Doris,
Yes it does and that is the reason many people do not become good problem solvers. They don't want to invest in themselves and develop the needed critical thinking skills it takes to solve problems. That is why a few individuals move to the top of their profession. They have invested in themselves and expanded their skill sets to the point they are sought after and are see as being valuable to employers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Critical thinking takes alot of hard work. You have to be able to self discipline yourself. Students today wants things to be handed to them instead of working for them.
Howard,
The service industry is problem solving on a full time basis. You are actually doing a great service for your students through your questioning efforts. I know they don't seem to think so but as we both know in the end this process will be valuable to them. Keep asking those questions!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
many of our students get very upset with questioning, I know because I am the one that does it to them. the students are conditioned to just fill in the blanks, if we don't make them think critical they will have a tough time in the service industry.
Kenneth,
So many students do not want to invest in themselves and the development of self discipline to become a reflective thinker. If we can help them see how valuable this process is then they will have taken a major step forward in becoming critical thinkers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Personal discipline in critical thinking is an attribute for everyone to aspire to and will lead to success in all endeavors. At issue is the perception that one wants it all NOW and does not want to put in the time, effort and work---life seems so fast paced with multi-tasking as the way forward.
Dedication is also a key part of discipline and are you willing to pay the price for success.
Diane,
Personal discipline seems to be missing from any students. With the entitlement culture they want to be given an A in the course since they paid tuition. What they learn is not really important just the grade. That is not how the real world operates and the sooner they learn this the quicker the value of the course content will increase. They will start to see the value of what is being taught and how it can be applied in their problem solving growth.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Personal discipline is essential in critical thinking. It allows the person to spend the time researching and make them slow down and consider the problem and what they are attempting to solve.
John,
Yes they do and this presents a challenge when it comes to getting them to think critically about a situation and then come up with possible solutions. The answers may not always be at their finger tips and they might have to use their brains to be successful. Hard to make them understand this at times.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The modern student wants to have everything at their tips. They either want to "Google" answers, use notes or open book to take a test.
Tim,
Like the strategies that are being used to help in the development of critical thinking skills. I agree about our needing to make sure we help our students to develop skill in critical thinking. Their career success will depend on this type of thinking.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I enjoy going to our Advanced Diagnostics class and observed the interaction between the instructor and student. This class is one of the last classes that the students take and it is designed to bring out all of the skills and knowledge they have gained up to this point. The instructor role plays with the student as either the customer or the service manager/shop foreman. He challenges the student to use their resources and report back to him in writing and verbally what they think the correction to the concern is. This forces the student (if they want a passing grade) to think critically. I believe the best gift we can give this generation is critical thinking skills. It has to be a learned discipline. I'm afraid if we are not the one contact in their life to teach them this, they may not have another chance.
Eric,
Great job of laying out the components of being a critical thinker. This is how individuals rise to the top in their profession and enjoy career success. This takes self discipline and a lot of hard work but it also yield great rewards.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Tom,
Those that will analyze their work and determine areas of improvement will continue to develop in their professional skill sets. Those that don't will flat line early in their career. Hard to get this message across at times. The students that are not critical of their own work as they develop their knowledge and skills are then surprised when their classmates "catch all of the breaks" and get a great position. Those are not breaks they are opportunities that come as a result of a lot of hard work. Tough to sell that at times but it is true.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discipline brings focus and a willingness to apply oneself to a specific cause or need. In critical thinking, the answers are not always laid out plainly for all to see. By questioning, parsing information, and digging deeper to find the answers and ask new questions, a critical thinker is taking on a more challenging task than simply accepting information at face value. A sense of discipline is necessary to have the constitution and fortitude to take the harder road.
I find that students will not often be critical of their own work. I will ask them to start again or to fix something that has gone wrong. They often balk at doing things more than once. A good student will be very critical of a project. Often, that student will bring the shortcomings to my attention and ask to do it again.
Harry,
Development of critical thinking is hard work and requires self discipline, neither of which many of today's students want to put forth. This is why those that do develop these two skills enjoy career success and personal growth.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Harry,
Development of critical thinking is hard work and requires self discipline, neither of which many of today's students want to put forth. This is why those that do develop these two skills enjoy career success and personal growth.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Many of my students want the easy answer. No wonder they have trouble with critical thinking. They would rather copy off someone else or just make wierd guesses.Once they buy in to solving the actual problem, critical thinking can start.
Dixie,
Thank you for this perspective on the understanding of discipline and how it applies in critical thinking. You are right in your statements about how we need to develop our abilities in the area of critical thinking and problem solving if we are to be successful in our respective fields.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
