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74DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING
1 ^ -j Bobozhonova Yu.I. , Rakhimova M.U. , Musaeva K.O.
1Bobozhonova Yulduz Igorovna - Student;
Rakhimova Munira Ulugbek qizi - Student;
Musayeva Komila Oybek qizi - Student,
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, FACULTY OF FOREIGN PHILOLOGY, URGENCH STATE UNIVERSITY,
URGENCH, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: improving critical thinking skills is a life experience that is worth it. Critical thinking is the pinnacle of accumulation of knowledge and experience. The question is, how can we continue to improve our critical thinking skills long after practicing? What wisdom can we give to our students to help them keep these abilities honed throughout their lives, besides school? This article discusses these issues. Keywords: critical thinking, ability, judgment, logic.
Main features of critical thinking process. As defined in A Greek-English Lexicon the verb krino- means to choose, decide or judge. Hence a krites is a discerner, judge or arbiter. Those who are kritikos have the ability to discern or decide by exercising sound judgement.
Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective, responsible, and skillful that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. A person who thinks critically can ask appropriate questions, gather relevant information, efficiently and creatively sort through this information, reason logically from this information, and come to reliable and trustworthy conclusions about the world that enable one to live and act successfully in it. True critical thinking is higher-order thinking, enabling a person to evaluate society's need. Critical thinking enables an individual to be a responsible citizen who contributes to society.
Children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. Most individuals never learn it.
Critical thinking cannot be taught reliably to students by peers or by most parents. Trained and knowledgeable instructors are necessary to impart the proper information and skills.
Critical thinking can be described as the scientific method applied by ordinary people to the ordinary world. This is true because critical thinking mimics the well-known method of scientific investigation: a question is identified, a hypothesis formulated, relevant data sought and gathered, the hypothesis is logically tested and evaluated, and reliable conclusions are drawn from the result. All of the skills of scientific investigation are matched by critical thinking.
Critical thinking is scientific thinking. Many books and papers describing critical thinking present its goals and methods as identical or similar to the goals and methods of science. A scientifically-literate person, such as a math or science instructor, has learned to think critically to achieve that level of scientific awareness. But any individual with an advanced degree in any university discipline has almost certainly learned the techniques of critical thinking.
Critical thinking is the ability to think for one's self and reliably and responsibly make those decisions that affect one's life. Critical thinking is also critical inquiry, so such critical thinkers investigate problems, ask questions, pose new answers, and discover new information. Most people, therefore, do not think for themselves, but rely on others to think for them. Most people, therefore, do not think critically.
So we can define critical thinking as the ability to improve one's thinking by systematically subjecting it to intellectual self-assessment.
2 Stages of critical thinking process. There are predictable stages through which every person who develops as a critical thinker passes by.
Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker
Unreflective thinkers are largely unaware of the determining role that thinking is playing in their lives ; lack the ability to explicitly assess their thinking and improve it thereby; lack the knowledge that high quality thinking requires regular practice in
taking thinking apart, accurately assessing it, and actively improving it; unaware of the appropriate standards for the assessment of thinking: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, logicalness.
Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker
Thinkers move to the "challenged" stage when they become initially aware of the determining role that thinking is playing in their lives.
Challenged thinkers may develop an initial awareness of thinking as involving concepts, assumptions, inferences, implications, points of view, etc., and as involving standards for the assessment of thinking: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, logicalness, etc., though they have only an initial grasp of these standards and what it would take to internalize them.
Homework. Both traditional reading homework and special written problem sets or questions can be used to enhance critical thinking. Homework presents many opportunities to encourage critical thinking.
Quantitative Exercises. Mathematical exercises and quantitative word problems teach problem solving skills that can be used in everyday life. This obviously enhances critical thinking.
Term Papers. The best way to teach critical thinking is to require that students write. Writing forces students to organize their thoughts, contemplate their topic, evaluate their data in a logical fashion, and present their conclusions in a persuasive manner. Good writing is the epitome of good critical thinking.
Exams. Exam questions can be devised which promote critical thinking rather than rote memorization. This is true for both essay question exams and multiple-choice exams.
Debate is one of the most effective methods of teaching critical thinking. Because debate requires active learning and calls upon students to be prepared to defend their arguments, debate preparation and actual debating encourage critical thinking. While traditional educational methods teach students content and concepts, debate takes that knowledge and encourages students to use it as the beginning of a journey of self-exploration. Because
students are responsible for their own claims in the debate, debaters are quick to explore the roots of their claims. Rather than being satisfied with what they are told about a subject, debate encourages students to seek out their own understanding, and often to challenge ideas by researching and critiquing the foundation of arguments.
Teaching critical thinking skills doesn't require hours of lesson planning, and you don't need special equipment or guest speakers. Actually, all you need are curious and open minds, along with a few strategies like the five we have listed below. These are everyday approaches designed to help the journey of improving critical thinking skills to become an unconscious daily process for a lifetime of learning.
Go slow, take your time, and absorb what's below carefully. As you begin to incorporate these ideas, things will get more and more comfortable until they're finally second nature. To really get moving with critical thinking, check out our Critical Thinking Companion.
References
1. Glaser Edward M. "Defining Critical Thinking". The International Center for the Assessment of Higher Order Thinking (ICAT, US) / Critical Thinking Community. Retrieved 22 March, 2017.
2. lkins James R. "The Critical Thinking Movement: Alternating Currents in One Teacher's Thinking". myweb.wvnet.edu. Retrieved 23. March, 2014.
