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The last two columns have introduced the concept of critical thinking competency standards and provided three critical thinking competency standards. They distinguished between general competency standards (relevant to thinking well within any subject, discipline, or domain of thought) and subject-specific competency standards. This column provides additional examples of general competencies.
Standard Four: Inferences and Interpretations
Students who think critically recognize that all thinking contains inferences which are used to draw conclusions and give meaning to data and situations.
Critical Thinking Principle
Thinking can only be as sound as the inferences it makes (or the conclusions it comes to).
Performance Indicators and Dispositions
Students seek a clear understanding of the inferences they are making and the degree to which those inferences are clear, logical, justifiable, and reasonable. They assess the extent to which others reason to logical inferences and conclusions. They understand that all inferences result not only from information but also from assumptions that lie beneath the surface of thinking. They therefore regularly check the assumptions that lead to the inferences they are making, assessing them for justifiability.
Outcomes
1. Students state, elaborate, and exemplify the meaning of an inference.
2. Students distinguish between inferences and conclusions.
3. Students distinguish between clear and unclear inferences.
4. Students make only those inferences that follow logically from the evidence or reasons presented.
5. Students distinguish between deep and superficial inferences; they make deep, rather than superficial, inferences when reasoning through complex issues.
6. Students reason to logical conclusions, after considering relevant and significant information.
7. Students make inferences that are consistent with one another.
8. Students distinguish between assumptions and inferences; they uncover and accurately assess the assumptions underlying inferences.
9. Students notice patterns of inferences or judgments made within particular disciplines.
Standard Five: Assumptions and Presuppositions
Students who think critically recognize that all thinking is based on assumptions: beliefs we take for granted.
Critical Thinking Principle
Thinking can only be as sound as the assumptions (beliefs) upon which it is based.
Performance Indicators and Dispositions
Students who think critically seek a clear understanding of the assumptions they are making (and the assumptions that underlie the thinking of others). They are able to distinguish between assumptions that are justifiable in context and those that are not. They...