Research Guides: Critical thinking and Information Literacy: Home

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous.

—Confucious

As professionals and academics, we all have a mental definition of what is involved in a critical thinking task. This guide will attempt to present some useful guidelines, definitions, and exercises for promoting the development of critical thinking.

Of imperative importance is to be aware that Critical Thinking is a process that must be taught and illustrated. Many times the processes of Critical Thinking are not natural cognitive manifestations for tasks such as writing a paper or a discipline-specific assessment-- Students need to be exposed directly to the diverse elements of many critical thinking tasks. Do not take for granted that a student knows how to do a task just because you assign it!

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Critical Thinking by Christopher P. Dwyer
ISBN: 9781107142848
Publication Date: 2017-05-09
Dwyer's book is unique and distinctive as it presents and discusses a modern conceptualization of critical thinking - one that is commensurate with the exponential increase in the annual output of knowledge. The abilities of navigating new knowledge outputs, engaging in enquiry and constructively solving problems are not only important in academic contexts, but are also essential life skills. Speciﬁcally, the book provides a modern, detailed, accessible and integrative model of critical thinking that accounts for critical thinking sub-skills and real-world applications; and is commensurate with the standards of twenty-first-century knowledge. The book provides both opportunities to learn and apply these skills through a series of exercises, as well as guidelines on how critical thinking can be developed and practised, in light of existing psychological research, which can be used to enhance the experience of critical thinking training and facilitate gains in critical thinking ability.

The above book has been an invaluable source in my quest to understand and teach Critical Thinking. It informs lots of the content here!

Welcome to the Critical thinking and Information Literacy LibGuide

What is Critical Thinking?
What are the foundations of critical thinking (CT), and why is CT important?
What do you expect from your students when you ask them to critically evaluate?
What does CT mean to you?

As professionals and academics we all have a mental definition of what is involved in a critical thinking task. This guide will attempt to present some useful guidelines, definitions, and exercises for promoting the development of critical thinking.

Most important is to be aware that Critical Thinking as a process must be taught and illustrated. Many times the processes of Critical Thinking are not manifested naturally for some tasks such as writing a paper.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking is the meta cognitive structural framework upon which we make sense of the world. Critical Thinking outlines the mental processes that are engaged in understanding a particular task, and the processes on which we acquire and produce new knowledge. Its importance cannot be overstated. In many cases the process of thinking critically needs to be illustrated by the instructor.

MOST IMPORTANTLY--Critical Thinking operates surreptitiously, and it is often achieved and activated by the practice of three core skills: analysis; evaluation and inference.

Critical Thinking Frameworks and the Establishment of Metacognitive Strategies

Librarian

Jesus Sanabria