Critical Thinking

Throughout the Human Services Program a variety of course materials allowed me to explore and expand my ability to be a critical thinker. Beginning in HSP 301 Personal Systems I had to consider how I interact with the systems that surround me. My Who am I? paper and presentation challenged me to discover what has shaped me into the person I am as an adult. (Appendix A) It also gave me insight into what causes others to develop into the people they are. I discovered that critical thinking is not about finding fault, but about seeing the full picture, strengths and opportunities together. Critical thinking is more balanced, looking for both strengths and limitations. Critical thinking provides new opportunities for action (Student Guide to Capstone Portfolio, 2010, P.19). (Appendix B) Another aspect of critical thinking came into play as we transitioned into dyads, partnering with one other student in HSP 303 Interpersonal Systems, and into small groups in HSP 305 Small Group Systems. These courses offered the opportunity to gain experience in the dynamics we will likely encounter in the workplace as we begin our work as human services professionals. We learned to consider the perspectives of others and we gained depth of understanding by hearing alternative viewpoints. Hearing the viewpoints of others and becoming aware of how people take in information differently helped me to become a more critical thinking individual. I began to question and became curious about what influenced the thinking of others. I also learned to question information I may have

Critical Thinking

previously taken to be fact. I sought out additional sources of information in order to broaden my knowledge base and make more informed decisions. This quote by H.L Mencken summarizes that statement, Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt. Nothing is learned by accepting information at face value. It is through a curious mind and openness to the thinking of others that we gain new perspective and deeper learning. One piece of work that helped develop my critical thinking skills was the Observation and Analysis Paper written in HSP305 where I stated, If we only surround ourselves with people who think like we do or support our ideas we stifle our opportunities for personal and professional growth. If we invite the opinions of others we open up the options for developing creative solutions (Colleen Holman, Spring Quarter 2012). (Appendix C) This openness to other viewpoints gives the opportunity to hear many unique perspectives and can result in a much richer dialogue where our ideas and beliefs are challenged, the boundaries we have set for our minds is greatly expanded, and we become open to many more possibilities. While I wasnt aware at the time, I recognize I was developing into a critically thinking individual.

Critical Thinking

The boundaries of my mind were challenged when I attended my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for HSP 450 Survey of Addictions and Dependencies. I reflected on my thoughts after the meeting and summarized, My perception of what an AA meeting would be like was shattered. I thought I would be surrounded by people I felt pity for and looked down upon for their weakness toward alcoholic beverages. I was surprised to find what I felt was admiration and respect. (Appendix D) I recognized an unconscious bias toward alcoholic individuals based upon my own experience of having alcoholic parents. The underlying emotions I felt caused me to form an opinion or generalization of a group of individuals who I had not even met. An awareness of personal biases is essential as a Human Services professional because I must be aware of how my biases may create conflicts in my ability to serve certain populations if I do not explore my thinking and set aside biases that interfere with providing appropriate and compassionate service to my clients. Part of learning to be a critical thinking individual is learning to evaluate sources to determine if the information is from a reliable source. This is something we learned in HSP 385 Applied Research Methods. I learned to utilize the library to search scholarly journals and to review those documents to see if they were peer reviewed which would add to their

Critical Thinking

credibility. Utilizing various sources, I gathered information about the juvenile court process for my HSP 385 Review of Literature. (Appendix E) Because of my ability to be a critical thinker I no longer accepted the information at face value. I questioned why the writer held their particular stance and who stood to gain by maintaining this position. This is not to say people are innately out to dupe others, simply to recognize an opinion may be swayed and data may be utilized in a manner that favors one particular outcome. Having the ability to be aware of this possibility allows me to keep an open mind and form my opinions based upon layers of information I have gathered and reviewed. I will summarize this essay with a final definition of critical thinking. I look forward to taking these newly developed skills with me into my future as a Human Services professional. Critical thinking in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological

thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking (Scriven, M & Paul, R, A statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction).

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References Mencken, H.L., Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt. Retrieved from The Critical Thinking Community http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/quotable-quotes/752 Scriven, M & Paul, R, A statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction. Retrieved from The Critical Thinking Community http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/410