SACS Certified Training

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SACS Certified Training

• Critical Thinking is Mission Critical!

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Agenda for today

• The importance of Critical Thinking
• Our Definition Focus
• Critical Thinking in the field and disciplines
• Review

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Why is critical thinking important to employers?

• Employers are looking for people who can deal
  effectively with any situation at work
• Can you solve problems?
• Can you analyze situations?
• Can you make good decisions (based on data, not
  feelings)?

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Why is critical thinking important to society?

• Failures in critical thinking are disastrous
• Space Shuttle Columbia
• Levee construction in New Orleans
• Faulty critical thinking can lead to wrong
  conclusions
• Biased polls adversely affect public opinion
• Urban myths
• Enormous alligators inhabit New York City's sewer
  system. Adopted as babies by New Yorkers visiting
  Florida, they are brought home and then flushed
  down the toilet once their owners tire of them.

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Why is critical thinking important to student
learning?

• College-level learning is deeper than memorizing
  facts
• Science analyzing results of experiments in
  light of existing theories
• Math selecting appropriate problem-solving
  strategy for word problems
• Humanities putting literature and art into
  historical context
• Health fields making decisions in clinical
  settings
• Communications debate persuasive writing
• Criminal justice/fire science reacting
  correctly to simulations
• Political science/sociology analyzing others
  points of view

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Students Whats in it for me?

• Critical thinking in the world of work
• Medical evaluating patients symptoms
• Technology problem-solving software/engineering
  solutions
• Counter-terrorism synthesizing intelligence to
  predict future events
• Criminal justice/fire science analyzing the
  scene whodunit?
• Government solving problems like hurricane
  relief
• Education reflecting on student success
  resulting from your teaching
• Business analyzing information to detect
  trends ethical decisions
• Journalism communicating fairly

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Students Whats in it for me? (continued)

• Critical thinking in everyday life
• How should I prepare for a hurricane? Should I
  evacuate?
• What is the safest way to travel?
• What is the slant of a news story?
• What are my real chances of winning the lottery?
• Why is my good friend angry at me?
• What questions should I ask myself and my partner
  before getting married?
• Which phone company plan is best for my needs?