Increasingly nurses are dealing with life and death decisions and there’s no doubt that a competent, thorough nurse will help a patient get on the road to recovery faster.

Here’s an infographic demonstrating the critical thinking steps a nurse could take to help make an early diagnosis. These are by no means comprehensive, but the steps (from Pearson’s RED critical thinking model) are a beginning point that a nurse could add to and customize…

Guest Post by Heather Ishikawa- author of Now You’re Thinking.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a magic show by the magician Alex Ramon (www.alexramonmagic.com).  During the entertaining show, he joked about how most people expect to be tricked by magicians. Therefore, they don’t naturally trust everything that the magician says or does.  I know that I’m quick to hold onto my watch when I’m watching a street performer but I really hadn’t given it much consideration until Alex pointed it out. 

It wasn’t until the intermission that I realized that throughout the show I paid careful attention to every aspect of each trick. I was looking for anything that would point out how he created the illusion.  I was questioning everything that I was seeing.  This is the essence of critical thinking.  Alex summed it up beautifully by stating that magic makes you, “reevaluate what you know and doubt what you see.” Isn’t that the essence of critical thinking?

Perhaps improving your critical thinking, just requires a little magic?

During today’s webinar, Critical Thinking in a Social World, Breanne Harris mentioned that 91% of the Fortune 500 companies use social media. She also said that half of all Internet users read blogs. Blogging isn’t the only type of social media but that’s a pretty impressive way to think about things. Where do customers go to get information about products and companies? Online: through social media, company websites, online news channels, products review websites, even wikis. The most popular? You guessed it – social media. So more than half of all Internet users will potentially be information about your company through social media.

Where some companies embrace social media others don’t. Some companies even prohibit it. Today’s poll revealed that 58% don’t engage because of the perceived lack of control. It’s no surprise that because social media is constantly changing, there is no policy that could possibly encompass every situation across all social media mediums. Instead, Breanne suggested that training employees, guiding them and trusting them is a comprehensive strategy to help minimize this fear.

Train them. Guide them. Trust them.

Why train them on critical thinking? Simply put: critical thinking training is a catalyst for you trusting them. If you have confidence in their ability to assess the situation and come to the right decision on how to act, you may trust their ability to interact with customers, competition, even peers through social media.

Breanne walked us through the RED Model when it comes to social media:

Recognize your assumptions.

• Who is my audience?
• How long is the information valid? What context does it need to be valid?
• Could this be misunderstood?

Evaluate the arguments.

• Remove emotion – instead be objective.
• Be transparent about who you are and what your object is.
• Examine sources carefully.
• Distinguish facts from opinions.
• When in doubt, don’t post.

Draw conclusions.

• Stop and W.A.I.T – ask yourself: “why am I talking?”
• Ask yourself, “How do I know this?”

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Elizabeth Pauker-Silva

Judy Chartrand delivered an awesome webcast on Thursday through HR.com – How to Increase Critical Thinking in the Workplace – where she posed an excellent question to the group:

Do you have an established program to develop critical thinking in your organization?

A sobering 89% of folks said no, their company does not and 11% said their company does.

What does this mean? I could make the assumption that some companies don’t know what critical thinking is, why it’s so important and how to incorporate it into their development programs. I could also assume that some companies don’t see the importance, perhaps they don’t think cognitive skills can be taught.

As Judy pointed out – “we’ve learned that the brain is more powerful than we thought.” Sure, critical thinking takes practice. In fact Malcom Gladwell has said that expertise comes with time – 10 years or 10,000 hours – and practice.

As for the importance… a person’s ability to critical thinking predicts their:

• problem solving skills
• creativity
• openness (meaning someone’s openness to feedback but also having an open-mind)
• organization and planning
• decision making
• strategic thinking

The Executive Development Trends Report suggests that emerging leaders are lacking some of these skills. Specifically, Judy pointed out: strategic thinking, the ability to lead change, the ability to create vision & engage others, the ability to inspire, and the ability to understand the enterprise and how different parts work together.

So what can companies do to help increase critical thinking?

1. embrace critical thinking It’s important to get management buy-in because the company culture has to accept and embrace critical thinking and the RED Model.
2. evaluate the level of critical thinking It’s important to take a pulse and see where you are. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is a gold-standard assessment that will help you do just that.
3. support skill development One you talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk – invest in your employees and their development. This can be achieved on a number of levels with the Watson Glaser development report, Critical Thinking University, the AMA courses, a 2-day on site Critical Thinking Boot Camp or even custom coaching. If you don’t know where to begin check ThinkWatson.com for more information or contact a consultant.

Now I have to ask… DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED PROGRAM TO DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR ORGANIZATION?

If you missed the webcast and want to listen to the audio or review the slide deck – you can do so here.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Elizabeth Pauker-Silva

I received the following email from a reader:

“I was checking out the RED Model for Critical Thinking and was wondering about the first step- Recognizing Assumptions.  Are all assumptions bad?”

Great question Maria!  No, all assumptions are not bad.  In times of emergency we often have to rely on our assumptions to act quickly.  For example, when you see smoke coming from a building, you would assume the building is on fire.  It may or may not actually be on fire, but you will likely call 911 just in case.  That assumption could save lives.

We often need to rely on assumptions when no other information is available and assumptions can be made on past experiences.

The first step of the RED Model is to Recognize Assumptions, not ignore or deny the assumptions.  Recognizing assumptions is key when trying to make a strong decision or solve a problem because assumptions are not always correct.  We must evaluate which assumptions are correct and which ones are based on faulty information, emotional biases, or opinion.  Once we recognize which assumptions are holding us back, we can move past them towards thinking critically.

Do you have a question about critical thinking?  Our blogging team would be happy to answer your questions!

Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.

We’re just a few hours from Lebron James’ announcement on which NBA team he’ll play for next season. Will it be the Heat, Cavs, Knicks, Nets, Bulls – or a surprise team?

Some Assumptions:

1. Lebron wants to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2. Lebron wants to play on the best possible team with the best players.
3. Lebron is the greatest player since Jordan and he’ll make any team a title contender within two years (this is a big assumption as Lebron doesn’t have the experience winning titles yet – even college).
4. Lebron likes warm weather and beaches. (Lebron grew up in Ohio and is probably used to the four seasons. He might even like them!)

My pick: Lebron will sign with either the Heat or Knicks. He won’t stay in Cleveland because he’s given them seven good years and he’s too media-savvy to miss an entire summer of hype around his new team. He won’t sign with the Bulls because he respects Jordan’s legacy. And he won’t sign with the Nets because they’re too close to the Knicks, and re-building the Knicks provides a bigger stage. It comes down to whether his goal is to win championships now or in a few years. His decision will say a lot about how long he expects to lace it up…

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Training for skills such as problem solving, decision making, and strategic thinking have been around for decades, so what makes a Critical Thinking Boot Camp different?  I recently met with Scott Dannemiller of Executive Development Associates and asked him that exact question.

Scott responded: “What the boot camp adds is a more in-depth look into critical thinking using the Watson-Glaser II ™.  So, participants learn about their own strengths and challenge areas, as well as some key “critical thinking questions” to ask in any situation.  These key questions are layered on top of the very situation-specific questions taught by the tools.  It makes for a very rich program.”

The Critical Thinking Boot Camp is an intense 2-day program where participants learn the RED Model of Critical Thinking, and then learn to apply that model to every day problem solving, decision making, strategic thinking etc through the support of an expert coach.  Participants work through a real-life decision or situation they are struggling with while being coached by an expert critical thinking trainer.  The application of the theory happens in the moment, which makes the likelihood of continuing to use the new skills much more likely.   In fact, recent surveys of Critical Thinking Boot Camp attendees showed that 74% reported they continue to to use the skills they learned during the Boot Camp in their day-to-day job.

After the Boot Camp, Scott explained that participants are encouraged to submit any success stories from their experience at the Boot Camp.  Specifically, they are encouraged to show how and where their newly acquired critical thinking skills were applied, and what the results were in terms of innovation, creativity, and dollar value (either saved or gained).  While submitting such results is voluntary, one telecommunications organization recently reported that they tracked a ROI of 17 times the cost of the training program itself.

In other words, they tracked either a cost savings or revenue generation 1,700% greater than the cost of the Critical Thinking Boot Camp.

Other companies have reported similar successes. A Director in a manufacturing facility used the strategic analysis tools to find $420,000 in savings, and a Core Team Leader for large health care supplier used creative problem solving and decision making tools to identify $9.2M in additional revenues over 10 years and plan a product release 10 months ahead of schedule.

Next week, I will attend the Critical Thinking Boot Camp as a participant along with the rest of my team.  I can’t wait to share my experiences along the way, and will be sure to report the results of our new critical thinking skills.  In the meantime, if you would like more information on the Critical Thinking Boot Camp, please feel free to email me at breanne.potter@pearson.com.

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Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.

Last week, I met with a consultant who has used the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal report for years in his company’s selection process.  He has been quite happy with the results, and the repeated validation studies they have conducted over the years has shown the assessment helps them make correct hiring decisions.  He was quite happy with the assessment and report, but caught me off guard when he asked why he should use the Watson-Glaser Interview Report.

My initial thought was- why not?  By using the report, he can extend the value of the assessment by clarifying or validating the results through an objective interview.

The Watson-Glaser Interview Report creates a structured behavioral interview based on the candidate’s results on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal assessment.  Now you can take the objective information gained from the cognitive ability assessment, and use the results to delve further into key areas for further discussion.

By using the Interview Report you can confirm they strengths or areas for development for each candidate.  In addition, using a structured behavioral interview, you increase the likelihood of making a correct/valid hiring decision and ensure each candidate receives fair questions.

Study after study has confirmed that Structured Interviews using Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales have stronger validity than unstructured interviews.  In addition, study after study has shown that cognitive ability tests such as the Watson-Glaser have incremental validity over the traditional interview.  In other words, it makes something great even better.

The Watson Glaser Interview Report uses the RED Model as the basis for all questions.   So, for each critical thinking skill (Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions), the candidate is given 2 questions: one that is standard for all candidates and one that is specific to the individual’s results on the Watson-Glaser assessment.

In addition, each section provides three question options.  This allows recruiters and hiring managers flexibility to choose the question that seems most appropriate for the role.  The report also provides suggestions for elements of a strong answer, as well as follow-up probing questions.

Finally, each answer uses a 5-point behavioral rating scale so that results are objectively measured.

By using both the Watson-Glaser assessment for critical thinking as a congitive ability measure, and using the Interview Report to guide the Structured Interview with a Behaviorally-anchored Rating Scale, you increase the incremental validity of your hiring decision.  Or in plain words, you are more likely to hire the right candidate.

So, in answer to my customer’s question- that is why you should use the Watson-Glaser Interview Report in addition to the basic scores.

To see a sample of the Watson-Glaser Interview Report, click here.

Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.

Critical thinking can be organized into an easy-to-interpret 3-step “RED” model. Learn it and you’ll make better decisions… more consistently!

Step 1:  Recognize Assumptions

Assumptions are statements that are implied to be true in the absence of proof. Identifying assumptions helps in discovery of information gaps and enriches views of issues. Assumptions can be unstated or directly stated.  The ability to recognize assumptions in presentations, strategies, plans, and ideas is a key element in critical thinking. Being aware of assumptions and directly assessing their appropriateness to the situation helps individuals evaluate the merits of a proposal, policy, or practice.

Step 2:  Evaluate Arguments

Arguments are assertions that are intended to persuade someone to believe or act a certain way. Evaluating arguments is the ability to analyze such assertions objectively and accurately. Analyzing arguments helps in determining whether to believe them or act accordingly. It includes the ability to overcome a confirmation bias – the tendency to look for and agree with information that confirms prior beliefs. Emotion plays a key role in evaluating arguments as well. A high level of emotion can cloud objectivity and the ability to accurately evaluate arguments.

Step 3:  Draw Conclusions

Drawing conclusions consists of arriving at conclusions that logically follow from the available evidence. It includes evaluating all relevant information before drawing a conclusion, judging the plausibility of different conclusions, selecting the most appropriate conclusion, and avoiding overgeneralization beyond the evidence.