As you progress through this course you will quickly come to see that it's emphasis is on developing critical thinking skills and making students aware of the norms of critical thinking. Critical thinking is quickly becoming a catch-all phrase in academia, the result of which is to make the term almost meaningless through a process of over-generalization.   We are defining critical thinking as the central organizing component to several critical processes, including critical reading and critical evaluation.

Within the context of obtaining a Bachelor's Degree, this central organizing component is a developmental goal that is achieved when the individual possesses the following multi-process ability:
 

The following details this process.

Reading Theory Accurately

The ability to read theory accurately is a function of attaining critical reading skills, which involve the following:

 The ability to discern a main argument.

 The ability to distinguish introductory material from a main argument.

The ability to discern when an argument is being amplified, clarified, or sustained, and to distinguish between these three functions.

The ability to determine and distinguish between definitions of critical terms and concepts (which answer the question "what"), and their characteristics (which answer the question "how" or "why").

Further, the ability to read theory accurately is demonstrated when the individual can perform the following:

Accurately define and characterize the main and supporting arguments of a theorist using the terminology and concepts of the original work.

 Accurately articulate any opposing views that may have been presented in the work.

Accurately articulate the set of assumptions or paradigmatic structures discussed by the text.
 

Appropriate Theory Meaningfully

The ability to appropriate theory meaningfully is clearly dependent on the first stage of the critical process.  If a theory can not be read accurately it can not be appropriated meaningfully.  Likewise, if a student can not distinguish between a main argument and its illustration, they run the risk of not being able to abstract and appropriate the critical concepts that theory may have to offer.

The ability to appropriate theory meaningfully includes the following:

The ability to abstract central concepts, terms, and definitions from the context they are inscribed within.

The ability to situate central concepts, terms, and definitions within an analytic model.
 

Apply Theory Independently

The ability to apply theory independently means that, after having abstracted critical concepts, terms, or definitions from a particular theorist, the individual can apply them to a domain distinct from that of the original theory.

The determination of whether a theory is applied independently is a complex one.  The following are some of the norms that measure the degree of independence of a theoretical application.

· the degree to which the application of theory generates results that can be verified
· the degree to which the domain of investigation is distinct
· the degree to which the work of application generates a new understanding or new insights of the theory

Generate Results Through the  Application of Theory

In this stage of the critical thinking process, the individual demonstrates an awareness of  their application by finding results that are consistent with the theory being applied.  This consistency is measured in the following manner:
 

•  The results are logically and paradigmatically related to the theory.
• A strong degree of contiguity can be demonstrated between the results and the theory.
• The results relate to each other  in their relationship to the theory.

Analyze Results

This stage becomes the foundation by which the next stage is achieved.  Having applied a particular model/paradigm, the individual examines their results for patterns or a lack thereof.  They should be able to discern some of the following things:
 

• relationships between elements
• specific functions as a result of those relationships
• a particular element or phenomena acting as a central agent
• an element or elements standing distinct from other phenomena (non-conforming)
• developmental processes between elements and their relationships

Making an Argument Based on those Results

This stage is achieved when the individual draws conclusions based on the patterns, or lack thereof, of their data.   The measure of this stage is determined by the following:
 

•  The argument demonstrates a clear contiguity to the data and its patterns.

•  The argument demonstrates a logical relationship to the data and its patterns.

•  The argument conforms to the general norms for structuring a thesis statement.

Defending the Argument Through an Organized and Specific Line of Reasoning.

This stage represents an articulation of  the main conclusion the individual has drawn, and the means by which they have drawn it.  Furthermore, it demonstrates a familiarity with, and consistent appropriation of  a particular mode of reasoning: inductive or deductive.
 

Critical Evaluation

Continued practice of critical thinking abilities should lead the individual to another vital critical process, the process of critical evaluation, whose norms are dependent on the former.  Critical evaluation is the measure of a theory's viability to generate accurate and meaningful results.  The individual is engaged in the process of critical evaluation when they can test theory in the following manner:

· Internal Consistency
· Grounding in acknowledged assumptions
· Generalizability
· Dynamism and adaptability
· Ability to respond to counter positions
· Ability to accommodate other theories