WHO recommended Life Skills

Critical Thinking8th of August, 2015

Abhishek Ghosh M.Pharm, BSc Psychology

Abhishek.pharmacist@gmail.com

Exploring the backgroundWHO recommended Life skills

Life skills have been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.

Self awareness EmpathyCritical thinking Creative thinking

Decision making Problem solving

Effective communication Interpersonal relationship

Coping with stress Coping with emotions

Life skills

Critical thinking is a mental process which involves: Logical thinking & reasoning. The essential skills required for critical thinking are:

1. Comparison2. Classification3. Sequencing4. Cause/Effect5. Patterning6. Webbing7. Analogies8. Deductive & Inductive Reasoning9. Forecasting10. Planning11. Hypothesizing12. Critiquing

WHAT is Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking

• Everyone thinks; however, much of our thinking is reactive, biased, uninformed and often prejudiced. More often than not, it is also haphazard and undisciplined.

• For the most part, critical thinking does not come naturally. It takes effort, training and practice.

• Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically - without learning how, or without practicing.

• Critical thinking is self-disciplined, self-monitored and problem solving thinking.

Natural ability or a skill developed through training?

Life skills

• The quality of life we experience is in direct proportion to the quality of our thinking.

• It promotes open-mindedness, putting things in perspective, & a positive attitude.

• By thinking critically, instead of reacting emotionally to a problem, we employ strategies which:

1. Help us learn from an experience2. Help prevent it from occurring again3. Result in a reasonable, effective solution

• Critical thinking helps us balance our emotions, which in turn leads to good judgment and making informed, good decisions.

WHY is Critical Thinking important?

CognitionIn the order of hierarchy

Bloom’s taxonomy of Cognition

• Knowledge

Eg: dates, events, places, vocabulary, key ideas, parts of diagram, 5Ws

• Comprehension

Eg: find meaning, transfer, interpret facts, infer cause & consequence, examples

• Application

Eg: use information in new situations, solve problems

• Analysis

Eg: recognize and explain patterns and meaning, see parts and wholes

• Synthesis

Eg: discuss "what if" situations, create new ideas, predict and draw conclusions

• Evaluation

Eg: make recommendations, assess value and make choices, critique ideas

Analysis, Synthesis & Evaluation are considered as HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills)

In the order of hierarchy

Strategies

• Redefine your views (willingness to consider alternative views).

• Focus on determining Fact from Fiction

• Question quick fixes

• Trust your intellect (however do monitor your ego & rigidity of opinions)

• Look from different points of view (perspectives)

• Stay tuned with your emotions

How to develop critical thinking skills?

Strategies

• Deal effectively with your ego

• Put into usage your waste time

• Keep an intellectual journal (situation, response, analysis, assessment)

• Reshape your character (e.g. intellectual perseverance, autonomy, empathy, courage, humility, being defensive, arrogance, ignorance, judgmental, bias)

• Avoid extreme language (e.g. never, always, impossible)

• Analyze group influences on your life (e.g. social norms, peer pressure, conformity)

How to develop critical thinking skills? (continued)

Thank You