Academic Insights – 7 top tips for... critical thinking

My name is Anne Wesemann

and I'm responsible for the design

and production of distance

learning courses.

Critical thinking is the ability

to take a piece of knowledge

and analyse

that piece of knowledge

by its strengths and weaknesses,

and then be able to assess how

far that knowledge

is useful or correct or valid.

Without critical thinking,

we would gain the knowledge

as it stands, but we would never

move on.

We would never explore.

Some students feel

they're being disrespectful

when they are critical

of the work they're given.

By pulling apart

strengths and weaknesses

they are showing

their understanding of the subject area.

Good critical thinking

starts by not just believing

what you're given,

but reading around it.

So a student can really

show that they've grasped

the subject area

when they can rephrase

these aspects,

and be critical of them

in the way that they

combine the arguments in

a different way:

that they bring in new sources

to show that they've

read additional material.

Sometimes students give us

some sort of discussion

between two sources.

So they say, "Author A

says this; author B says this,"

and they keep going like this.

But what it doesn't give us

is that it doesn't show us

that the student has understood those

arguments. So the second step is missing:

the student's own input

and their analysis

of both arguments.

Many non-native speakers

take the expert opinion

for granted and don't dare criticize it.

Whereas actually,

with their background, they can

use that prior experience

to criticise, and restructure,

and rethink what they're given

from their own experience.

Critical thinking impacts

grades hugely, because

the student shows that

they have taken in the knowledge

they've been provided with;

that they've worked with

the material;

and that they can add to that.

Go the distance.