Thinking Skills Overview

Thinking Skills

• Thinking is a goal-oriented flow of ideas and associations leading to reality-oriented conclusions.
• Key aspects of thinking include processing information, solving problems, decision-making, and idea creation.

Objectives

• Define thinking
• Explain thinking skills
• Identify types of thinking
• Define logical thinking
• Differentiate between deductive and inductive reasoning

Thinking Skills

• Focus: Paying attention to specific information while ignoring others.
• Organize: Arranging existing information based on a specific criteria.
• Interpret: Understanding the implications of given information.
• Analyze: Breaking down information into component parts.
• Integrate: Combining parts of information to form a complete concept.
• Correlate: Making connections between different parts of information.
• Evaluate: Assessing the relevance and importance of information.
• Reasoning: Utilizing logic to guide the flow of ideas.
• Generating: Creating new information based on existing data.

Types of Thinking

• Logical thinking: The ability to understand connections between information. It's a sequential process, focusing on one direction instead of the big picture.

  • Deductive reasoning: Reasoning from a general principle to a specific case.
  • Inductive reasoning: Reasoning from a specific case to a general principle.

• 1- Logical thinking: Applicable to research planning and case management in clinical practice.

• 2- Analytical thinking: Important in clinical thinking and problem-solving in clinical practice.

• 3- Critical thinking: Relevant to reading and evaluating scientific papers.

• 4- Creative thinking: Used in research planning.

Deductive Reasoning

• Reasoning from a general statement/premise to reach a specific conclusion.

Inductive Reasoning

• Reasoning from specific observations to reach a general conclusion.

Examples of Reasoning Types

• Example 1 (Deductive): Down syndrome is caused by trisomy 21. Sara has Down syndrome. Therefore, Sara has trisomy 21.

• Example 2 (Inductive): Every swan I've ever seen is white. Therefore, all swans are white. (Note: This is a flawed example, as black swans exist)

• Example 3 (Incorrect deductive): Doctors wear glasses. Mona is a doctor. Therefore, Mona wears glasses. (Possible but not guaranteed)

• Example 4 (Incorrect inductive): Samia is obese and diabetic. Therefore, all diabetic patients are obese. (Incorrect generalization)

Conclusion

• Logical thinking is critically important for deductive and inductive reasoning.

Speed Test Instructions

• Provided in slides. It involves identifying patterns and picking answers to multiple choice questions. Work in pairs.

This quiz explores the fundamental aspects of thinking skills, including definitions, types, and reasoning methods. Learn to differentiate between deductive and inductive reasoning while enhancing your understanding of logical thinking. Ideal for anyone looking to deepen their cognitive abilities.