Critical Thinking about Critical Thinking
I think I am being asked to critically think about my thinking and determine if I think my thinking has changed in any way that I can think of as a result of taking this course. So that is exactly what I did. Initially I wanted to reject this class as an unnecessary waste of time. Of course now I know better. In fact, this may be the most important class that I take in pursuit of my degree. I can honestly say learning about and using the Critical Thinking Process did change my thinking and my attitude and my outlook on the rest of my education. I wanted to reject the course because I had an attitude. I constantly felt angry and did not know why. After critically thinking through my problem, I now know at the heart of everything I was afraid of failing; my best might not be good enough. Then it was gone. All of it. Critical thinking gave me the ability to look at the same information from a different perspective. Critical thinking saved me from having a miserable time in school.I am certain that my daily thinking has changed in favor of Critical Thinking. I have room for growth and development, but I can clearly see a difference. I am excited about these changes, unfortunately my family now thinks I am "completely annoying in an incredibly nerdy sort of way". It makes sense that they would feel this way; I practice on them everyday. It also tells me that my family sees a change in me too. They can not make a statement without me responding with "it depends on how you look at it" or "is it really that simple" or "have you considered this". I must say it has brought conversation in the house back to life. Since my hearing is poor from years working on the flight line, my listening has to be critical too. Critical thinking requires an understanding of the issue at hand. Misunderstood information stops the whole process. I have to ask questions or restate the information, but I am slowly becoming a better listener. Listening and thinking for me have to become active processes. Perhaps they should have been active all along, but I believe my brain gets lazy when it does not get exercise. Fortunately, the opposite is also true. When I utilize my brain in the manner it was designed, it responds accordingly. Whether my brain is lazy or energetic makes no difference if I do not understand what my brain is reasoning through. Thinking of me and my brain separately even for the sake of writing feels odd, almost crazy. So, simply stated, if I put garbage in, I get garbage out.
I understand that critical thinking is a process and, for me, it is also a mindset. While there are pieces of critical thinking I have not mastered, I do not want to return to my previous lazy or passive thinking. Partially executed critical thinking generates far superior results than fully executed lazy thinking ever did. I am not sure if the changes I feel are visible to others, but it feels right to come to a conclusion after objectively considering all of the data associated with the issue. It makes the result seem intelligent and defensible. So, in that context yes, critical thinking has changed the way I think about thinking. Before taking this course, my thinking had no depth. The first reasonable (not reasoned) thing that came to mind was the answer, it required no effort. My thinking could have been compared to a knee jerk reaction with very similar results. Today I don't just accept what I hear as truth. I ask the questions, do my best to answer the questions, and then accept the results. What I have noticed is when I reason through an issue, I am more open to outside input which leads to conversations that sometimes provide information I need to successfully reason through an issue. When I enrolled in the Master of Leadership Degree program, I was not confident I would be on the same academic level as my fellow classmates. Critical thinking has brought some of that confidence back. In this sense, critical thinking has changed how I think about myself.
While I still consider myself a novice, I believe I have been able to internalize the techniques and concepts of critical thinking. Each situation is a little different and I adjust as needed. I still find myself missing things that should have been considered. It seems as simple as thinking about thinking, but it gets involved and everything is happening real time. I am finding it difficult to put into words for the same reason. While some of the process still alters in my head from time to time, checking my own bias and judgement does not. I have learned that I need to think about why I think the way I do. I found that my opinion is the primary reason that I lose objectivity in my reasoning.
The expectation that I will think critically will result in lasting improvements in the way I think. The degree program expects that I keep my mind open to new ideas which forces me to be objective in my thinking, my actions, and my words. That expectation simply means that I will be engaged in critical thinking for the next three years, plenty of time for me to improve my skills and let the process become instinctive. My ability to learn new things about old subjects requires me to remain teachable, open minded. Being able to reason through the courses ahead of me will allow me to learn versus complete this program. Critical thinking gives me the means to succeed versus pass. Is critical thinking the "silver bullet" to my Master's Degree? Maybe not, but it could be the "smoking gun" of my failure.
Reference:
Nosich, G. M. (2012). Learning to think things through: Critical thinking across the curriculum. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.
(ISBN: 9780137085149)
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