Barriers to Critical Thinking
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Name : Dinesh S/O Raja Kumar Course: UTB 1122
ID No : 1000222 Date : 4th August 2013
______________________________________________________________________________Academic Essay: Factors That Influence the Lack of Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2500 years. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing and evaluating information gathered from observation as a guide to belief and action. Critical thinking skills are important because they enable students “to deal effectively with social, scientific, and practical problems” (Shakirova, 2007, p. 42). Besides that, critical thinking is a learned skill that must be developed, practiced, and continuously integrated into the tertiary education to engage students in active learning. Since critical thinking is a complex concept, each individual brings their own perspective to it. (Connerly, n.d., p. 2). Despite success in critical thinking concept, where new skills are being invented from time to time, there are still factors that influence the lack of critical thinking skills among students and the people. The factors are the arrogance of the students, the lack of intelligence of a person, mental laziness of students and poor language as a learner.
Critical thinking requires more than simple engagement. Since, the primary barrier to critical thinking skills is the arrogance of students. Students are not typically taught to think or learn independently, and they rarely “pick up” these skills on their own (Landsman & Gorski, 2007). Therefore, students avoid examining alternate opinions for fear of being proven wrong. Besides that, the attitude of students can have a profound effect on critical thinking skills. Even if the students are extremely intelligent, they will not think critically if they are
Name : Dinesh S/O Raja Kumar Course: UTB 1122
ID No : 1000222 Date : 4th August 2013
______________________________________________________________________________Academic Essay: Factors That Influence the Lack of Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2500 years. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing and evaluating information gathered from observation as a guide to belief and action. Critical thinking skills are important because they enable students “to deal effectively with social, scientific, and practical problems” (Shakirova, 2007, p. 42). Besides that, critical thinking is a learned skill that must be developed, practiced, and continuously integrated into the tertiary education to engage students in active learning. Since critical thinking is a complex concept, each individual brings their own perspective to it. (Connerly, n.d., p. 2). Despite success in critical thinking concept, where new skills are being invented from time to time, there are still factors that influence the lack of critical thinking skills among students and the people. The factors are the arrogance of the students, the lack of intelligence of a person, mental laziness of students and poor language as a learner.
Critical thinking requires more than simple engagement. Since, the primary barrier to critical thinking skills is the arrogance of students. Students are not typically taught to think or learn independently, and they rarely “pick up” these skills on their own (Landsman & Gorski, 2007). Therefore, students avoid examining alternate opinions for fear of being proven wrong. Besides that, the attitude of students can have a profound effect on critical thinking skills. Even if the students are extremely intelligent, they will not think critically if they are