College Freshmen Ought to Know

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College Freshmen Ought to Know

• That sometimes you can help yourself to get into
  a more productive or creative mood by changing
  your environment for studying by simply dressing
  differently for the study session. Go to a
  different place on campus to do this particular
  chore or wear the best clothes you have to sit
  and write a particularly formal assignment.
• 100 Things Every College Freshman Ought to
  KnowBy William Disbro

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Chapter 7 - Thinking

• The business of persuasion embraces all of us
• A typical American sees 30,000 television
  commercials each year (Radio, magazines, books,
  brochures)
• Its easy to lose our heads unless we develop
  skills in critical thinking.
• When we think critically, we make choices with
  open eyes

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Uses of critical thinking (CT)

• Basic elements of communication reading,
  writing, speaking, and listening
• Critical thinking also plays an important part in
  social change
• CT helps us uncover bias and prejudice
• History offers a continuing story of half-truths/
  faulty assumptions
• Bloodsucking leeches to cure disease
• Illness results from an imbalance
• Racial integration of the armed forces will lead
  to the destruction of soldiers morale
• Caucasians are inherently more intelligent
• Mixing races will lead to genetically inferior
  offspring
• Women are incapable of voting intelligently
• We will never invent anything smaller than a
  transistor
• Computers will usher in the age of the paperless
  office

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Critical thinking as thorough thinking

• Critical thinking is sorting out conflicting
  claims, weighing evidence, and arriving at
  reasonable views
• Quick answers are often at odds with effective
  thinking
• It takes time and willingness to say "I don't
  know"
• Critical thinking and learning are linked
  together
• NO ONE is born a thorough thinker - It is a
  Learned Skill!!!

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Creativity fuels critical thinking

• We can use critical thinking to create new
  knowledge
• Creativity can open the door to new points of
  view
• "Aha!" is the burst of creative energy that comes
  with a new idea
• The "Aha!" does not have to result in a "Nobel
  Prize"
• School is a natural breeding ground for "Aha!'s"
• The creative process is both fun AND WORK
• Employers actively seek people who can think
  intuitively

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Techniques for creative thinking

1. With practice you can set the stage for creative
   leaps
2. Conduct a brainstorm
3. Focus and let go
4. Cultivate creative serendipity
5. Keep idea files
6. Collect and play with data
7. Refine Ideas and follow-through
8. Create Success strategies
9. Trust the process

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Brainstorming

• Brainstorming is a technique for finding
  solutions, creating plans, and discovering new
  ideas
• The purpose of brainstorming is to generate many
  "possible" solutions
• First, formulate the problem by writing it down
• Next, set a time limit for brainstorming
• Next, sit quietly for a few seconds to collect
  your thoughts
• Finally, start timing and write EVERYTHING down!
• Afterwards, review and eliminate the truly absurd
  ideas
• Let go of the "need" for a particular solution
• You can brainstorm with others
• You can brainstorm about a "brainstormed" idea

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Focus Serendipity

• Focus and let go
• Intense focus taps the resources of your
  conscious mind
• Notice when you pay attention and when your mind
  wanders
• When you realize your concentration has lagged,
  let go (Don't force yourself to be creative)
• Cultivate creative serendipity
• Serendipity is the ability to see something
  valuable that you weren't looking for (a lucky
  discovery)
• You can train yourself in the art of serendipity
  - Keep your eyes open!
• Expect discoveries

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Keep idea files

• People labeled "creative" treat their ideas with
  care, recognize, record, and follow-up on their
  ideas
• Include powerful quotes, insights, notes, and
  useful ideas
• Keep a journal
• Reading fuels creativity
• Safeguard your ideas even if you're pressed for
  time (write it down!)
• Review your files regularly

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Collect and play with data

• Look at information from all "sides" (aspects) --
  Examine each fact
• Pick a solution first and work backward to test
  it
• It has been said that there are no new ideas --
  Just new ways to combine old ideas
• Create while you sleep - A solution may appear in
  a dream or just before sleeping or waking!

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Refine Ideas and follow-through

• Genius
• Genius resides in the follow-through
• Keep a file for your own inspirations
• Create Success strategies
• Create your own ways to succeed in school.
• Look at others, books, materials.
• Trust the process
• Learn to trust your creative process
• Don't avoid frustration by giving up
• Trust that a solution will show up

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Qualities of a critical thinker

• Truth-seeking - Critical thinkers want to know
  truth
• Open-minded - Critical thinkers value the fact
  that people disagree
• Analytical - Critical thinkers recognize
  statements that call for evidence
• Systematic - Critical thinkers stay organized and
  focused
• Self-confident - Critical thinkers trust their
  intellectual skills and are wiling to seek truth
  with an open mind
• Inquisitive - A critical thinker wants to
  know/learn
• Mature - Critical thinkers posses wisdom from
  experience

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Suggestions for critical thinking

• Be willing to say "I don't know"
• Define your terms be clear about what you are
  talking about
• Practice tolerance
• Understand before criticizing
• Watch for hot spots
• Consider the source
• Seek out alternative views
• Ask questions
• Look for at least three answers
• Be willing to change your mind
• Lay your cards on the table
• Examine the problem from different points of view
  
• Write about it
• Construct a reasonable view

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Assignment

•      Complete Exercise 25(Page 208)