
precisely
Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to
interpret it effectively
Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against
relevant criteria and standards
Thinks open mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
recognizing and assessing, as needs be, their assumptions,
implications, and practical consequences
Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to
complex problems

Barriers to Critical Thinking

CT does not come easily to everyone. Barriers vary
from person to person, but can usually be
overcome.
1. Misunderstanding of what is meant by criticism.
2. Over-estimating our own reasoning abilities
3. Lack of methods, strategies or practice
4. Reluctance to critique experts
5. Affective Reasoning
6. Mistaking information for understanding
7. Insufficient focus and attention to detail