About the Course

In today’s society, many people experience information overload. We are bombarded with messages to believe various ideas, purchase things, support causes, and lead our lifestyle in a particular way. How do you know what to believe? How do you separate the truth from the myths?

The answer lies in critical thinking skills. The ability to clearly reason through problems and to present arguments in a logical, compelling way has become a key skill for survival in today’s world. This two-day workshop will give participants some practical tools and hands- on experience with critical thinking and problem solving.

Workshop Goals

By the end of this 3 day workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define critical and non-critical thinking
• Identify critical thinking style(s), including own areas of strength and improvement
• Describe other thinking styles, including left/right brain thinking and whole brain thinking
• Work through the critical thinking process to build or analyze arguments
• Develop and evaluate explanations
• Improve key critical thinking skills
• Use analytical thought systems and creative thinking techniques
• Prepare and present powerful arguments

Activities

Day One, morning

• Comparing critical thinking with noncritical thinking
• Characteristics of a critical thinker
• How to develop critical thinking skills
• Left and right brain thinking
• Whole brain thinking
• Pitfalls in thinking to be avoided

Day One, afternoon

• 3 phase critical thinking model
• The standards of critical thinking
• Identifying the Issues
• Case Studies

Day Two, morning

• Identifying the Arguments
• Case Studies
• Clarifying the issues and arguments

Day Two, afternoon

• Establishing Context
• Checking credibility and consistency in thinking
• Evaluating arguments

Day Three, morning

• Case Study
• Critical thinker’s skill set
• Creating explanations
• Dealing with assumptions

Day Three, afternoon

• Critical and creative thought systems
• Presenting and communicating ideas to others