Critical Thinking Standards and Questions

Clarity

·  Could you elaborate further on that point?

·  Could you give me an example?

·  Could you express that point in another way?

Accuracy

·  Is that really true?

·  How could we check that?

·  How could we find out if that’s true?

Precision

·  Could you give me more details?

·  Could you be more specific?

Relevance

·  How is that connected to the question?

·  How does that bear on the issue?

Depth/ Breadth

·  How does your answer address the complexities in question?

·  How are you taking into account the problems in the question?

·  Do we need to consider another point of view?

·  Is there another way to look at this question?

·  What would this look like from the point of view of….?

Logic

·  Does this really make sense?

·  How does that follow from what you just said?

Fairness

·  Is our thinking open-minded?

·  Is our thinking free of distorting beliefs or biases?

A critical thinker…

·  asks pertinent questions

·  assesses statements and arguments

·  is able to distinguish between fact and opinion

·  is able to admit a lack of understanding or information

·  has a sense of curiosity

·  is interested in finding new solutions

·  is able to clearly define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas

·  is willing to examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions and weigh them against facts

·  listens carefully to others and is able to give feedback

·  sees that critical thinking is a lifelong process of self-assessment

·  suspends judgment until all facts have been gathered and considered

·  looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs

·  is able to adjust opinions when new facts are found

·  looks for proof

·  examines problems closely

·  is able to determine cause-and-effect, along with distinguishing between cause-and-effect and correlation

·  is able to reject information that is incorrect or irrelevant

·  prefers to articulate an argument based on fact rather than state an unsupported opinion