Complete the matrix by identifying the six stages of critical thinking, describing how to move from each stage to the next, and listing obstacles you may face as you move to the next stage of critical thinking.
|Stages of critical thinking |How to move to the next stage |Obstacles to moving to the next stage |
|EXAMPLE: |Examine my thinking to identify problems |Deceiving myself about the effectiveness of|
| |that affect my thinking. |my thinking |
|The Unreflective Thinker | | |
|The confronted thinker |Admitting there is a problem |Dealing with possibility of embarrassment |
| | |from others |
|The novice thinker |Take advice and make changes happen |Being consistent with the steps to improve |
| | |the situation |
|The proactive thinker |Set a schedule and encourage others to work|This could be overwhelming and you want to |
| |along with the schedule |take a day off that turns into several days|
| | |away from the schedule |
|The Developed thinker |Find ways to improve the process that would|That some ideas may not work and could |
| |be a time saver and/or money saver |bring your spirit down. |
|The mastery Thinker |Work with others to improve their skills |That some may not absorb b your teachings |
Write a 150- to 200-word explanation of your current stage of critical-thinking development and explain why you placed yourself at that stage. Format your paragraph consistent with Associate Level Writing Style Handbook guidelines.
My current stage of critical thinking is dependent on my situation. As a single mother, I am in The Novice Thinker stage. I am currently dealing with a father who doesn’t seem to care for his son. He doesn’t provide any support other than a call once every few months. Because I don’t understand why he is acting like this but I am consistent on the mother role. Because I have a lot of questions on how to handle my son’s father. Some of my friends are in the same boat as me. I find it helpful to bounce my concern to them. On the other hand, I am unemployed and struggling to find a new job. Here I would say that I am a proactive thinker. From day one, I refreshed my resume then set up accounts with several employment companies. An important factor of being a proactive thinker, I set time aside to search for jobs. I also set a schedule to focus on my follow up calls, and network where possible.
Strategies to Develop Critical Thinking
Now that you identified your current stage as a critical thinker, it is necessary to adopt strategies to develop your thinking. Of the nine strategies you read about this week, choose three that you can begin to practice. Identify the strategies and describe how you can implement each strategy in your daily life.
