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Best of Bonk Handouts
Critical Thinking Skills (Brief Bonk Brainstorm, 1991)

Robert Glaser (1941): Critical thinking calls for persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends.

Classifying

Taking Other Points of View

Following Rules

Predicting Outcomes

Estimating, Guessing

Setting Goals and Objectives

Recognizing Patterns

Discovering Relationships

Part-Whole Relationships

Forming Hypotheses

Finding Errors

Asking Questions

Discovering Relationships

Sequencing

Following Directions

Considering Relevance

Predicting Consequences

Determining Appropriateness

Planning

Means-End Relationships

Cause-Effect Relationships

Considering Implications

Making Decisions

Evaluating Generalizations

Discovering Trends

Making Inferences

Ordering on Salient Dimensions

Questioning-Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis, and Interpretation

Interpreting

Comparing and Contrasting

Visualizing

Setting Criteria

Measuring

Justifying

Analyzing Assumptions

Recognizing Essential/Nonessential

Recognizing Assumptions, Beliefs, Opinions

Mnemonic Learning/Memory Strategies

Reading Charts, Graphs, Tables

Determining Relevance and Irrelevance

Analyzing the Current Situation and Where You Wish to End

Generating Graphs from Data

Detecting Reasoning Errors

Arguing Persuasively, Logically

Communicating Clear Relationships

Sequencing Appropriate Information

Stating and Defending an Idea

Identifying Needed Processes, Information

Problem Clarification and Definition

Identifying Alternatives

Attribute Listing

Finding Patterns

Analyzing Truth Claims

Credibility of Sources, Bins

Analyzing for Personal Agenda

Identifying Assumptions vs. Inferences

Seeking Support for Opinions, Hypotheses

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Identifying Ways to Overcome Barriers

Identifying Components of a Process

Analyze Significance of Information Presented

Significance of Findings

Analyze Completeness and Clarity of Information Presented

Themes

Interrelationships of Literary Elements

Elements of and Event

Evaluate Soundness of Procedures

Pose Hypothesis

Test Explanations

Evaluate Believability of a Story, Information

Define Essential Elements

Analyze Part-Whole Relationships

Evaluating Inferences

Following Logically Valid Lines of Reasoning

Discerning the Relevance of Objections

Recognizing Appropriate Conclusions

Evaluate Reasons from a Claim

Checking Reliability and Adequacy of Information

Detecting Missing Parts of an Argument

Judging Whether Certain Statements Contradict each other or follow each other

Judging Whether the Problem has been Identified

Judging Whether a Definition is Adequate

Judging Whether a Statement Made by an Alleged Authority is Acceptable

Examining Both Sides of an Argument

Prioritizing (relevant factors, objectives, and consequences)

Focusing on Different Aspects of a Situation

Being Right by Referring to the Facts or an Authority

Recognizing Contradictory Information

Understanding Values Determine Thinking

Simplifying and Clarifying Unnecessarily Complex and Confusing Information

Recognizing Given and Omitted-but needed-Information

Matching Shapes

Classifying by Shape

Matching Similar Figures

Dividing Shapes into Equivalent Parts

Matching Classes by Pattern

Selecting Synonyms

Writing Directions

Completing Phrases

Describing Characteristics

Finding Shape Exceptions

Matching Pattern Pieces

Figural Sequence Problems

Classes and Members

Explaining Exceptions

Distinguishing Relationships

Sorting into Word Classes

Judging Whether a Statement is Specific Enough

Grasping the Meaning of a Statement


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