Critical Thinking Portrait

Open-minded In discussions they listen carefully to every view point, evaluating each perspective carefully
and fairly
Knowledgeable When they offer an opinion, it’s always based on facts or evidence. On the other hand, if
they lack knowledge of the subject, they acknowledge this
Mentally Active They take initiative and actively use their intelligence to confront problems and meet
challenges, instead of simply responding passively to events
Curious They explore situations with probing questions that penetrate beneath the surface of issues,
instead of being satisfied with superficial explanations
Independent Thinkers They are not afraid to disagree with the group opinion. They develop well supported beliefs
through thoughtful analysis, instead of uncritically borrowing the beliefs of others or simply
going along with the crowd
Skilled discussants Discuss ideas in an organized and intelligent way. Even when the issues are controversial
they listen carefully to opposing viewpoints and respond thoughtfully
Insightful Get to the heart o f the issue or problem. While others may be distracted b details, zero in on
the essence, seeing the forest as well as the trees
Self aware Aware of own biases and quick to point them out and take them into consideration when
analyzing a situation
Creative Break out of established patterns of thinking and approach situations from innovative
directions
Passionate Have a passion for understanding and always strive to see issues and problems with more
clarity
Think Critically
Make Critical Thinking a Priority
Become a Stage 3 Thinker in every
area of life
Develop Well Reasoned Beliefs
Support your beliefs with thoughtful
reasons and Compelling evidence
Strive to be open minded
Become aware of your personal lens
Evaluate the accuracy of information
and the credibility of sources
Emulate your critical thinking portrait
Having completed your portrait of a critical thinker, review
your portrait regularly so that you can plan your thinking
goals and evaluate your progress. Becoming a critical
thinker is a long-term process that involves explicit goals,
sustained effort, and on-going self-evaluation
Once you recognize your own responsibility in
constructing your understanding of the world, you can
make meaningful progress in improving your
sophistication as a thinker. Establish the habit of
examining a variety of perspectives, critically evaluate the
supporting reasons, develop your own well-reasoned
conclusions, and remain open minded to new insight
Develop the habit of critically examining your beliefs:
What do I believe and why do I believe it? Where did
these beliefs originate, and what are the reasons that
support them? What are other viewpoints that I haven’t
considered? Are my beliefs consistent with one another?
If not, why not?
Every time you say “I think or I believe” develop the habit
of explaining why you believe or think what you do.
Similarly ask others when they say so
Seek out perspectives different from yours, particularly
those that disagree with you. Listen openly and
respectfully to the arguments others are making and
strive to reach thoughtful conclusions that takes all the
perspectives into account
Become aware of your lenses by developing the habit of
asking yourself: Are my perceptions accurate and
complete? How are my biases influencing my
perceptions? Are there other ways of viewing this
situation that I am not acknowledging? Which ways of
viewing the situation make the most sense?
When you are evaluating the validity of information and
potential beliefs, critically evaluate the same
Describe our portrait of a critical thinker on an index card
for easy reference. Compare yourself to your portrait on a
regular basis noting the progress that you have made as
well as the areas that need more attention
Live Creatively
Make creativity a priority
Take creative risks
Nurture your imagination
Strive for independence
Foster Mindfulness
Cultivate Curiosity, Avoid judgment
Develop creative communities
Take some genuinely risky creative actions,
and if failures occur, view them as badges of
courage, symbols of your own self-confidence
and independent thinking. Your failure is a
healthy indication that you are sufficiently alive
to keep learning and growing as a unique,
valuable individual.
Tune up your sensitivity to your world. Make a
special effort each day to see and feel the rich
sensations of your experience, instead of
plowing through your days in your own
insulated capsule. It’s the difference between
viewing the landscape through the window of a
car and actually walking through the terrain,
touching, feeling, smelling, listening. Begin
applying heightened sensitivity to one area of
your experience – for example the sensations
of tastes, aromas, and textures of the food you
are eating – and then gradually branch out to
other areas. Record your progress in your
Thinking Notebook.
Try playing different roles in order to increase
your curiosity. E.g., when you are speaking to
others, adopt the role of a psychologist in your
mind: what are they really trying to say, and are
there deeper motivations at work? Why am in
responding the way that I am? When you are
examining someone’s work, adopt the role of
an investigator: what is the goal of this project?
What specific suggestions can I make for
improving its effectiveness? Record particularly
effective questions and the new insights you
discover in your Thinking Notebook
Choose Freely
Make Freedom a Priority
Accept your freedom and responsibility
Emphasize your ability to create yourself
Become aware of constraints on your freedom
Will yourself to break from constraints
Create new options to choose from
Become aware of your explanatory style
Replace your pessimistic explanatory style with
an optimistic style
Work purposefully to achieve the good life for
yourself and others
Complete a brief inventory of your life,
identifying some of the areas you would like to
change, as well as those you are basically
satisfied with but would like to enrich. Think
about the way increasing your personal
freedom and making different choices can help
you achieve these life goals
Develop the habit of analyzing your behavior in
terms of the choices you make. Develop the
key ingredient of an unshakeable belief in the
ability to choose your destiny.
Identify the external limitations (people or
circumstances) on your freedom and think
about ways to remove these constraints. Then
identify – as best as you can – the internal
compulsions that are influencing you act in
ways at variance with you genuine desires.
Then use Search, Challenge and Solve
approach to diminish or eliminate their
influence.
Make special effort to become aware of your
“will,” focusing on the way you exercise it and
the way your willpower increases with use.
Begin with modest goals and will yourself to
achieve them, not permitting doubt, fears, or
inertia to deflect you. Then gradually expand
the scope to include more ambitious
challenges.
When you find yourself in situations with
different choices, make a conscious effort to
identify alternatives that are different from those
explicitly presented. You don’t necessarily have
to choose the new options you have created if
they are not superior to others, but you do want
to start developing the habit of using your
imagination to look beyond the circumstances
as presented
Describe your ideal good life in your Thinking
Notebook. Make full use of your imagination
and be specific regarding the details of the life
you are envisioning for yourself. Compare this
imagined Good Life with the life you have now.
What different choices do you have to make in
order to achieve your Good Life?