Hello Cornerstone students. My name is Jodi Farbish and this week’s topic will be about your critical thinking skills. For me, I define critical thinking as analyzing and applying information that was gathered by previous experience. It’s another way to apply knowledge to something unfamiliar.
Critical thinking could be considered in dealing with everyday occurrences in life, whether it’s solving a problem or deciding what action to take. Interdisciplinary studies can be used to integrate multiple perspectives when analyzing, evaluating, or interpreting a situation. Both critical thinking and being interdisciplinary can go hand in hand; it helps you think beyond your normal everyday understandings, and to look beyond your common sense knowledge.
First, please visit the Virtual Philosopher website:
http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/ethicsTechnology/video/VP/ethics_vp4/vp4.html When you complete the activity, please remember to post your responses and answer the questions as followed:
1. Were your responses consistent or inconsistent?
2. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?
3. How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?
4. How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?
5. Reply to at least one person’s response and give your insight about the virtual philosopher.
Don’t forget to respond to your classmates!
1. My responses were inconsistent
ReplyDelete2. I've realized that my own critical thinking differs from whomever developed the virtual philosopher. Considering that it reaches a general conclusion from a very limited selection, it doesn't seem very credible to me and not a very good tool to evaluate anyone's thought process.
3. It helps to take disciplines and apply them to problems in new ways.
4. I'm sorry but I don't understand the question. What outline?
5.
I also felt that the limited selection and few questions did not allow for the best analysis of critical thinking. I also take multiple disciplines and apply the critical thinking to what these disciplines have taught me and use this to analyze and solve new problems in new ways every day.
DeleteStephanie Krall
Your #2 hits it on the head...the Virtual Philosopher is a poor measure of critical thinking. However, it does offer a launching ground for discussion and introspect of our own decisions.
DeleteDaphne Keys
I didn't enjoy the link, either. I feltthe questions were very one sided and skewed toward an agenda.
DeleteComment by Daphne Keys:
ReplyDeleteMy responses were determined to be inconsistent, but my input was truthful. Although not offered in this activity, there are other solutions to the distribution which were not available options. For instance, I believe a percentage should be taken rather than a "lump" shared sum across the board when a service is needed and can only be provided by a tax. 10% from everyone makes sense to me.
I once worked for an employer who rather than taking a percentage of everyone's salary due to company shortfalls, laid off 7 staff with no notice, asked 5 staff to go to half time and required those who went half time staff to pay 100% of their benefits for the year (I was offered the half time - after 10 years of service to the company). The option to discontinue medical insurance was denied by the management of the company. All half time staff had to pay, while those few remaining full time staff did not pay (most were management). One woman ended up bringing home $300 every two weeks, while the President and VP continued to make six figures. Freedom allows us to make decisions - I chose to leave after a few months. It really was a terrible way to treat people who had given so much of their lives to the mission of the organization. However, how much better might the organization have been if they chose a percentage cut while maintaining service to customers by keeping a full staff? In the long run, service and income remain down for this organization even today. Who knows what could have been?
Regarding the three scenarios - I chose to split the scholarship evenly. Ultimately, the scholarship should have pre-determined eligibility rules, which would make the decision clear. Is the scholarship based on need or academic status? This would clearly define which student should receive funds. For the island scenario, it makes sense for the man who purchased the food to determine how to split it. Surely, he wouldn't let the other man die. Even if he didn't share, there would also be food available on the island somewhere (bugs, fish, plants) allowing both men to survive. The last scenario is the one I feel should be a percentage of income - 10% across the board. Everyone is equally participating according to their ability, without creating hardship.
I haven't created an outline yet, but will get back with you.
This activity was interesting.
daphne keys
Daphne,
DeleteI had the same outcome as you with inconsistant results because I analyze each situation differently. I also had the same viewpoint on the scenario of the scholarship feeling that it didnot provide information regarding if financial need was a factor in determination or not, so it should be split equally. I am completely concerned at disappointed at what the company decided to do, laying off those people and then reguiring others to pay while those at the top kept everything. Sadly this goes on in many places due to greed.
Stephanie Krall
Daphne,
DeleteYour experience really shows the importance of this degree called Interdisciplinary Studies. We must use critical thinking for all situations since their are many options on how to solve problems. One thing I have seen in my past career experience is that companies think about themselves first and not think of win/win situations towards the loyal employees. Great way of explaining virtual philosopher. This information can be very confusing and we will do our best to break these many exercise down better for everyone.
I enjoy your take on truthful verses consistant. I think it's more important to be true to yourself and your ideals than it is to be consistant.
Delete1. The first time my responses were inconsistent. On my second attempt I made consistent responses favoring equality.
ReplyDelete2. The insight that I gained from my responses the first time is that I analyze each scenario differently and choose what is better at the time such as equality over need or vice versa. The second time my answers showed that I favor equality which I believe is due to the way I was raised, having everything split between myself and my sisters.
3. My critical thinking relates to being interdisciplinary because critical thinking requires logic and reasoning to accompany different points of view. When I think critically, I do not just analyze my previous experiences, but other instances that I have come across, including the experiences of others.
4. I do not feel that the Virtual Philosopher matches well with the outline of my critical thinking disposition because it contained so few questions. I believe that more questions to choose from would provide a more accurate answer. When I received consistent answers favoring equality I was still a bit surprised that I had not favored need instead. When I outline my critical thinking disposition I begin by analyzing the situation to see what position is most honest and clear. From there I consider other points of view then take into consideration the entire situation. This is why the first time I took the test I had inconsistent answers because I find the best possible solution for each situation.
Stephanie Krall
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ReplyDeleteStephanie...I agree with you regarding seeking the best possible solutions for each situation. Every situation differs and often there are pre-determined criteria that can help in making a decision, as as with scholarship funding. Often, a fund is limited to academic achievement and/or to financial need. This information wasn't available in the Virtual Philosopher, limiting responses. This particular "test" was more of a short game or exercise helping us to think, but not a good determination of our personal philosophies. It is interesting to learn something about how we make decisions.
ReplyDeleteI heard a good story the other day that seems relevant. A girl and her best friend were attending college together. She was a straight A student who studied daily and worked very hard to keep her grades up. Her friend, however, was happy with her social life and enjoyed hanging out rather than studying regularly. This friend had a C average. In the story, her father suggested the girl go to the dean's office and offer to give 1 grade point to her friend - altering both grades to become B averages. The girl was horrified at the thought, of course. This explains how some people feel about sharing their hard earned income with others through taxes supporting welfare, etc. It offered an interesting perspective.
While I tend to lean on the generous side, I feel differently when someone tells me "I must share" or forces, manipulates or coerces me to give something. In the test, I believe each of the scenarios were complicated and required more information.
Daphne Keys
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DeleteI agree with you Daphne that each of the scenarios in the test was complicated and required more information. For example, in response to the question about the men on the island with the pizza, I wanted to say, it's up to the man who bought the pizza! If he doesn't need the whole thing, I'm sure he's going to share rather than watch the fat man die! So that was a little tricky, and even if they were to split it half and half, I'm sure the little man wouldn't be able to finish his half and the fat man would still be hungry after his. The question about taxing for the public services should have provided more information too! If this is for a park that not everyone will choose to enjoy, then not everyone should pay the tax. But if this is for garbage pickup throughout the community, then everyone should pay an equal amount for this service that everyone will benefit from.
DeleteJana Read
1. Were your responses consistent or inconsistent?
ReplyDeleteMy responses were inconsistent.
2. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?
Apparently I “picked my answers based upon what sounded good at the time”. Just because my answers weren’t consistent, doesn’t mean there wasn’t thought or insight.
3. How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?
I think critical thinking is imperative in any field but particularly in IDS. The ability to see how different disciplines relate to one another and to integrate them takes quite a bit of critical thinking at times.
4. How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?
I am going to have to re-evaluate things for consistency.
My responses were inconsistent as well. I agree with you that "Just because my answers weren’t consistent, doesn’t mean there wasn’t thought or insight." Critical thinking is important in general, but it is especially important and related to IDS. We must consider knowledge and experience from more than one discipline to really critically think. I will also have to re-evaluate my responses in order to be consistent.
Delete~Ashley Monk
Emily your comment about the evaluation at end about "picking answers based on what sounded right at the time" was right on. I felt the same way towards the fact that I got the same evaluation results and was categorized as being "inconsistent". I believe the beauty of this major is the ability to bring different approaches and perspectives to real life scenarios and opinions that differ should not be called "inconsistent".
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI like the way Jodi defined critical thinking, "as analyzing and applying information that was gathered by previous experience." This relates to being interdisciplinary because my previous experiences comes from an array of different disciplines. So I am using common parts of different disciplines and applying that information in my critical thinking. Until this topic was brought up I never really thought about how being interdisciplinary would effect my critical thinking. Now that I've thought about it, I know some people that seem like all of their critical thinking is done from one perspective or discipline. I think I've always used a collection of ideas from different perspective, but I do now more than ever.
ReplyDelete~Ashley Monk
The Virtual Philosopher scored my responses as inconsistent. I like many others think that there was an insufficient amount of both questions and answers to choose from to make a clear conclusion. I've learned about my own critical thinking and reasoning that I am also inconsistent. I might apply one situation in my past to making one decision, while applying someting I learned about in school to making another decision. I believe that every situation and decision is different and that you need to use different experiences and knowledge to make each of them.
ReplyDelete~Ashley Monk
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DeleteI completely agree wiht your comments about "insufficient amount of both questions and answers to chose from". I found many of the scenarios to be a bit vague so it was hard for me to have critical insight into the different factors involved. So naturally one would have to either make a personal decision or an objective one.
DeleteMost critical thinking tests will leave room for interpretation. I have yet to take a test that offers results that I fully agree with. The point is to take the results into account when comparing what the test was meant to measure, and how you feel about yourself in that regard. If you take a test about "What kind of Dog are You?" or "Apple, Orange, or Pear," think about why the canned results came out the way you did, and compare that to your own opinions about yourself. There is no better barometer of personality than yourself. The object is to simply learn something about yourself that maybe you didn't understand, recognize, or realize.
DeleteI'm not sure inconsistant is a fair or valid argument. I'm not sure most of our decisions are inconsistant as much as they are well thought out and moral. Just because I didn't agree with the "everybody is equal in all situations", doesn't make me inconsistant. If anything, I think it takes greater knowledge and courage to apply different answers to similar questions.
DeleteYes, I completely agree! I said the same thing. We are forever changing as a person as our experiences change. So we might react two different ways to the same problem. I don't think it is inconsistent, I think it is being human.
Delete-Rafaelina A. Mercado
1. The first time my responses were scored inconsistent, I think in part because I hesitated and tried to place myself in each situation. I took it again and tried to answer the questions more objectively and got scored as consistent.
ReplyDelete2. I have learnt that I second quess myself at times and instead of relying on my own personal judgement as my concrete opinion I may wonder about what the next person may think about the given situation.
3. My critical thinking will relate to my IDS studies because working with 3 different disciplines will take an immense understanding of who I am and where I stand on the issues I will face. Having to approach things with 3 possible perspective I will have to identify how to merge all three to a solid conclusion.
4.I believe they are similar because being human sometimes we tend to mix or personal feelings with our critical thinking instead of looking at the big picture. In the exercise from Virtual Philosopher I identified that.
I am a "big picture" person - one of my strengths is seeing how everything is connected. At the same time, this is a weakness for me when I forget to intentionally see every person involved. I like the big picture focus.
DeleteThe difficulty with the Virtual Philosopher for me, was the missing choices. There are so many other ways to handle the presented scenarios. I think it is important to determine what we believe, and then live it. Walking through life with a belief system, allowing for life stage changes and flexibility as we learn more about living, offers a greater peace and less stress.
Daphne Keys
That was a great post. I liked how honest you were because like you, I also second guess myself. It is also based on what others may think. But I have learned that it isn't always what others think about you but what you think about yourself. If you are happy the way you are, then you should continue.I was also inconsistent but I think that a regular person is inconsistent. They don't always solve a problem the same way. Especially interdisciplinary students.
Delete-Rafaelina A. Mercado
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ReplyDeleteWere your responses consistent or inconsistent?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the results my responses were inconsistent.
From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?
I thought that I picked the best answer for me for each moral dilemma and the virtual philosopher said that my answers were picked based on the situation and that I didn’t show that I had one view point; it depended on the situation. I think that is how everyone should be. We have to learn to be flexible.
How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?
This is why we are interdisciplinary students. We use other experiences and knowledge for a problem. You won’t use the same knowledge for each problem. You have to use the knowledge that is right for the situation. I thought my answers were fair for each individual question.
How does the outline of your critical thinking disposition match with the application of it in doing the Virtual Philosopher?
I think it matched because I answered the questions how I would answer them normally. The question that made me think the most was the one about taxing a service and who should pay for it. I picked that only the people who use it should pay for it because it isn’t fair to make others pay for it.
-Rafaelina A. Mercado
Hey Rafaelina.
DeleteI did not understand the question for number 4 so I chose not to answer it. However, I agree with your response. The question about taxing a service and who should pay for it definitely made me think. I agree that only those who use the service should pay for it, no matter how rich or poor they are, and no matter how rich or poor the rest of the community is. Although it would be nice if the rich people could pay for these services, just because they can, and it wouldn't make much of a difference to them. But that would be unjust distribution.
Jana Read
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ReplyDelete1. Were your responses consistent or inconsistent?
ReplyDeleteI consistently favored merit over need and equality.
2. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?
As for my reasoning, I favor merit over need and equality.
3.How does your critical thinking relate to being interdisciplinary?
My critica thinking relates to being interdisciplinary because I am pulling from many disciplines in order to come up with a solution.
Jana Read
Jana-
ReplyDeleteAll question 4 is asking is whether or not you think the virtual philosopher correctly depicts your critical thinking patterns. We have agreed as a group that it is more of a fun activity rather than an exact science of how we respond to situations, but we just want to know if you think it is accurate!