Critical Thinking Strategies For Better Decisions

Define critical thinking as a disciplined intellectual process that actively applies, analyzes, synthesizes, and evaluates information through reflection, reasoning, and communication to reach better decisions.

Explore how critical thinking informs decision making through a practical escape room analogy, highlighting evaluating options, identifying clues, teamwork, time constraints, and balancing speed with quality.

Explore the benefits of critical thinking, from curiosity and lifelong learning to creativity, problem solving, and independent decision making.

Engage in an online escape room from the resource center, mindfully document your decision-making process, and describe your experience on the worksheet to reveal your critical thinking.

Explore the building blocks of critical thinking, including perception, assumptions, emotion, language, and body language, and learn how to question, reason, and analyze to form sound conclusions.

Examine the critical thinking process from observation and analysis to inference and communication, while applying steps like identifying assumptions, analyzing data, and distinguishing real from fake news.

Solve three problems using critical thinking by following worksheet instructions, then define your reasoning process to reveal multiple valid answers for complex issues.

Identify and overcome barriers to critical thinking like ego, bias, routine autopilot, and fear, recognize multiple perspectives, and invite others to challenge your thinking.

Explore external barriers to critical thinking, including group thinking and social conditioning amplified by social media, plus work pressure; learn to analyze, identify assumptions, research, and decide independently.

identify and reflect on internal and exterior barriers to critical thinking, complete a worksheet to summarize insights, and learn to prevent future obstacles in decision making.

Apply four approaches to critical thinking in daily work: ask basic questions, challenge assumptions, examine mental processes, mindsets, and biases, and use reverse engineering to uncover faster solutions.

Evaluate existing evidence with scrutiny, considering research processes and conflicts of interest. Think for yourself, take media breaks, and use critical thinking without being too hard on yourself.

Develop critical questions to spark deeper insights by asking open-ended questions and avoiding one-dimensional answers. Apply Bloom's taxonomy—from knowledge to synthesis—to guide question development and evaluation.

Craft compelling questions to ignite your critical thinking and practice answering them for a work problem, then fill the worksheet with potential responses and continue refining your thinking over time.

Identify the external processes shaping a problem, map who is impacted and why, visualize connections on a whiteboard, explore options, and gather stakeholder input to evaluate ideas.

Address internal barriers by creating a constructive, distraction-free environment, generate multiple alternatives, question every solution, and seek outside input from a mentor or devil's advocate to form an action plan.

Apply a five-step action plan to critical thinking: identify the problem, research perspectives, and uncover biases. Infer conclusions, determine relevance, and stay curious to build a smarter calendar solution.

Apply the action plan to a real work problem, describe each step and outcomes, reflect on feelings with the provided worksheet, and retrain your mind to think more deeply.

Develop critical thinking through ongoing practice and decision making, using the attached resources to continue learning and improve your skills while looking forward.

Develop your critical thinking skills and apply what you learn to work and life, while giving feedback to help the course improve and get answers to your questions.