Features and Applications
Critical thinking is a domain-general thinking skill in that it is applicable in all genres of today’s lives. It is universal hence used for everyone’s success. For instance, critical is valuable in technology and economic growth. To balance the revenue and expenditure of a country, economists would apply this role to achieve the equilibrium for the growth of GDP. Critical thinking is highly deployed to achieve unique and productive results for any innovation.
It improves language and presentations skills. By using critical skills, we solve problems and enhance our knowledge. For instance, it makes sense out of; paraphrases; restates (in own words); summarizes; traces; understands. Critical thinking helps in analyzing these ideas and adjusting them critically. To express ourselves in the best way we can, we ought to think systematically in that critical thinking is applied. There is no doubt that critical thinkers make the best choices. Lawyers, doctors, reporters, engineers, accountants, and analysts must use these skills to evaluate their paths of career, Kuhn, D. (2019). It helps to think outside the box, making it one of the most desirable skills in the workforce. The traits can be applied in various aspects such as articulating, assessing, charts computing, constructs, contributing, utilizing, et al.
Critical thinking can be widely applied in social life, apart from career fields. Being a critical thinker can make you comprehend better the perspective of others, making you open-minded in various aspects. While it might not be convincing, it helps understand your partner effectively, making the relationship healthy. Instinctively, critical thinking means constantly asking questions about everything and wanting to know more. Like muscles, the brain also needs to grow, Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2020). Nonetheless, it needs to be engaged in critical thinking.
Role modeling
The question we ask is, what experiences do learners need to have to be ready for this skill? We all look up to someone in society or the workplace to emulate their good traits. One doesn’t need to be renowned in the workplace to be a role model. Role models always try to learn as much as they can to better themselves and grow their companies or institutions, Liyanage, I., Walker, T., & Shokouhi, H. (2021). Most managers can still help their employees to achieve the best out of their careers and instill growth in them. Therefore, how can we apply critical thinking to employees as role models?
Do learners learn these skills to be better people? Integrity and accountability play a vital role in any company. Nonetheless, it is vital to apply critical thinking when handling such matters. When it comes to finances, employees will emulate how their seniors would contact themselves in handling the company’s revenue. Critical thinkers would contact themselves well since they think outside the box; hence, this trait will be rippled across the staff (Sutiani, A. (2021). Moral uprightness is also an essential trait in nurturing honest employees. People in the workplace tend to look up to them when following the rules and regulations.
Critical thinkers always have positive minds resulting in positive feedback across the board. Who in our society learns these traits? Everyone. When faced with critical challenges, they would persevere the situation while analyzing the best solution therein. This attribute is a positive gesture to be emulated by employees for the betterment of their traits and the company’s development. The workplace might be stressful; therefore, the employers’ role is to calm the wave of fatigue in employees by using positive skills to yield a positive outcome critically.
Training, Coaching, and Mentoring
It is an overwhelming good attribute when you teach someone something in their lives, watch them grow and develop, and perhaps even come closer to fulfilling their potential. There are various roles in achieving this in both formal and informal styles. Great trainers, coaches, and mentors come from various backgrounds but have few similar attributes. These include respect for those whose learning they support, and they know that they are also learning and developing all the time.
Who in our society already has this skill? In training, coaching, and mentoring, critical thinking is required to enable you to impart knowledge to the targeted group. Mentors are perhaps somewhere between coaches and teachers in that they are often experts in their area but do not have a formal training role. Mentoring is a factor that promotes guidance on career development and role modeling, where both contribute significantly to employee development. Outdoor activities help achieve these teachings to break the everyday norm at work. Only critical thinkers can make this a reality.
References
Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2020). Critical thinking: Learn the tools the best thinkers use. Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Kuhn, D. (2019). Critical thinking as discourse. Human Development, 62(3), 146-164. Monteiro, S., Sherbino, J., Sibbald, M., & Norman, G. (2020). Critical thinking, biases and dual processing: The enduring myth of generalizable skills. Medical education, 54(1), 66 73.
Liyanage, I., Walker, T., & Shokouhi, H. (2021). Are we thinking critically about critical thinking? Uncovering uncertainties in internationalized higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 39, 100762.
Sutiani, A. (2021). Implementation of an inquiry learning model with science literacy to improve student critical thinking skills. International Journal of Instruction, 14(2), 117-138.