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Critical Thinking Development

Decent Essays

Six Stages of Critical Thinking Development What is Critical Thinking? According to (Eder & Paul, 2004), “critical thinking is the ability and disposition to improve one’s thinking by systematically subjecting it to intellectual self-assessment” (Par. 6). Critical thinking is not a skill that someone can achieve all at once. In order to become a developed critical thinker, there are different levels of intellectual development one must pass through to improve their thinking capabilities. Per (Eder & Paul, 2004), there are six stages of critical thinking development. In the following paragraphs, I will summarize the six stages of critical thinking development. Then, I will explain which stage describes my current level of thinking and why …show more content…

The first stage Linda and Robert describe is: The Unreflective Thinker. Per (Eder & Paul, 2004) “unreflective thinkers have yet to realize the role that thinking playing in their lives” (Par. 9). Unreflective thinkers are unaware that they must take thinking apart, assess it accurately, and actively seek to improve it. The second stage of critical thinking is the Challenged Thinker. A person moves to the second stage when they become aware of the role that thinking is playing in their lives. Challenged thinkers realize that their thinking is flawed, but are not yet able to identify the flaws. The Beginning Thinker is the third stage of critical thinking. People at this level recognize the basic problems in their thinking and begin to make attempts to understand how they can improve it. When thinkers reach stage four of critical thinking, they become The Practicing Thinker. According to (Eder & Paul, 2004), “thinkers at this stage have a sense of the habits they need to develop to take charge of their thinking” (Par. 25). Practicing thinkers …show more content…

I would place my level of critical thinking at the first stage. I feel that I am an unreflective thinker because I fail to realize the determining role that thinking is playing on my life. I am also unaware of how thinking is

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