Day 34 — Critical Thinking Skills
My learning for the day
Today I want to summarise two TED talks on Critical Thinking.
Talk 1 — Encourage critical thinking with 3 questions
Speaker — Brian Oshiro, CEO, Teach21 Education Group
Summary -
Look at these questions. Which question do you think ignites engagement?
A. Do you know what climate change is?
B. What are the three causes of climate change?
C. Why do some claim that climate change is the biggest crisis facing this generation?
Which of these three assesses better student learning?
A. is a closed question because the answer is either Yes or No. There is no way you can confirm the level of student learning
B. assesses student knowledge
C. gives the opportunity to think about the consequences of climate change
The teachers start with B to establish the foundation. And then with C the students learn how to learn the application of the knowledge
Brian observed during his study that most questions asked in schools were like B (lower order questions) that demonstrate knowledge and not the application of the knowledge — C (higher level questions)
Asking higher-level questions is key to building critical thinking. It prepares students to face the real-life situations of the outside world.
This was a talk addressing the students. But the essence is relevant to us — shouldn’t we be asking these questions during our business engagements?
Start with a What (what do you want to achieve by this idea/ project/ programme…?), then a Why (why do you want to do this?) and finally the How (how do you want to do it?).
Take out this small slip (that has these three words — what, why, how) from your drawer before any conversation starts. You will have a disciplined yet enriched conversation.
You will have covered all your doubts and completed a critical analysis of the feasibility of the idea proposed. A simple process; when you implement it with rigour you will become a great contributor to others’ growth.
Talk2 — This is what it’s like to go undercover in North Korea
Speaker — Suki Kim, Author of the famous book Without You, There Is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea’s Elite.
Summary -
Suki lived undercover in North Korea in 2011 and worked as an English teacher. Suki taught in a school that was meant for the elite future leaders of the country.
The school was more of a prison rather than a university campus. The country was shielded from the outside world so much that they didn’t even know that the Internet existed.
Suki implemented small steps to open up the students’ way of thinking. She started with a game Truth and Lie so that the students could realise the difference between the two (the whole North Korean culture was built around lies, lies about the country’s achievements, lies about the dictator, ….).
Then she started asking students to write essays that involved coming up with one’s own ideas and making an evidence-based argument to prove it. She wanted them to come out of the world where critical thinking was not allowed.
The talk is more about what happens to the human mind and intellect when the country is run as a cult.
The learning for me from this talk is — if we want open and sensitive minds in our organisation encouraging/ recognising/ rewarding critical thinking is an art and science to be practiced so that everyone can prosper.
Here’s a bonus video from Prof. Janja Lalich for you to know how cults work, how asking questions is a no no, yet why people join cults.
Definition of Critical Thinking Skill
Critical thinking skill is the ability to think in an organized and rational manner in order to understand connections between ideas and/or facts. While Creative Thinking is about finding new ways of solving problems, Critical Thinking is about evaluating the new ways proposed by the Creative Thinker.
My learning so far on this topic
Day 4 post — 3 Simple Habits to Improve Your Critical Thinking
Day 14 post — The Six Hats of Critical Thinking and How to Use Them
Day 24 post — The Six Types of Socratic Questions
How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to become a go-to person by mastering the art and science of Critical Thinking.
Follow the LAST model to build your personal brand as a Guru of Critical Thinking.
Learn — Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of Critical Thinking
Apply -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
Maintain record/ process flow of every important activity you did with respect to Critical Thinking
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used for sharing/ training others
Share — Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train — Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66-day challenge to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives in learning these skills were — To strengthen my mind to face life’s challenges with ease, To use these skills in my work life for better performance, To use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, and To open new possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66-day challenge (from 10 April 2020) — To share my Life Skills learning with my social media friends.
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF defines Life skills as — psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories of skills
- cognitive skills for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- interpersonal skills for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The World Health Organisation identified these basic areas of life skills that are relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand — prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico — prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom — child abuse prevention
- USA — prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia — positive socialization of children.
(Previously published on LinkedIn)