The Seven Tools of Critical Thinking
The seven tools of critical thinking are the thematic before and after test, the thematic journal, the thematic matrix, the thematic capstone, the thematic conversation, the thematic calendar, and the thematic checklist.
Each tool has a long pedigree. What is new is the idea of their integrated application.
The Critical Thinking Toolkit – A Matrix
| Synonyms | Epitomes | Precedents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thematic
Journal |
Log Diary
Blog Notebook Commonplace Book |
“No record,
No remember.” “Reading without writing is eating without digesting.” |
Archimedes
Newton Darwin Emerson Thoreau Anne Frank |
| Thematic
Matrix |
Diagram Chart
Table Grid Graphic |
“No grid, no understand.”
“No diagram, no analysis.” |
Durer Mendeleev
Descartes Eisenhower Mendel |
| Thematic
Before and After Test |
Photographs, Mirrors, Videos
Backward Design Core question sets |
“No before test, no baseline.
No after test, no accountability.” |
Mazur/Physics
Mosteller/Statistics Rosling/History |
| Thematic
Calendar |
Calendar
Schedule Ritual Intervallic Repetition |
“If it’s not on the schedule, it will not happen.”
“If it is worth remembering, it is worth repeating” |
Liturgical
Financial Fiscal Calendars |
| Thematic
Conversation And Peer Group |
Socratic method
Harkness system Support group Idea exchange |
“No buddies,
lose interest” “No challenge, slower progress.” |
Pythagoreans
Peripatetics Universities |
| Thematic
Micro and Macro Checklists |
Mantras
Core questions Core models Scientific method Spiritual discipline Prayer Myelin |
“Observe, ask, guess, test, tell, record, iterate.”
“Confident, calm, patient, one step at a time” |
Provonost Osler
Herbie Benson Hippocrates Warren Buffett Atul Gawande St. Benedict Harriet Ball/KIPP |
| Thematic Capstones | POU: performance of understanding | Scientific poster-boards | Theses
Dissertations |
The ten attributes of critical thinking and how they relate to the seven tools are laid out in this table:
The Ten Attributes of Critical Thinking – A Matrix
| Elements of Thinking | Principle | Practical Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Sustained | Continuity is the key to depth of thought | Thematic Journal
Thematic Calendar Thematic Capstone |
| Analytical | To understand x
Must break it down into parts |
Thematic Matrix
Thematic checklist |
| Synoptic:
Prioritized, sequenced |
If you don’t see the big picture, it’s impossible to prioritize and make an informed decision. | Thematic Matrix
Matrix Exchange |
| Research-based | Facts matter.
Half of what you think is wrong. Only research will help you shrink the percentage. |
Thematic Journal
Matrix Exchange |
| Collaborative | Solo thinking can be creative but runs risk of sterility as well as retreat into a private universe
and private language. |
Thematic Matrix
Exchange |
| Skeptical | All premises must be identified and turned into hypotheses If truth is to be found. | Thematic Checklist:
How can I be wrong? What am I missing? What questions should I be asking? |
| Decision-focused:
(prioritized, precise) |
Life is a tissue of decisions with respect to what matters in daily life and civic life. | Thematic Journal
Thematic Matrix |
| Accountable | No test, no accountability | Before and After Test
Capstone |
| Multi-disciplinary | Most important issues cross disciplinary lines. | Seven literacies
Of world citizenship |
| Quantitative if possible | If something can be quantified, it should be. | Thematic Data Packet |