Have you ever wondered why many people seem to lack the ability to analyze a situation? Basically, they lack critical thinking skills. Is it the fault of schools that critical thinking, in line with other soft skills, is not taught? Is it the environment where we are shaped that is to blame? Or do the employers just exaggerate things about the incompetent employees and it is not a matter of any soft skill but just a lack of professional knowledge?

Let’s understand.

What Exactly Is Critical Thinking?

One definition of critical thinking is as follows:

It refers to the ability to objectively examine facts and make a reasoned decision. The evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings is part of critical thinking. To solve a problem or make a choice, good critical thinkers can draw logical conclusions from a set of information and distinguish between useful and less useful elements.

So they're suggesting that critical thinking helps you make decisions. You can examine several bits of information and draw certain conclusions from them.

Looking Back at the Past

The ability to analyze is not something that comes naturally to a man; rather, it is something that must be studied and developed. This is due to evolutionary factors. When the first man emerged from his safe place, he was confronted with a hostile environment that threatened his survival. As the sound of a tree branch swaying in the wind scared him, he needed to flee and hide because the source of the noise could be a predatory animal that enjoyed feeding on humans. That was, however, merely the wind. So, after repeated attempts of "meaningless" hiding, the individual who did not hide due to the wind encountered the predator, became prey himself, and did not leave a generation behind. As a result, if everything appears to be "obvious," modern man is less compelled to analyze.

During the period of the Great Industrial Revolution, modern education had its beginnings. While anyone could operate the machinery, each individual needed to be trained in a certain skill. In a growing economy, a large number of people needed to be educated as soon as possible to meet labor-force demands.

In order to address this, the general education school was established, which provided a degree of educational level. Because there were no other options for obtaining an education outside of school or university, the student valued the information he or she received at school.

Critical thinking began to take shape in the school system in the West in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in the United States, where it is the primary purpose of education.

However, during the previous few decades, the amount of so-called information has been steadily increasing. The educational institution is not required to provide the learner with pure information because that knowledge can be obtained at any time. As an alternative, you must learn how to effectively handle vast amounts of information, filter it, and evaluate it. Nevertheless, bureaucratic institutions are slow, and any reform takes time to take effect. Besides, the "critic" who asks questions about everything is a headache for the same bureaucratic structure.

Beyond the constraints of an educational institution, societal and cultural issues can also impede the development of critical thinking skills. It is not uncommon for many communities to be unwilling to accept the existence of a generation that may have concerns about the "ancestral order." This is a completely irrational fear. Jews are well-known for having preserved their way of life for thousands of years, even when the most ardent religious organizations have contested and discussed the Bible, as they have done while studying it. In other words, humanity has had the experience of seeding analytical thought in the past.

Critical thinking in education

Almost everyone will agree that critical thinking is the primary purpose of education, although it is rarely attained. The ability to see both sides of a problem, the ability to be open to new information that can refute your ideas, the ability to reason impartially, to demand that any statement be supported by evidence, to draw conclusions and generalizations from the available facts, and to solve related problems are all considered to be components of critical thinking. Simultaneously, there are many styles of critical thinking depending on the field of study—this is what we mean when we say "think like a scientist."

These common sense principles are frequently transformed into proposals to teach "critical thinking skills" and abstract discussions about how pupils should improve their reasoning and reasoning abilities, among other things. Schools should better teach critical thinking to students, according to top business and recruitment leaders. The US College Board recently revised the SAT to be more in line with these goals, and a corporation has proposed a special test to test the critical thinking skills of college students.

After a huge amount of research carried out during the last decades, it's time to address the most important question: can critical thinking be taught? Long-term research of cognitive processes yields an unsatisfactory response to this question. Previously, it was considered that the ability to think appropriately was similar to that of riding a bicycle, which could be employed in any situation once mastered. According to cognitive research, thought processes are not the same as these talents.

The substance of our ideas is intricately tied to our mental processes. As a result, encouraging the student to "look at the problem from many points of view" merely reinforces the notion that he must do so. But if he doesn't know much about the object of his reasoning, he won't be able to judge from several perspectives. Dogmas can be forced to learn how to think correctly, but students will be unable to put the guidance into reality unless they have the necessary information and experience. It's meaningless to teach facts if you don't know how to apply them, and it's also pointless to teach critical thinking if you don't know what you're talking about.

Critical thinking is not a set of abilities that can be used at any time or in any situation. A three-year-old toddler may succeed at this skill, while a professional scientist may struggle. And a lot of this is dependent on prior experience and subject expertise.

How much critical thinking is required in today's world?

Critical thinking must be used by students in order to identify issues in educational processes and to update previously outdated knowledge. It is necessary to be able to gather and transmit information as well as to think beyond the box and be adaptable.

For the employees, this is the ability to find non-standard solutions to challenges, communicate with the team and with clients, defend one's point of view, and be efficient. Critical thinking serves as the foundation for the development of all of these characteristics. Regardless of their specialty, critical thinking enables employees to make sound judgments and complete tasks efficiently. As a result, many applicants make this point prominently in their resumes.

Every day, modern man is more obligated than ever before to make more decisions, to obtain knowledge from the most reliable sources, and to maximize the benefit from the information that is provided.

How is BUILD UP going to help?

Even after so many years, at a time when cutting-edge technology rules the world, the Armenian educational system has not chosen this path of progress. In the present educational system, analysis is not yet widely regarded as a method of learning. Instead, a great deal of space is devoted to monuments, which are less effective and do not influence individuals.

BuildUp is a peer-to-peer, product-based technology bootcamp for mid-level specialists which is aimed to foster the next generation of thinkers and creators in the Armenian community. Educating our brightest minds to be critical thinkers is a priority for us. Taking this step forward will mark a significant milestone in the progress of society.

Our model is based on community support. We have top CEOs and Directors from companies like Facebook, Google, Nvidia, VMware, HubSpot, Digital Ocean, Krisp, SoloLearn, Ucraft, and many others already joined to help with funding and mentoring students.