Critical Thinking Exercises
5 critical thinking exercises to help you and your team develop this key skill
Practice Your Critical Thinking Skills
An Overview of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a cognitive process for analysing information objectively to form a judgement. The process of critical thinking involves taking in information and data from numerous areas/sources to allow the individual making the judgement to consider all variables before making a decision.
The definition of critical thinking is often debated, however, most researchers agree that critical thinking includes rational thinking, unbiased analysis and evaluation based on factual evidence rather than anecdotal or consciously biased opinion.
The Need for Critical Thinking Development in Business
As we know, the need for critical thinking in businesses is clear. However often, hiring managers are unsure of what the skill consists and how to test critical thinking ability. Tests such as Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is one of the most widely used tests of critical thinking, making it easier for hiring manager to assess and develop critical thinking both within the current organisational structure and with potential new hires. As well as testing, you can coach an individual’s critical thinking skills.
Critical Thinking Exercises
#1 - Fact or Opinions
To help us understand the difference between fact, opinion and anecdote, we can train ourselves with the fact or opinion critical thinking exercise. This is important in a world of misinformation and ‘fake news’. Discerning what is fact, manipulated or opinion allows your staff to better analyse information in the workplace.
This exercise in critical thinking simple requires the individual to discern the difference between the following statements:
- Manchester United won the Treble in the 1998/1999 season
- My mobile number is difficult to remember
- 90% of adults aged 11-30 in the UK will suffer from acne
- Cats are better pets than dogs
- Coffee tastes better than tea
- Some fungi make zombies then control their minds
- Scotland has 421 words for “snow”
- Smoking is bad for you
- Audi’s drive better than BMW’s
- Peanuts are not nuts. They’re legumes.
This type of critical thinking exercise will have candidates/employees thinking about some statements, while immediately knowing what’s right/wrong about the others. If colleagues can effectively debate the truthfulness of a statement together, then the statement is likely to be an opinion.
#2 - Challenging Biases
We all suffer from unconscious biases from time to time. Some of us are aware of our biases or can observe and reflect on a challenged opinion, while others are less aware of their biases.
To increase objective thinking, the challenging biases critical thinking exercise improves your ability to respond to information that may be opinion based with a factual discussion and clear debate. By identifying the biases, we can provide workarounds. An example of this is working on finding information that challenges your own biases and then making a critical decision with all of this information to hand. This is part of the RED model for critical thinking.
#3 - Learning from Others
Learning from others is an exercise in critical thinking that requires the trainee to listen and observe the process another colleague has gone through, reach the decision they have made. To do this the trainee should speak to others about their problem and understand their thought process when trying to devise solutions. Here, it is important to ask questions throughout the process. These questions include:
- What led you to this conclusion?
- Could you provide more information on how you got to this?
- Why do you believe this is the right approach?
There are many different approaches to solve a problem. Some appear logical, others abstract - depending on the type of thinker you ask. You will see different answers to problems and acknowledging and reflecting on these will allow you to widen the scope of how you think and approach a problem.
No critical thinking problem-solving exercises list would be complete without brain teasers! Here are a couple of brain teasers that will tap into your critical thinking brain:
Brain Teaser #1 - The Man, His Dog and the River
A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog, who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do it?
Answer = The river was frozen
Brain Teaser #2 - A Bottle, a Cork and a Coin
Put a coin into an empty bottle and insert a cork into the neck. How can you remove the coin without removing the cork or breaking the bottle?
Answer = Push the cork into the bottle and move the coin to the opening
Of course, there are plenty more brain teasers out there, especially for critical thinking testing. The main idea here is to think abstractly and show the reasoning behind your answer. This requires some slight lateral thinking and abstract reasoning skills but results in a critical thinking decision based on information and judgement.
#5 - Read, Listen, Watch A Diverse Range of Topics
Following different subject matter experts and topical areas is a great way to broaden your critical thinking skills. For example, listening to podcasts on stocks and training vs podcasts on advertising strategy will help you to consider a different point of view and appreciate how others perceive the world differently. Many may approach from an artistical, abstract point of view versus others that may be more ingrained in scientific logic. The processes for each and how you tackle problems/inform yourself will differ and in doing this, you will gain a better understanding of how to utilise these thinking processes to better output your critical thinking.
Developing Your Teams Critical Thinking Skills
Developing critical thinking skills can be improved further through the use of critical thinking exercises and general further research into the cognitive process for developing this skill set.
In short, understanding how the mind interacts with information is a key facet to help to develop critical thinking as an asset within your organisation.
To learn more about critical thinking, and the benefit that it could have to your business or organisation please check out our Critical Thinking Hub or Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment. Alternatively, you can contact us if you have any other questions.