Critical Thinking

As a student of the Ivy Tech Honors College and while completing the LIBA279 Honors Capstone Course, we were tasked with creating a Learning Portfolio and reflecting upon artifacts that pertained to specific Honors Program Outcomes.

Below is one of those reflections.

Thank you for your time.

- Michael

Honors Program Outcome 2:

Utilize critical thinking to solve problems. This includes the ability to support claims with relevant and credible evidence, recognize and respond to bias, and apply accurate and logical analysis to achieve desired outcomes.

Reflection

I think that I am a thinker.

More appropriately written, I believe that I think quite a lot. Sometimes about mundane everyday topics, other times on more complicated and more difficult subject matter. While some might argue that critical thinking has fallen by the wayside in society, I think it is only appropriate to consider the bigger picture when reflecting on my time with the Honors College.

Outside the Box

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day. Decision fatigue, it is often called. We have so many choices to make, so much information bombarding us each day, and we are just trying to survive. But in order to develop critical thinking, it is important to step outside your comfort zone and delve into new uncharted territories. In Introduction to World Politics Honors I had just such an opportunity on several occasions. Rather than regurgitate the information from the chapter, we were placed in the shoes of a world leader and tasked with solving a crisis. This helped me to grow as a critical thinker because it forced me out of an “American” mindset. So often we think about issues, domestically or internationally, from our own perspective and fail to consider the viewpoints and differences across the many amazing cultures and societies of this world. While I cannot say that my decisions in those contexts would be the best, it did not matter. The point was to gain a global perspective and consider a subject from a position other than your own.

Different Perspective

Prior to taking Introduction to Sociology Honors, I would have gladly agreed with the sentiment of shutting down clothing operations in third world countries that failed to pay fair wages. While I still agree that workers should be compensated fairly, I would not so boldly suggest shutting these operations down because I had not considered the perspective and the needs of those who relied on such work to provide for their families. That was a significant lesson learned. Context and perspective can vastly change the story. Now, when considering difficult topics, I do my best to look at it from the perspective of those who will be most immediately and most significantly impacted. If only more people thought this way, perhaps humanity might be better off.

What Others Think

One of my favorite experiences during Introduction to Psychology Honors was conducting peer reviews. So often in classes you are asked to write a paper about an interesting topic, but after the project is submitted you never get to experience what others have shared. This excited me, because we not only got feedback from our peers but also had a sneak peek into their mindset and ideas. The focus was not on grammar and format, but instead on the content of their work. It pushed me to acknowledge when others present a more accurate interpretation of the material as well as provided an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with a peer. A peer reviewed paper might sound boring to some, but peer reviewing a paper is an amazing opportunity.

Thinking Until it Hurts

Philosophy and ethics, the one class where the expectation is to come out at the end of the semester with more questions than when you started. Most still unanswered. But a lesson was learned nonetheless. In Introduction to Ethics Honors, we were asked to conduct a thorough analysis of a chapter of our choosing and simply dissect and reflect on the information. This was a great exercise because it taught me about my own limitations and the fact that not all questions can be answered in life. But more importantly, it taught me that we still have the responsibility to ask the difficult questions.

Food for Thought

If critical thinking has fallen by the wayside in society, then who better to assume the mantle than those in education. The world is not perfect. For all the good there is much evil. As humanity progresses, it is only right that we take the time to think critically. To understand unique perspectives and empathize with the concerns of others requires an open mind. There are plenty of problems to solve, and in order to meet the challenge we must be critical of the world around us.

That is a lot to think about. But think about it, I will.