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Critical Thinking Facts & Worksheets

Critical Thinking is making decisions about what to believe or do based on reasonable and introspective thinking.

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Critical thinking is making decisions about what to believe or do, which is reasonable and introspective. It is founded on fundamental intellectual principles, including relevance, soundness, accuracy, precision, consistency, depth, breadth, and justice.

See the fact file below for more information on Critical Thinking, or you can download our 28-page Critical Thinking worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ACTIVITIES REQUIRING CRITICAL THINKING

  • Assessing Online Media and Historical Sources. It is the practice of questioning the truthfulness of media to identify disinformation and misinformation.
  • Business Process Improvement. It is a practice in which leaders examine their business processes to find opportunities to increase accuracy, effectiveness, and efficiency. 
  • Strategic Planning. It is a process where leaders develop their future vision and set their organization’s goals and objectives.
  • Root Cause Analysis. It is the process of identifying the underlying causes of issues to find suitable solutions.
  • Performance Management. It is the ongoing process of enhancing performance through setting individual and team goals that are in line with the organizational strategy.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRITICAL THINKER

  • Curious. One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is curiosity. According to research, our desire for knowledge propels us to constantly seek out new information. This curiosity fosters critical thinking since, in order to make wise decisions, we must constantly increase
    our knowledge.
  • Analytical. Analytical skills are necessary since research is a key element of critical thinking. Analytical thinking entails distilling complicated concepts into their most basic components.
  • Introspective. Critical thinking requires introspection since it makes us more self-aware. Self-awareness pushes us to confront our own prejudices, biases, and selfish impulses. If we know our assumptions, we can question them and suspend judgment until we have all the facts.
  • Making Inferences. It is making logical conclusions based on an examination of the facts, events, and ideas available. You can find relationships and base your decisions on what is likely to happen by analyzing the information that is available and noticing patterns
    and trends.
  • Observant. Using all five senses, observation is more than just looking; it also entails synthesizing, organizing, and categorizing data to create insight. Sharp observers pick up on the smallest detail and detect subtle changes in their surroundings.
  • Open-minded and Compassionate. Being open-minded entails giving other concepts and viewpoints a chance, even when they disagree with your own. This enables you to consider several perspectives on a subject without instinctively rejecting them. Likewise, even when they disagree, compassionate people can understand others. Finding common ground and understanding is possible when you comprehend the views of another individual.

LOGIC: CRITICAL THINKING

  • Logic is the study of inference, reasoning, and proof. Using logic, we can assess a line of reasoning or a thought to see if it is sound or not.
  • Propositions, often known as statements, serve as the foundation of a logical argument. A proposition is a statement that can either be true
    or false.
  • An argument is a connected set of statements that together form a logical, coherent, and defined proposition.
  • The premise identifies the reasons or pieces of evidence that support your claim. At this point, we create a new assertion based on one or more accepted statements of fact, which is the inference. Lastly, a statement that wraps up an argument is its conclusion. The validity of the premises statement and the inference statement confirm the validity or truth of the argument.

EXAMPLES OF A LOGICAL THOUGHT

  • Statement: Individuals under 18 years of age are not eligible to vote. Ryan cannot vote because he’s just 15 years old.
  • Premise 1: Individuals under 18 cannot vote.
  • Premise 2: Ryan is 15 years old.
  • Conclusion: Ryan is not eligible to vote.

CRITICAL THINKING BARRIERS

EGOCENTRIC THINKING

  • A natural tendency of people is to see everything in terms of oneself, which is known as egocentric thinking – “ego” meaning self, and “centric” meaning at the center. This way of thinking makes it difficult to understand other people’s viewpoints or examine and weigh other points of view.

GROUPTHINK

  • This can produce poor decision-making behaviors. In order to break the cycle, people must take a position against the group and contest prevailing ideas.

DRONE MENTALITY

  • This refers to a lack of awareness of your immediate surroundings. Daily routines can prevent or contribute to the loss of critical thinking skills and frequently result in a drone mindset. 

SOCIAL CONDITIONING

  • Unwanted preconceptions and stereotypes bring it on. It does this by obstructing our ability to see that we are even developing assumptions and imposing stereotypes.

BIASED THINKING

  • Personal biases can make it difficult to think critically because they make it difficult to be impartial, curious, and open-minded.

SCHEDULE PRESSURES

  • Integrating learning opportunities that encourage critical thinking skills is sometimes hampered by time restraints.

ARROGANCE AND INTOLERANCE

  • With a narrow perspective, it is quite difficult to come up with the appropriate solution to a problem. People who lack critical thinking abilities frequently respond to situations carelessly and foolishly.

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

  • The process of locating the underlying causes of problems in order to choose the best solutions is known as root cause analysis (RCA). RCA bases its premise on the idea that systematic prevention and root-cause analysis yield superior results than spot-treating symptoms and “putting out fires”.
  • Benefits and Goals. Finding the underlying cause of a problem or incident is the first objective of root cause analysis. The second objective is to completely comprehend how to address, make up for, or take advantage of any underlying problems inside the root cause. The final objective is to use the knowledge gained from this research to duplicate or systematically prevent past problems.

BASIC TYPES OF CAUSES

  • Physical Causes. These are tangible, material things that failed in some way, like a machine failing to function as expected.
  • People Causes. People either made a mistake or failed to take the necessary action. Usually, physical causes result from human causes (for example, no one filled the machine with engine oil, which led to its malfunction).
  • Organizational Causes. A broken system, procedure, or policy affects how people make decisions or carry out their daily tasks (for example, no one person was responsible for machine maintenance, and everyone assumed someone else had filled the engine oil).

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS PROCESS

  • Step 1: Define The Problem. Define the issue you are dealing with, then collect the information and proof you need to understand the situation at hand. Make a problem statement that includes details about the issue, such as the impact that the issue has already had or could have, its focal point, etc.
  • Step 2: Data Collection. The collection of key information about an incident or a problematic event is a critical step in root cause analysis. You can find the answers to questions like “What are the contributing factors?” by recording all the details and characteristics of the incident. Also ask questions like “When did the issue start?” “Is it a recurring occurrence?” “What effect has been noticed?” etc.
  • Step 3: Determine Potential Causal Factors. Find as many causal factors as you can at this point. It’s all too common for people to name one or two variables before stopping, but that’s often insufficient. When using RCA, you should look beyond the visible reasons and treat the underlying issues as well.
  • Step 4: Identify the Root Cause. You can pinpoint as many causes as you can. Use the methods like the 5 Whys, Fishbone analysis, or a Pareto chart to focus in on the main contributing elements and any potential underlying causes of the problem.
  • Step 5: Recommend and Implement Solutions. Analyze your cause-and-effect connection and determine which systems require adjustments. Planning ahead will help you anticipate the outcomes of your solution. In this manner, possible faults can be identified before they occur.

Critical Thinking Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Critical Thinking across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Critical Thinking, which is making decisions about what to believe or do based on reasonable and introspective thinking.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Critical Thinking Facts
  2. What’s Stopping You?
  3. Life is Full of Premises
  4. Fact or Opinion
  5. Rebus Puzzle
  6. Think It Right
  7. Connect Me if You Can
  8. RCA Process
  9. 5 Whys: Part 1
  10. 5 Whys: Part 2
  11. Under the Microscope

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Link will appear as Critical Thinking Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 24, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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