Critical Thinking - PEM

Critical Thinking - PEM

http://louisville.edu/ideastoaction/what/critical-thinking/paul-elder-framework
Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them. (Paul and Elder, 2001). The Paul-Elder framework has three components:
1. The elements of thought (reasoning)
2. The intellectual standards that should be applied to the elements of reasoning
3. The intellectual traits associated with a cultivated critical thinker that result from the consistent and disciplined application of the intellectual standards to the elements of thought
 
Graphic Representation of Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework

 
According to Paul and Elder (1997), there are two essential dimensions of thinking that students need to master in order to learn how to upgrade their thinking. They need to be able to identify the "parts" of their thinking, and they need to be able to assess their use of these parts of thinking.
Elements of Thought (reasoning)
The “parts” or elements of thinking are as follows:
1. All reasoning has a PURPOSE
2. All reasoning is an attempt to FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, TO SETTLE SOME QUESTION, TO SOLVE SOME PROBLEM
3. All reasoning is based on ASSUMPTIONS
4. All reasoning is done from some POINT OF VIEW
5. All reasoning is based on DATA, INFORMATION and EVIDENCE
6. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, CONCEPTS and IDEAS
7. All reasoning contains INFERENCES or INTERPRETATIONS by which we draw CONCLUSIONS and give meaning to data
8. All reasoning leads somewhere or has IMPLICATIONS and CONSEQUENCES
 
Universal Intellectual Standards
The intellectual standards that are to these elements are used to determine the quality of reasoning. Good critical thinking requires having a command of these standards. According...

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