Critical Thinking
- 8 Courses | 2h 33m
- 9 Books | 31h 48m
- 8 Audiobooks | 36h 34m 15s
The ability to think critically is more important than ever. Learn tips and strategies to develop this skill. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. Discover how to understand the logical connection between your ideas.
GETTING STARTED
Critical Thinking: Challenging Assumptions
-
1.Critical Thinking: Challenging Assumptions1m 16sNOW PLAYING
-
2.Investigating Assumptions5m 34sUP NEXT
COURSES INCLUDED
Critical Thinking: Challenging Assumptions
Every day, we make hundreds of assumptions based on facts, observations, and experiences. Some are useful time savers, but some are based on a weak premise or poor data and can lead to jumping to a conclusion without asking questions or listening to other people's input. When a decision is based on assumptions and prejudices, it mitigates the opportunity for innovation and creativity. Examining your assumptions requires small changes, but the payoff is significant. In this course, you'll learn how assumptions manifest and what power they have on decision making and innovation. You'll learn practices to redirect automatic assumption-based thinking into critical thinking as well as questioning techniques to identify assumptions so you can mitigate their impact. You'll also learn techniques to help you investigate assumptions thoroughly and how to systematically test them, which will give you the best chance of making the best decisions.
6 videos |
23m
Assessment
Badge
Critical Thinking: Investigating Arguments
Every day, people put forth their ideas or points of view. After all, at the heart of every great change, lies a great argument someone has used to influence others. The basis of an argument is expressing a point of view and supporting it with enough evidence to persuade someone to accept a conclusion. How can you determine what's fact, what's opinion, and how to get to the truth of a matter? Part of critical thinking is being able to identify, construct, and evaluate arguments, because only then will you be able to reach logical conclusions and solve problems. In this course, you'll learn how to use arguments in the right situations and explore what makes up an effective argument. You'll also learn to recognize the common types of logical fallacies that can derail an argument, and how to employ reasoning skills against arguments that use tactics of manipulation.
6 videos |
22m
Assessment
Badge
Critical Thinking: Drawing Sound Conclusions
Humans excel at coming to quick judgments based on mental shortcuts. People like definite answers and an end to uncertainty, so sometimes they jump to conclusions based on minimal information and driven by past experiences, social norms or rules of thumb, or emotions. People are jumping-to-conclusions experts. And while that can work in some situations, such as when automatically driving the best route to work every day, you can't fix complex problems with fast decision-making or insufficient information. In this course, you'll learn how to gather and assess the evidence you need to reach a sound conclusion, and what visual tools can help you understand the evidence more clearly. You'll also learn to use lines of questioning to consider the impact and validity of your evidence, as well as techniques to arrive at, evaluate, and implement the logical conclusions you come to.
6 videos |
21m
Assessment
Badge
Leveraging the Power of Analogical Thinking
When struggling with a difficult problem, it's easy to become hemmed in by traditional habitual thinking. Learning to leverage the power of analogical thinking allows you to think creatively and gain fresh insights through the exploration of unexpected similarities. In this course, you'll learn what analogical thinking is, when it's best used, and how to use it. You'll also learn under what situations it can fail, and how to avoid superficial analogies so you can make better strategic choices.
6 videos |
21m
Assessment
Badge
Confronting Your Assumptions
Assumptions are necessary to help us make sense of our world. We are bombarded with so much information that we simply couldn't function if we didn't each have some basic premises to work from. That said, the critical thinker knows assumptions can get in the way of rational decision making. When solving problems, it's necessary to use strategic thinking to challenge our assumptions and find the right solutions. This course defines what assumptions are, describes how different kinds of assumptions may be challenged, and covers the importance of seeking out other people's perspectives.
6 videos |
14m
Assessment
Badge
Investigating Arguments
Debating an argument is part of reaching a logical conclusion and solving problems. In this course, you'll learn to use strategic thinking to identify and judge arguments, recognize logical fallacies and persuasion techniques, and make effective arguments of your own.
7 videos |
16m
Assessment
Badge
Reaching Sound Conclusions
When drawing conclusions, strategic thinking is needed to analyze and weigh the data and information you have to support taking action. In this course, you'll learn how to recognize the critical-thinking activities associated with reaching a sound conclusion. You'll discover how to employ effective questions, use tools to help you conclude findings, and create an action plan for putting conclusions into practice when solving problems.
6 videos |
13m
Assessment
Badge
Outwitting Your Cognitive Bias
In order to make the best business decisions, you need to confront - and overcome - your cognitive biases. In this course, you will learn techniques for identifying cognitive bias, as well as strategies for overcoming specific biases.
6 videos |
20m
Assessment
Badge
SHOW MORE
FREE ACCESS
EARN A DIGITAL BADGE WHEN YOU COMPLETE THESE COURSES
Skillsoft is providing you the opportunity to earn a digital badge upon successful completion on some of our courses, which can be shared on any social network or business platform.
Digital badges are yours to keep, forever.BOOKS INCLUDED
Book
Stop Guessing: The 9 Behaviors of Great Problem SolversIllustrated with examples ranging from everyday issues to serious problems, this book will help you understand the behaviors that great problem-solvers use to tackle the hardest problems with skill and panache, regardless of the industry or nature of the problem.
2h 7m
By Nat Greene
Book
Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making SkillsPresenting a pragmatic set of tools to apply critical thinking techniques to everyday business issues, this book is filled with real world examples that demonstrate how the tools work in action and includes dozens of practice exercises applicable across industries and functions.
3h 17m
By Michael Kallet
Book
Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning DecisionsLeaders must possess the ability to shape opinions, inspire followers, manage risk, and outmaneuver and outperform rivals. This entertaining, surprising, and immensely practical book proposes a new paradigm for decision making in synch with the way we have to operate in the real world.
5h 54m
By Phil Rosenzweig
Book
The Diagrams Books: 50 Ways to Solve any Problem VisuallyIncluding tips and advice on how you can apply them to your own situations, this accessible guide presents fifty of the most useful diagrams that are used by consultants, academics, MBA students, and smart managers globally to assist with problem solving and thinking.
39m
By Kevin Duncan
Book
An Introduction to Critical Thinking and Creativity: Think More, Think BetterOutlining the tools needed to become a critical as well as creative thinker, this book introduces relevant theories in conjunction with real-life examples and findings from cognitive science and psychology to illustrate how the theories can be applied in fields and careers.
5h 21m
By Joe Y. F. Lau
Book
Critical Thinking Skills for DummiesOffering expert guidance on sound reasoning and textual analysis, this accessible and friendly book provides hands-on, lively, and fun exercises that you can put to work today to improve your arguments and pin down key issues.
5h 33m
By Martin Cohen
Book
The Critical Thinking Tool Kit: Spark Your Team's Creativity with 35 Problem Solving ActivitiesWith an aim to get employees thinking better and faster with hands-on activities and ready-to-use assessments, this book helps team members work on challenging assumptions, brainstorm divergent ideas, and then pinpoint the ones that best benefit an organization.
2h 54m
By Marlene Caroselli
Book
A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking: Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second EditionPursuing an interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking, this book is a unique presentation of the formal strategies used when thinking through reasons and arguments in many areas of expertise.
5h 45m
By David A. Hunter
Book
Critical ThinkingOffering a highly usable framework that can be utilized in many different circumstances, this book provides useful insights into critical thinking and helps readers put some of the best prevailing ideas into practice.
18m
By Jon C. Warner
SHOW MORE
FREE ACCESS
AUDIOBOOKS INCLUDED
AUDIOBOOK SUMMARY
The Diagrams Book: 50 Ways to Solve any Problem VisuallyThe Diagrams Book provides a comprehensive list of diagrams to consider when outlining a problem to be solved or expressing thoughts and ideas. In this Summary, we discuss the salient points of the book based on our interpretation of its contents.
15m 53s
By Kevin Duncan
AUDIOBOOK SUMMARY
The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Thinking and WritingThe Pyramid Principle is an acclaimed international bestseller on how to produce compelling, to-the-point, professional writing for clients, colleagues, or the board of directors. In this Review, we discuss the salient points of the book based on our interpretation of its contents.
9m 46s
By Barbara Minto
Audiobook
Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning DecisionsThis audio edition draws on a wealth of examples in order to propose a new paradigm for decision making in sync with the way we have to operate in the real world.
8h 44m 1s
By Phil Rosenzweig
Audiobook
The Brainpower Booster: Seven Powerful Strategies For Becoming SmarterThis audio edition will teach you to quickly learn, process, and remember all types of information. Read by the author.
1h 53m 47s
By Howard Stephen Berg
Audiobook
Three Moves Ahead: What Chess Can Teach You about Business (Even If You've Never Played)This audio edition shows how the world's top executives use chess tactics to thrive in the face of incalculable complexities and unexpected change.
7h 23m 26s
By Bob Rice
Audiobook
Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the 7 Fatal Flaws of ThinkingThis audio edition will lead you to better decision-making, higher levels of creativity, clearer strategies, and overall success in business, work and life.
4h 30m 11s
By Matthew E. May
Audiobook
The Smartest Places on Earth: Why Rustbelts are the Emerging Hotspots of Global InnovationThis audio edition presents a truly hopeful and inspiring investigation into the emerging sources of a new era of competitiveness for America and Europe that are coming from unlikely places-those cities and areas once known as "rustbelts" that have, from an economic perspective, been written off.
7h 8m 21s
By Antoine van Agtmael, Fred Bakker
Audiobook
Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told to Do Is WrongThis audio edition explores when and how to disobey inappropriate orders, reduce unacceptable risk, and find better ways to achieve legitimate goals.
6h 28m 50s
By Ira Chaleff
SHOW MORE
FREE ACCESS
SKILL BENCHMARKS INCLUDED
Critical Thinking
The ability to think critically is more important than ever. Learn tips and strategies to develop this skill. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. Discover how to understand the logical connection between your ideas. This benchmark evaluates your understanding of this topic. Being aware of potential knowledge gaps allows you to better understand your current competency and areas for improvement, so you can find suitable content and curate your own learning path. The courses recommended at the end of this benchmark can help you fill potential gaps in your knowledge.
7m
| 7 questions