Critical Thinking Skills and Processes

I like helping people learn how to analyze and critique things.  And I think technology can be a very useful tool for helping people succeed in this endeavor.     For the second year I am participating with the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence -- an organization associated with the state of TN that uses the Balridge criteria for economic development.    www.tncpe.org for those interested.  

But my thoughts today are not necessarily about the award but the structure with which we are taught to examine applicants.  There is a very definite process and the more I reflect on this process the more interest I have in learning more about it.     The process in very general terms is this: 


1. Individual Input:   Do an individual review of the material (application) presented based on given criteria.   (We are taught what the criteria is as well but that is not the main thrust here).  Each person does their own individual review before the group can move on. 
2. Individual Synthesis:  Each person in the team now looks at others analysis and summarizes -- or synthesizes -- the work of all into what they feel the main considerations are
3. Group Consensus:   Once the information is individually synthesized the team comes together to discuss the synthesized information.   From here a decision is made as to how the applicant fairs against the criteria.    In other organizations this may be the point in developing an action plan.  In the classroom this may be the point of discussion for a class after individual preparation. 

I can easily see a way this process would fit with the use of technology for distance learning -- especially when trying to create a discussion online.    First the students would do their own individual thoughts and do a blind posting (to some online tool).  This could be done with either a set of criteria to evaluate if desired.  At a certain date then all comments and critiques would be released to the class (assuming a small class or create teams if a larger class).  Each person would then synthesize the critiques.  The final step would then be a discussion of the important points as seen by the group.


The common process of online discussions that I have been accustom to is this:

Read an article -- post your thoughts -- and maybe .. just maybe comment on someone else's thoughts.   The down side to this is that once one person has posted, the others in the class read and may or may not then post their own, but even contradictory thoughts.