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