Have you ever asked yourselves how your supervisor/academic advisor judges you?
Each supervisor has her/his own way to help you overcome a thesis writing task or a similar task. In many times, they suddenly ask you some questions that make you become aware of new, normally very interesting, things.
In order to ask the 'right' questions, they have some criteria to judge your ability, your learning progress.
But what if you can't find, or are not given a supervisor? How do you know that you are really learning?
There are some tips in psychology that I think very helpful. These are what supervisors talk with each other about their students' progress.
Signs of Student’s Critical Thinking:
A. Affective (Emotional) Strategies
- 1 thinking independently
- 2 developing insight into egocentricity or sociocentricity
- 3 exercising fairmindedness
- 4 exploring thoughts underlying feelings and feelings underlying thoughts
- 5 developing intellectual humility and suspending judgment
- 6 developing intellectual courage
- 7 developing intellectual good faith or integrity
- 8 developing intellectual perseverance
- 9 developing confidence in reason
B. Cognitive Strategies - Macro-Abilities
- 10 refining generalizations and avoiding oversimplifications
- 11 comparing analogous situations: transferring insights to new contexts
- 12 developing one’s perspective: creating or exploring beliefs, arguments, or theories
- 13 clarifying issues, conclusions, or beliefs
- 14 clarifying and analyzing the meanings of words or phrases
- 15 developing criteria for evaluation: clarifying values and standards
- 16 evaluating the credibility of sources of information
- 17 questioning deeply: raising and pursuing root or significant questions
- 18 analyzing or evaluating arguments, interpretations, beliefs, or theories
- 19 generating or assessing solutions
- 20 analyzing or evaluating actions or policies
- 21 reading critically: clarifying or critiquing texts
- 22 listening critically: the art of silent dialogue
- 23 making interdisciplinary connections
- 24 practicing Socratic discussion: clarifying and questioning beliefs, theories, or perspectives
- 25 reasoning dialogically: comparing perspectives, interpretations, or theories
- 26 reasoning dialectically: evaluating perspectives, interpretations, or theories
C. Cognitive Strategies - Micro-Skills
- 27 comparing and contrasting ideals with actual practice
- 28 thinking precisely about thinking: using critical vocabulary
- 29 noting significant similarities and differences
- 30 examining or evaluating assumptions
- 31 distinguishing relevant from irrelevant facts
- 32 making plausible inferences, predictions, or interpretations
- 33 giving reasons and evaluating evidence and alleged facts
- 34 recognizing contradictions
