Critical Thinking Web Tutorial

By Meg Gorzycki, Ed.D.

Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to improve the instructors’ and students’ understanding of critical thinking as a general outcome of liberal arts education and provide insights on how instructors might integrate critical thinking into exercises and assignments.

Introduction

Richard Paul of the Foundation for Critical Thinking observed that the problem is not that people don’t think—people think all the time; the problem is that they often do not think very well. Like any skill, critical thinking requires a conscious effort and cultivation. Left to itself, much of our thinking, Paul asserts, “Is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed and down-right prejudiced.”¹
The consequences of inefficient or prejudiced thinking can be costly, painful, and dangerous. Without substantial critical thinking, professionals made mistakes, citizens support policies that work against their own interests, consumers behave irrationally in the marketplace, and people comprise the quality of their lives.

1. Paul, Richard and Elder, Linda. (2008) The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

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