The York Technical College Critical Thinking Model

“What is the hardest task in the world? To think.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify: Recognize and clearly define the root problem, situation or question.

Gather: Assemble information to sort through.

Examine: Analyze pertinent information.

Formulate: Devise a plan.

Apply: Implement the plan.

Evaluate: Judge the results objectively.

Reflect: Think about thinking.

Identify

A beginning point of York Technical College’s critical thinking model is the Identify step. You should identify the root problem before you jump into action because you could discover your actions are irrelevant or detrimental. Sometimes the root problem is easy to identify (i.e. – a teacher gives you a topic for a paper), but sometimes you need to stop and think before you act.

An example of the Identify step can be taken from the customer service area of Disney theme parks. According to Disney representatives, the second-most asked questions by visitors to their theme park is “When is the three o’clock parade?” At first, the question appears to answer itself, but park employees had to learn to identify the true source of the question and what was really being asked. Actually, visitors to the park knew when the parade started, but what they really wanted to know was when the three o’clock parade would reach specific areas of the park. Once the true problem was identified, park employees could address the customers’ needs quickly and efficiently.

By the way, the number one most asked question is “Where is the restroom?”

Gather

Another starting point on the critical thinking model is the Gather stage. This stage is about obtaining information. The proper data must be accumulated before moving on to later stages. Take the following example from the medical field.

A young Hispanic mother brought her toddler to a physician because of what she thought was a case of pneumonia. When the doctor examined the child, he found the following symptoms: a fever of 101 degrees, a productive cough, restlessness, a “runny nose,” elevated pulse and blood pressure, and large red circles all over the child’s chest and back.

Was the child ill or a victim of abuse? In this situation, collecting information is not sufficient, so the Examine stage of the model must be used.

Examine

The Examine stage is where pertinent information is analyzed for relevancy. In the case above, the doctor decided the red circles were burn marks and referred the mother to social services for investigation of child abuse.

However, the doctor had neglected to examine all of the relevant information. After being interviewed by Social Services, the mother said she had used a warm coin on her child to try to “cure” the chest congestion. It was part of a cultural remedy that had long been used in her family. No harm had been done to the child, and the red marks disappeared after a few days. The doctor had missed the very real and relevant symptoms of the child’s illness after seeing what he mistakenly thought were marks of child abuse.

Formulate

Critical thinking should be applied to all aspects of your college experience. It is especially relevant as you transition from one semester to the next.

The Formulate stage of the critical thinking model tells you to devise a plan. What is your reason for attending York Technical College? Are you working toward a career in one of the technical fields or is your goal to transfer to a four-year university? Regardless, you should keep your goal in mind as you work with your advisor to devise a plan for the courses you will take. Each semester during the advising/registration period, you should formulate a plan for the courses you will take the following semester.

 Apply

Deciding which courses to take is an important step in pursing your goals. However, it is not sufficient merely to have a plan. At some point, you need to apply the plan. This is where much of the work is done in college. At this stage of meeting your educational goals, you are engaged in activities such as writing papers, taking tests, completing projects, and a host of other teacher-assigned activities. Your instructors will evaluate your work against the competencies identified on course syllabi, but you will also need to evaluate your progress in light of your own goals.

Evaluate

In the Evaluate stage, you need to evaluate your educational goals. It is wise to do this often, but an especially good time to do this is at the end of the semester. You should judge the semester’s results objectively. How did you do in your courses? Did you take steps toward reaching your goals? Did you discover information that might lead you to believe you have enrolled in the wrong curriculum? For instance, if you are enrolled in nursing courses and discovered that you faint at the sight, mention, or thought of blood, perhaps you should consider a different educational goal.

Reflect

The Reflect stage is the one that should be visited often. You should think about your thinking at each stage of the process. Reflect is shown as the center of the critical thinking model because all the other stages depend in part on our ability to do this. As we are faced with new questions, we can reflect on problems or situations we have previously encountered that might prove applicable. In this way, we use past experience to shape our approach to a new problem. For instance, the doctor mentioned above might not be so quick to make a referral to Social Services if he encounters another child with coin-shaped red marks on her body.

By reflecting on each stage of the critical thinking process as we engage in them, our thinking becomes more adaptive and responsive. In short, we become more mature and capable in our thought processes. To help you do this consistently is the goal of the faculty and staff of York Technical College. Enhancing your critical thinking skills will benefit you greatly in this ever-changing world we live in.