The Critical Thinking Process

Thinking critically is unique to the subject area and the individual. Although all content areas differ in difficulty, critical thinking is necessary for an abstract analysis of ideas.  I've often wondered what is my own definition of thinking critically.  We know that thinking involves thoughts, opinions, and the coordination of ideas, but we must somehow learn to do this in a "critical" manner.

Let's look at the word "critical".  Using an online resource, I located a definition that defines "critical" as "Inclined to judge severely and find fault". This seems like an extremely appropriate choice when pairing it with critical thinking.  When you are thinking critically, you are analyzing all possibilities and ideas, and you are most definitely looking for the positives, the faults, and even the gray areas. You are "judging" severely and going beyond the basic levels of thinking skills.

Learning Styles/Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

At all levels, a learning community should work collaboratively towards educational achievement and the mastery of content skills.  The community should also be welcoming, and students should feel a connection that motivates them to think critically.  Luckily for many educators, lesson plans can be diversified, and methods can be modified, to accommodate the many learning styles present in today's classroom.  Multiple intelligences are present in every environment.  Gardener's theories are considerably accurate in identifying the many characteristics of different students.

A great website that breaks down the multiple intelligences
lhttp://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/mi/index.html