Developing your critical thinking capability workbook (bw)

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability IIA Anchorage Alaska Chapter | May 25-26 Page | 1

Project Management Skills for Auditors

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability Published by L&H Johnson LLC Gilbert, AZ 85298-8972 Copyright Š 2016 L&H Johnson LLC, Gilbert, Arizona No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to L&H Johnson LLC, Attn: Permissions Agent, 26526 South 170th Street, Queen Creek, AZ 85142-8058 or via email at lj.landhjohnson@gmail.com

Contents Course Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Course Objectives ................................................................................................................................. 4 PERL Cycle ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Unit 1: Defining Critical Thinking .................................................................................................................. 8 What is Critical Thought ........................................................................................................................ 8 What Critical Thinking is not ................................................................................................................. 8 Why Critical Thinking is Important........................................................................................................ 9 How Critical Thinking Applies to Audit................................................................................................ 10 How Critical Thinking differs from Creative Thinking or Strategic Thinking ....................................... 11 A Brief History of Critical Thinking ...................................................................................................... 13 Unit 2: What Makes an Effective Critical Thinker ....................................................................................... 16 The Critical Thinking Process .............................................................................................................. 16 Understanding your point of View ...................................................................................................... 17 Determining the purpose .................................................................................................................... 18 Outlining the question ........................................................................................................................ 18 Gathering information ........................................................................................................................ 19 Evaluating inferences .......................................................................................................................... 19 Clarifying Concepts ............................................................................................................................. 20 Recognizing and Checking Assumptions ............................................................................................. 20 Considering Implications and Consequences ..................................................................................... 21 Six Types of Socratic Questioning ....................................................................................................... 22 Unit 3: Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills and Tools ............................................................................... 26 Characteristics of an Effective Critical Thinker ................................................................................... 26 Argumentation .................................................................................................................................... 26 Argumentation – Inductive and Deductive Reasoning ....................................................................... 27 Scientific Method ................................................................................................................................ 28 Primary and Secondary Evidence........................................................................................................ 29 Root Cause Analysis Tools ................................................................................................................... 29 Skepticism ........................................................................................................................................... 30 Unit 4: Barriers to Sound Critical thought................................................................................................... 34

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Cognitive Dissonance .......................................................................................................................... 34 Egocentric Thinking ............................................................................................................................. 35 Social Conditioning and Group Think .................................................................................................. 35 Correlation, Causation, Symptoms, and Effect ................................................................................... 36 Logical Fallacies ................................................................................................................................... 37 Unit 5: Developing Our Ability to Apply Critical Thinking Skills .................................................................. 42 Practice understanding the issue or problem ..................................................................................... 43 Understanding how bias influences our thinking ............................................................................... 44 Practice drawing conclusions .............................................................................................................. 45 Unit 6: Capstone Case Study ....................................................................................................................... 48 Unit 7: Wraping Up ..................................................................................................................................... 52 Our Lessons Learned - Course Take-A-Ways....................................................................................... 53 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 55 Summary Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................... 56 More Examples of Logical Fallacies..................................................................................................... 57 Critical Thinking Strategies – Self Assessment .................................................................................... 58 References and Resources .................................................................................................................. 59

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Course Introduction

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Course Introduction Course Objectives   

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Establish common understanding for Critical Thinking by defining what it is and what it is not and how it applies to audit Describe criteria and characteristics of successful Critical Thinkers Differentiate the differences among o Critical Thinking o Creative Thinking o Strategic Thinking Outline, introduce and practice Critical Thinking Skills such as Argumentation, Skepticism and Root Cause Analysis Apply an approach to help improve critical thought and sound judgement Compare and contrast the differences between Primary and Secondary sources and Understand how presumptions, assumptions and biases can affect critical thinking positively and negatively Examine potential barriers to sound critical thought and how to address these barriers Apply these concepts in a capstone case study.

EXERCISE: Consider and outline your objectives for this seminar course?

Take a moment to review the course objectives and topics. With these in mind to guide your thoughts, consider what you want to accomplish or learn from this course. What do you want to take away from being here or how will you measure this courses success? Take this opportunity to record these thoughts and ideas.

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

PERL Cycle In this course we use the PERL Cycle – plan, execute, reflect, and learn, to make the most of this seminar experience. The workbook will act as our plan. As we work through (execute) the exercises practice studies we will have opportunities to reflect on the items discussed and use that to assist in learning insights that you can take back to your organizations.

This curriculum is designed around the following topics with their areas of focus:

TOPIC I: Defining Critical Thinking    

What is Critical Thought What Critical Thinking is not How Critical Thinking differs from Creative Thinking or Strategic Thinking A brief History of Critical Thinking

TOPIC II: What Makes an Effective Critical Thinker         

The Critical Thinking Process Understanding your point of View – What is your frame of reference?

Determining the purpose – What is the objective?

Outlining the question – What are we trying to resolve?

Gathering information – What data is needed? How do we know?

Evaluating inferences – Are the conclusions reasonable, reliable and relevant?

Clarifying Concepts Recognizing and Checking Assumptions – Are we unbiased and objective?

Considering Implications and Consequences – So what; are we missing something?

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TOPIC III: Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills and Tools     

Review characteristics of effective critical thinking Discuss the topic of Argumentation and the Adversarial System Compare and contrast inductive and deductive reasoning Deliberate primary and secondary evidence and their relevance to critical thinking Examine role of Skepticism in critical thinking

TOPIC IV: Barriers to Sound Critical Thought 

 

Define the following obstacles and how they can adversely affect critical thinking  Cognitive Dissonance  Egocentric Thinking  Social Conditioning  Group Think Consider topics of Correlation, Causation, Symptoms and Effect and how they influence logical inferences Review some common logical fallacies and how to negate them

TOPIC V: Developing Our Ability to apply Critical Thinking Skills  

Outline some ways to practice and hone critical thinking Apply critical thinking in some practice exercises

TOPIC VI: Capstone Case Study  

Atlas Paper Company

TOPIC VII: Wrapping up  

Lessons Learned Course Take-A-Ways

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Unit 1 Defining Critical Thinking

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Unit 1: Defining Critical Thinking What is Critical Thought The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. 

Intellectually disciplined process

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Evaluate

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Active

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Observation

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Conceptualize

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Experience

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Apply

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Reflection

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Analyze

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Reasoning

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Synthesize

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Guide to belief and action

What Critical Thinking is not Critical Thinking is not… 

Thinking negatively



Trying to find fault or flaws



Intended to make people think alike

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Not a total distrust of everything you hear and see

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Replacing feelings or emotional thinking

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blindly supporting every claim that may be based on science, data, or current knowledge

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Why Critical Thinking is Important Critical thinking is essential to decision making In Groups:

Use critical thinking to form decisions in order to avoid mistakes and to encourage inclusion and consideration of all options and perspectives.

As Professionals:

Organizations need competent decisions based on a consistent, thorough, and careful evaluation of all available information. Successful decisions and outcomes depend on institutional members (individually and in groups) asking relevant questions, appropriately evaluating information, drawing decisions, and anticipating decision outcomes.

Personally:

We make decisions every day. Our ability to devise good decisions relies on our ability to identify and evaluate information using sound judgment.

As individuals we also gain fulfillment through creativity and discovery that can arise through the process.

Critical thinking is fundamental to freedom Self-determination, which is central to our democracy, is synonymous with critical thinking. Our civil liberties, such as the freedom of speech, depend on critical thinking. Likewise, the ability to discuss, debate, and deliberate ideas openly in order to critically examine them is critical to maintaining our liberty.

Benefits: 

Make better or more informed decisions



To understand and even achieve broader support

 To create, invent, and discover

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How Critical Thinking Applies to Audit The Standards1 1120 – Individual Objectivity Internal auditors must have an impartial, unbiased attitude and avoid any conflict of interest.

2310 – Identifying Information Internal auditors must identify sufficient, reliable, relevant, and useful information to achieve the engagement’s objectives.

2320 – Analysis and Evaluation Internal auditors must base conclusions and engagement results on appropriate analyses and evaluations.

Industry Demand In their report on attributes of highly effective internal auditors, Richard Chambers and Paul McDonald highlighted that critical thinking was the number one skill sought by Chief Audit Executives (72% respondents selected it as very or extremely important making it the number one item in the top five)2 This number increased to 97% of respondents reporting critical thinking as very or extremely important in the most current 2015 Pulse of Internal Audit Survey. 3 When reporting competency level internal auditors self-reported critical thinking skill as a 3.62 (Competent approaching Advanced) on a 1-5 scale in the CBOK Study.4

1

International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF)® 2013 Edition. The IIA, Alamonte Springs, FL 2013 Chambers, Richard and Paul McDonald. 7 Attributes of Highly Effective Internal Auditors. The IIA, Alamonte Springs, FL, 2015 3 2016 North American Pulse of Internal Audit: time to Move Out of the Comfort Zone. The IIA Audit Executive Center, Alamonte Springs, FL 2016 4 Rose, James. Mapping Your Career: Competencies Necessary for Internal Audit Excellence. The IIA Research Foundation, Alamonte Springs, FL 2015 2

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How Critical Thinking differs from Creative Thinking or Strategic Thinking

Critical Thinking

• Applying a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating a statement, assertion, claim, or belief

Strategic Thinking

• Applying decision skills and problem solving techniques to optimize best possible future outcome

Creative Thinking

• A way of looking at conditions with a new perspective in order to generate innovative or different solutions

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EXERCISE: Examples of Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, and Strategic Thinking Break into small groups of two or three individuals. Review each of the following scenarios and discuss whether the situation and decision involves Strategic, Critical, or Creative Thinking.

Consider how each of these is different or similar. Identify what basis you use to derive your conclusion. Be prepared to discuss.

A. B. C. D. E. F.

Arranging a retail display to have maximum impact.

Constructing a research model to test a hypothesis.

Suggesting a way to improve customer service.

Analyzing triage cases at hand and deciding the order in which each case should be handled.

Devising an approach to win a case or to decide whether to settle out of court Determine what materials would best suit a particular job

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

A Brief History of Critical Thinking The roots of critical thinking come from ancient Greece and stem from the teaching practices of Socrates. He discovered a methodology to question and probe into thinking before accepting ideas and beliefs as truth. Through this process, Socrates established the value and importance of evidence, evaluating reasoning and assumptions and analyzing concepts in a careful and logical manner.

Socrates’ methods and practices were followed by his successors Plato, Aristotle and others, and many of his ideas and techniques comprise what we today establish as the study philosophy or philosophical thought.

Critical thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas (Italy), Desiderius Erasmus (Holland), and John Colet (England) continued to develop and refine the theory of critical thought through the Middle Ages. In the early 17th century Francis Bacon and René Descartes each wrote what is considered the earliest textbooks on the theory of Critical thought. Bacon’s work titled The Advancement of Learning was published in 1605 and around 1628 Descartes began work on his treatise Rules for the Direction of the Mind. Bacon argued that understanding the world required empirical study and he laid the foundation of modern scientific study by emphasizing a methodical information-gathering process. Descartes contended that a sound and systematic approach was necessary for the mind to accomplish clarity and precision in thinking.

Further philosophical and scientific thinkers from history such as Thomas Moore, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Pierre Bayle, Montesquieu, François-Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire), Denis Diderot, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Karl Marx continued to refine and develop the theory and practice of critical thought and analysis in their respective fields.

In summary, the tools and techniques applied by the critical thinker have evolved with hundreds of individuals contributing to the development of critical thinking.

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UNIT 1 SELF-REFLECTION: What is Critical Thinking?

Define for yourself what you feel Critical Thinking is or is not. Consider the discussion so far. In your own words describe how you would explain the skill or process of Critical thinking to a colleague or supervisor.

How did you come up with your definition or explanation?

Now considering the concepts and definition of Critical Thinking that has been discussed, how well do you think you and/or your organization is doing in applying critical thought in your processes? Are there concepts that you see or observe in your current activities and practices?

What are these concepts and what would you like to see change? What needs to change in order to apply the definition of critical thinking in your work environment?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Unit 2 What Makes a Critical Thinker

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Unit 2: What Makes an Effective Critical Thinker The Critical Thinking Process5 We are now going to walk through each step of the critical thinking process. As we apply critical thinking we will walk through each of the eight steps and use them to help us analyze how we process information and apply judgement to make decisions.

A Disciplined Process

5

Online Model for Learning the Elements and Standards of Critical Thinking. Foundation for Critical Thinking. Š2007

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Understanding your point of View

Pv Point of View  frames of reference  perspectives  orientations

The point of view is our frame of reference. This is the point from which we begin and we need to remember that all reasoning is performed form an anchor point of perspective. The perspective influences what we are looking at and the way we see it. It is critically important to understand the limitations from our point of view and that we fully consider other and relevant viewpoints.

Some questions to help in understanding point of view: 1. How am I looking at …?

2. Is there another way to look at …?

3. What am I focusing on, and why?

4. How do I see…?

5. Is my view point the only reasonable view?

6. What am I missing from this vantage point or perspective?

7. Have you ever considered how ____ view this?

8. Which of these possible descriptions (viewpoints) makes the most sense given the situation?

9. Do I have difficulty seeing the other’s understanding or perspective? Why might this be?

10. Do I listen to other perspectives that may challenge my personal beliefs?

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Determining the purpose

Pr Purpose

   

specific realistic measurable significant

All reasoned decisions and conclusions have a purpose. We need to clearly understand that purpose or objective. Our objectives must not only be clear but they need to be realistic and justifiable. When these conditions are present we can periodically check ourselves to ensure that we remain on target.

Some questions to help in understanding purpose: 1. What is (my/your/their) purpose in doing …?

2. What is the objective of … (assignment, task, policy, strategy, etc.)?

3. Does the purpose make sense?

4. Should the purpose be refined or modified, and why?

5. Where am/are (I/you/they) going with this line of thought?

6. Why did you say…?

Outlining the question

Qi

Question at Issue

What is it we are trying to solve? The question shapes the problem statement and will guide us through our thinking. This differs from purpose as purpose helps answer why, whereas outlining the question answers what. When we apply reasoning we should be trying to settle a question or solve a problem.

 focused, simple  define, significant  relevant, answerable

The question should be stated clearly and precisely. When the question is ambiguous we will lack clarity and precision. Often it is helpful to restate or express the question in different ways in order to clarify the meaning of the question. We also need to differentiate between questions with direct answers from those that result in opinion or require multiple viewpoints.

Some questions to help in understanding the problem statement or question: 1. What is the question that I am trying to answer?

2. Is there another way to express the question or problem statement?

3. Is the question clear?

4. Will others understand the problem statement/what I am trying to resolve?

5. Is the question complex? Should it be broken down into simpler segments?

6. What kind of question is this—what is the context?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Gathering information

In Information

The reasoning process requires data and evidence. We need to restrict claims and statements to facts that are evidenced and supported. We also need to obtain and consider information that opposes our position as well as evidence that supports.

 data  evidence  observations

Information that is collected for consideration needs to be reliable and relevant. This implies that it is accurate, clear, concise, timely, etc. Care must also be taken to assure that sufficient evidence is gathered. This means that the information to be used must be accurate and relevant to the question, problem or issue that we are trying to address.

Some questions to help targeting information: 1. What data is needed to answer the question?

2. What facts are relevant to this problem?

3. Is more data needed?

4. Are the statistics gathered relevant to the purpose or goal?

5. On what information is that comment or premise based?

6. What data convinced you of this? Is it possible that that information could be biased or distorted?

7. How do we know that this information (statistics, testimony) is complete and/or accurate?

8. Are there any facts that should be considered missing or left out?

Evaluating inferences

Ii

Interpretation and Inference  conclusions  solutions

Inferences are the interpretations that we make from the data and evidence that is collected. Interpretation and inferences are the means by which we give meaning to data and draw conclusions. Careful consideration is important to ensure that the inferences we make about the evidence is consistent with and logically follows the evidence. We also need to identify and validate any assumptions that are used in interpreting the meaning of information.

Some questions to help in deriving inferences and conclusions: 1. What conclusions am I coming to?

2. Is this inference logical—does it make sense?

3. Are there other possible alternative suppositions that should be considered?

4. Is the solution or outcome follow and match the data?

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5. How did (I/you/we/they) reach that conclusion?

6. What is the basis for the reasoning for that interpretation?

7. Given all the facts, is this the best possible inference?

8. How should the data we interpreted?

9. Is there any contradictory or varying data that should be considered?

10. Are the assumptions applied in making the inference reasonable and reliable?

11. Is/are there any possible assumption variations that would alter the conclusion?

Clarifying Concepts

Cn Concepts     

theories definitions laws principles models

Concepts are the ideas that we use to explain or make sense of the circumstances and surroundings around us. Other terms used to describe concepts include theories, definitions, axioms, laws, principles, models or hypothesis. These form the values and beliefs that we use to interact with the conditions and environment in which we live. When expressing reasoned concepts they should be clear and precise. They also need to agree with and be supported by the facts and inferences constructed from that evidence.

Some questions to ask when considering concepts: 1. What idea am I using in my thinking?

2. What concept is driving my actions or reactions?

3. Is this notion causing problems for me or others?

4. What is the main hypothesis that is being used in the reasoning?

5. Is the term you are using match with its established vocabulary usage?

6. I think this is a good theory, but please explain it more fully?

7. Is the concept clear and defined, does it follow the evidence and inferences applied to forming the concept?

8. What idea is the source using in his or her thinking? Is there any flaw or weakness in this reasoning?

Recognizing and Checking Assumptions

As Assumptions  presuppositions  axioms  taking for granted

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Assumptions are those beliefs that are taken for granted. Often they function at the subconscious or unconscious plane of thought. We have already talked about how assumptions influence the way we interpret data and draw inferences. It is essential that we recognize and evaluate whether our assumptions are reliable and justifiable—they need to be reinforced by sound support and correspond with the evidence. Equally important is considering

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

how these assumptions may influence our point of view.

Some questions for checking assumptions: 1. What am (I/we/they) assuming or taking for granted?

2. Am I making an assumption that I shouldn’t?

3. What assumption(s) lead me to this conclusion?

4. What does this (theories/definitions/axioms/laws/principles/models/hypothesis) presuppose to be true or exist?

5. What are some important assumptions that I make about…?

6. Does the assumption make sense or fit the observations and information?

Considering Implications and Consequences

Ic

Implications and Consequences  what follows logically  effects

When we reason through a problem or question we are lead to an end or outcome. These outcomes have implications and consequences. Implications are claims or truths that logically follow from other claims or truths.

Implications result from thoughts whereas consequences follow from actions.

We need to follow or trace these consequences searching for both negative and positive implications.

Some questions to think through implications and consequences: 1. If I decide to … what else might/might not happen?

2. If I decide to not do … what things might/might not happen?

3. What are you implying when you say…?

4. What is likely to happen if we do … as opposed to …?

5. Are you indicating that…?

6. How significant are the implications for this decision?

7. What, if anything, is implied by the fact that …?

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Six Types of Socratic Questioning 1. Questions for clarification:

  

2. Questions that probe assumptions:

  

3. Questions that probe reasons and evidence:

   

4. Questions about Viewpoints and Perspectives:

       

5. Questions that probe implications and consequences:

     

6. Questions about the question:

    

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Why do you say that?

How does this relate to our discussion?

"Are you going to include diffusion in your mole balance equations?"

What could we assume instead?

How can you verify or disapprove that assumption?

"Why are neglecting radial diffusion and including only axial diffusion?"

What would be an example?

What is....analogous to?

What do you think causes to happen...? Why? "Do you think that diffusion is responsible for the lower conversion?"

What would be an alternative?

What is another way to look at it?

Would you explain why it is necessary or beneficial, and who benefits?

Why is the best?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of...?

How are...and ...similar?

What is a counterargument for...?

"With all the bends in the pipe, from an industrial/practical standpoint, do you think diffusion will affect the conversion?"

What generalizations can you make?

What are the consequences of that assumption?

What are you implying?

How does...affect...?

How does...tie in with what we learned before?

"How would our results be affected if neglected diffusion?"

What was the point of this question?

Why do you think I asked this question?

What does...mean?

How does...apply to everyday life?

"Why do you think diffusion is important?"

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

GROUP DISCUSSION-WHAT DO YOU THINK: How can the critical thinking process reinforce evidence gathering?

UNIT 2 SELF-REFLECTION: The Critical Thinking Process?

Considering the eight elements in the Critical Thinking Process, what elements to you consider yourself strong? What elements do you consider need strengthening?

Make a plan on what you would change to improve how you apply the Critical Thinking elements in your audit work and practices.

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Unit 3 Critical Thinking Skills and Tools

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Unit 3: Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills and Tools Characteristics of an Effective Critical Thinker •

Neutral – Open mindedness

•

Objective – unbiased

•

Healthy Skepticism –Professional Judgement

•

Motivated to Understand

•

Recognize one’s own perceptions and assumptions

•

Clarity – Able to communicate ideas and concepts

Argumentation Argumentation is a process of systematic reasoning used to develop or support an idea or action. It evolved from the adversarial system that originated in ancient Greece. The Greek’s developed the adversarial method to resolve differences through a process of presenting claims with supporting evidence to a neutral third-party.

The third-party or judge would then settle or resolve the disagreement.

Forensic Reasoning is a key skill in argumentation. It is the process used to compare observed and known facts against an established and aggregable or accepted standard.

Effective reasoning in argumentation is comprised of…

• •

•

Recognizing and understanding the issue. The starting point for the argument (conflict or disagreement) “Presumption in favor of the status quo” – What would happen if nothing changed or if no one brought up the argument? This is the premise that the status quo is acceptable unless or until there is persuasive evidence to the contrary.

Considering the credibility of the evidence.  What is the source of the evidence?  Is there any reason to accept the testimony of witnesses?  Is there any reason to accept the testimony of persons or institution(s) as expert on the issue?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

•

•

•

 Is there a possibility that the witness or expert is biased or has a conflict of interest?

Checking our own logic.  Do the conclusions logically flow from and agree with the evidence?  Are there any gaps or unknowns that the evidence does not answer?

Examining the opposing logic and conclusions.  What possible arguments might be raised?  How will the opponent respond to your arguments?

Considering basis for including qualified and experienced professional or expert help.

A downside to the adversary system is that it is possible that a winner may be honored over the truth. The underlying assumption in the adversarial system is that it is competitive with winners and losers which can lead to the better argument not really being the truth.

Argumentation – Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Inductive reasoning •

•

•

Premises are considered strong evidence for the truth or validity of the supposition Inferences reached through an inductive argument are considered probable or likely but not necessarily proven or certain.

Runs from the specific to the general

Deductive Reasoning •

•

•

A process of reasoning from one or more assertions or premises in order to reach a conclusion Links premises to the conclusion therefore when premises are true and logically linked then conclusion is true Runs from general to the specific

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Scientific Method A methodology of seeking knowledge by making observations and performing experiments around a question in order to establish the validity or reality of the answer to the question.

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Primary and Secondary Evidence Evidence is the aggregate of facts and information used to indicate whether an argument, supposition, or assertion is valid and true. The value of evidence is dependent on its reliability and relevance to that which is being tested. Two categories of evidence are Primary and Secondary. Some of the attributes and differences between primary and secondary evidence is illustrated in the chart below.

Attributes of Primary Sources of Evidence • • • • • • •

Direct Independently Strong 1st Hand Original Uni-perspective Eyewitness (observer’s bias/sensory limitations)

Attributes of Secondary Sources of Evidence • • • • • • •

Interpretative/constructed/indirect Dependent or supportive 2nd Hand Hind sight Multiple perspective Reliability dependent on sources (can introduce bias)

Root Cause Analysis Tools To be effective, critical thinking needs to dig deep into the originating source of an issue or problem. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) tools can be adapted to help identify originating cause(s) and how they relate to realistic and useful outcomes. When properly applied, Root Cause Analysis tools can help frame the issue and consider or evaluate alternatives to coming to conclusive results.

Some RCA tools that can be helpful in critical thinking include: • • •

Five Whys Ishikawa or Fishbone diagraming Mind mapping and Scatter Charts

(Modified) Five Whys This is an inquisitive approach to problem solving. Used by inquiring deeply into the cause and effect relationships. When applied in critical thinking the questions should not be limited to whys only. What would happen if… and How does … relate/effect … are examples of alternative inquisitions that can be deployed with this tool in critical thinking

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Ishikawa or Fishbone diagraming Modified to use in a critical thinking exercise a fishbone diagram can help identify possible contributors, causes, and solutions to a problem statement. Fishbone diagrams can also provide a systematic approach to sort ideas into useful categories.

Mind mapping and Scatter Charts Scatter Charts graph numerical and quantitative data in a manner to assist in organizing the data and identifying relationships and patterns. Mind mapping also organizes data only this data is comprised of Ideas and Qualitative information. Because of its visual nature, mind mapping can also provide a means to organize this data in order to identify relationships and patterns.

Failure mode and effects analysis A process of identifying all the possible failures that could occur and investigate the effects

Skepticism Skepticism is not a total distrust of everything you hear and see. To be effective, skepticism requires an inquiring mind that is open to the possibility that something may be wrong or is not as it appears. When applying skepticism we consider whether what we see or hear is reasonable, consistent, and appropriate and supported by evidence. We use skepticism to distinguish fact from fiction and avoid being swayed by insufficient evidence or argument. Skepticism requires us to corroborate, validate and/or verify information.

The following criteria may be helpful in assessing our thinking and assure that proper skepticism is applied.

Clarity

forces the thinking to be explained well so that it is easy to understand. When thinking is easy to follow, it has Clarity.

Accuracy

makes sure that all information is correct and free from error. If the thinking is reliable, then it has Accuracy.

Precision

goes one step further than Accuracy. It demands that the words and data used are exact. If no more details could be added, then it has Precision.

Relevance

means that everything included is important, that each part makes a difference. If something is focused on what needs to be said, there is Relevance.

Depth

makes the argument thorough. It forces us to explore the complexities. If an argument includes all the nuances necessary to make the point, it has Depth.

Breadth

demands that additional viewpoints are taken into account. Are all perspectives considered? When all sides of an argument are discussed, then we find Breadth.

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Logical

means that an argument is reasonable, the thinking is consistent and the conclusions follow from the evidence When something makes sense step-by-step, then it is Logical.

Significance compels us to include the most important ideas. We don’t want to leave out crucial facts that would help to make a point. When everything that is essential is included, then we find Significance.

Fairness

means that the argument is balanced and free from bias. It pushes us to be impartial and evenhanded toward other positions. When an argument is objective, there is Fairness.

SELF ASSESSMENT: Where do you rate?

Indicate your agreement with the following statements by selecting the correct response.

Clarity

Accuracy & Precision

Relevance

Depth & Breadth

Logical

Significance & Fairness

1. My though process are clear and concise.

2. When communicating with others I always speak or write in a clear and direct manner.

3. When making a decision I determine that information the decision is based on is correct and appropriately complete.

4. I always communicate information that is complete and without error.

5. Information that I use in making decisions is important to and focused on the subject matter.

6. I always communication information that is significant and focused on the subject being discussed.

7. I analyze situations carefully and fully including alternative perspectives before making up my mind.

8. I consider the actions and reactions that affect and may follow from decisions.

9. When I step back and reexamine prior decisions I easily follow the step-by-step process and arrive at the same conclusion.

10. When I convey decisions, my communications are always understood, reasonable, and consistent with the conclusions evidence.

11. I recognize that my own bias and viewpoint may influence my decision process and I involve others to assure that important information is considered ant that a balanced and complete perspective is achieved.

12. When communicating with others I acknowledge opposing viewpoints and respectfully listen to others perspectives whether I agree with them or not.

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Strongly Agree

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UNIT 3 SELF-REFLECTION: Critical Thinking Skills?

What are some of the Critical Thinking skills and tools we have discussed that you are currently using and how are you applying them in your work?

Consider what Critical Thinking skills and tools that you may not currently use. How could you implement and apply them in your work and how would they be beneficial?

Now considering these skills discussed how would you discuss them with your colleagues or supervisor to have a productive dialog on whether to or how to implement them in your audit processes?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Unit 4 Critical Thinking Barriers

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Unit 4: Barriers to Sound Critical thought Cognitive Dissonance A state of stress or discomfort that is experienced when an individual   

holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values

It is in our human nature to actively seek non-contradictory balance. We are motivated to reduce the contradiction by seeking consistency between expectations and reality. This is achieved by one of four possible means.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Change behavior or reality Justify the behavior or reality by modifying the conflict Justify the behavior or reality by adding new conditions Ignore or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs or expectations

An example of how this occurs is in the following example: Internal policy requires that all purchase orders exceeding a dollar threshold require electronic approval signatures. During an audit the auditor found that several purchase orders exceeding the threshold did not document the necessary approvals.    

Changing the behavior: the result would be to modify the policy to reflect the actual results that were observed Justify by modification: The result was justified by explaining that the purchases were approved after the fact by an email received by the purchaser.

Justify by new conditions: The observation was dismissed or waived as isolated event or had inconsequential impact to the organization The buyer must have had necessary approval level to allow the purchase order to process without the necessary approvals.

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Egocentric Thinking In critical thinking, Egocentricity is tendency to focus on how things relate to oneself or one’s own desired outcomes or beliefs. It emerges from our tendency to see the world from our own perspective.

Examples of how egocentric thinking occurs include: • • • •

It is true because I/we believe it It is true because I want to believe it It is true because I have always believed it It is true because it is in my selfish interest to believe it

Observable characteristics • • • • •

Strives to protect oneself Strives to validate oneself Maintains own point of view Only sees the world from own point of view Often rigid or inflexible

Social Conditioning and Group Think Social conditioning is the process of assimilating members of a group such that individual responses fit in to generally approved expectations. The concept is stronger than that of socialization, which is the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies.

A result or example of social conditioning is a prejudicial influence on perspective and thinking that occurs because of one’s own cultural or social background Group think is the desire for harmony or conformity within a group that results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically evaluating alternatives or differing viewpoints. This can often be done by suppressing dissenting viewpoints or isolating the group from outside influences.

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Group think often manifests itself in a fear of being different or being perceived as different

Correlation, Causation, Symptoms, and Effect Correlation & Causation • • • •

A mutual relationship or connection between two or more things Correlations are useful because they can indicate a predictive relationship that can be exploited in practice Correlation between two variables does not imply that one causes (Causation) the other Causation is the interpretation or conclusion that two events or conditions occur in predictable ways and that one event or condition leads or causes the other

For any two correlated events, A and B, there are multiple explanations for the relationship.

These can be summarized as follows: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

A causes B; (direct causation) B causes A; (reverse causation) A and B are consequences of a common cause, but do not cause each other; A causes B and B causes A (bidirectional or cyclic causation); A causes C which causes B (indirect causation); There is no connection between A and B; the correlation is a coincidence.

Symptom and Effect • • • • •

Symptoms are observable manifestations, such as expressions, signs, indicators, marks or tokes; that indicate a condition exists Effects are change(s) that result when an event, condition, or state occurs Symptoms and effects can be positive or negative and can often relate to or indicate varying conditions Symptoms and effects often require further investigation and analysis to determine the condition or cause Symptoms are signs Effects are outcomes or impacts

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Logical Fallacies Two Major categories of logical Fallacies:

Inductive fallacies result when evidence is used incorrectly, such as using observable evidence as represent the whole when there exists no sound or statistical basis for such conclusion. Example: interviewing a dissatisfied employee and then assuming that all employees are dissatisfied or that moral is poor.

Deductive fallacies result from a failure to follow the logic of a series of evidence or result.

Deductive arguments are based on a series of statements, premises or results. Deductive logic follows that if a series of such results is true then the conclusion must also be accurate. The problem is that for deductive arguments to be valid a direct relationship between the series of results or premises must also exist. A typical example is stereotyping or judgmental profiling.

Some specific types of logical fallacies that may occur include: Slippery Slope:

The argument that if a particular action is taken, it will inevitably lead to another, less desirable action. One resulting from an action does not necessarily mean that every such event will result with the same outcome.

One way to address this fallacy is to look at the whole context—are there examples to compensate or where the outcome does not match the pattern.

Non Sequitur:

Means “it does not follow” and, when used, it is the argument that the resulting outcome proves that a problem or non-supporting event or action does not exist. Again the antidote for this fallacy is looking at the whole context and identifying why—are there compensating controls or circumstances that cover up the root problem.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc: Means “after this, therefore because of this and infers that because a sequence of events, the first must have caused the second. This is the difference between cause and correlation. This fallacy can be negated by carefully examining the situation and identifying all possible contributors.

When more than one correlated factor exists one cannot state a cause without fully testing and validating that cause.

Hasty Generalization: These will arise when a judgment is based on limited or preliminary information indicating bias or prejudice. Carefully evaluating all results to determine that the conclusive outcome is properly supported will counter this fallacy.

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Ad Hominem:

Means “against the man� and refers to attacks on an individual rather than on the subject or issue. This fallacy can be countered by remaining objective and flushing out any unsupported and biased/subjective reasons for the conclusion.

False Use of Authority: This fallacy results from ignoring opposing evidence or sources.

Only citing or using supportive or non-opposing viewpoints or corroborative evidence or sources leads to bias or skewed argumentation. This fallacy is neutralized by ensuring that all evidence and viewpoints are considered and presented fairly and objectively.

For a more detailed listing of logical fallacies see the Appendix.

EXERCISE: Responding to Logical Fallacies For each of the following examples identify which type of logical fallacy it is and how would you diffuse or respond to the argument.

During a planning meeting with your IT management the statement is made we have never had a data loss so our internal controls must be working.

During audit testing the auditor identifies several documents with errors these documents were all from the same department. The auditor states that the department manager must be unethical or conducting some fraudulent activity because of the volume of errors coming from their department is so high.

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Company policy states that vendor invoices need to have prior approval prior to processing for payment.

The invoices for several vendor payments are not signed by the responsible manager. When the auditor reviews these with the department head she points out that the payments were approved by the manager via email and provides examples from the invoice file showing the email approvals occurred prior to submitting for processing. The auditor insists that because the approval is not documented on the invoice the department has violated policy.

Your audit team presents a segregation of duties recommendation to department manager. He responds that to fix the problem he would need to hire more staff and take budget away from other more pressing projects. Because of the cost impact the benefit to adding new staff is insufficient to mitigate the potential risk.

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UNIT 4 SELF-REFLECTION: Critical Thinking Barriers What Critical Thinking barriers have or do you observe in your current practices?

Make a plan at how you would go about improving your Critical Thinking by eliminating or reducing Critical Thinking Barriers?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Unit 5 Developing Critical Thinking Capability

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Unit 5: Developing Our Ability to Apply Critical Thinking Skills Several exercises have been developed to practice and sharpen critical thinking skills and processes. These include6…

1. Brain Games, Logic Puzzles and Brain Teasers 

crossword puzzles, logic problems, riddles, Sudoku, word problems and word searches

2. Board games 

Any games where players must carefully consider their next move, anticipate and react to others’ moves, infer motives, recognize patterns and remember details will aid in honing critical thinking skills. Examples: Rubik’s Cube, checkers, chess and Mastermind, Scrabble, Boggle.



Games help us practice hypothetical-deductive reasoning

3. Writing, Journaling 

Perfect opportunity to explore ideas. Writing encourages you to expand upon your thoughts and form connections.

A journal enforces a focus on just one or two ideas at a time. They also allow us to document important ideas, questions, and narratives about life.

4. Book clubs 

Reading for understanding helps hone critical thinking. When we analyze a book or article it requires us to delve deeper and ponder complex questions.



When reading, think about

 why the book was written the way it was,  what motivates certain characters, and  how plot developments may be symbols of foreshadowing 5. Case Study /Discussion Method

6

Moll, Meghan, Five Tools to Develop Critical Thinking Skills Before College, US News and World Report http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-playbook/2014/06/23/5-tools-to-develop-criticalthinking-skills-before-college published June 23, 2014

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Practice understanding the issue or problem 1. A study reveals a strong correlation between the university that students attend and higher scores on a measure of interpersonal sensitivity. Using a critical thought approach, what can you conclude from this?

2. Is the following a valid argument? Why or why not?

All cats are animals.

All animals are loud.

So, all cats are loud.

3. Is the following a sound argument? Why or why not?

If my astrologer is clairvoyant, then she predicted my travel plans correctly.

She predicted my travel plans correctly.

So, my astrologer is clairvoyant.

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Understanding how bias influences our thinking 1. Do they have a fourth of July in England?

2. Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed.

Assume the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows.

Which of the following two options would you choose?

Program A: 200 people will be saved Program B: there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved, and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved

Now imagine that the following two options were presented instead. Which option C or D would you choose?

Program C: "400 people will die" Program D: "there is a one-third probability that nobody will die, and a two-third probability that 600 people will die"

3. How can a woman living in New Jersey legally marry 3 men, without ever getting a divorce, being widowed, or becoming legally separated?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Practice drawing conclusions 1. A man buys a new car and goes home to tell his wife. He goes the wrong way up a one-way street, nearly runs into 7 people, goes onto the sidewalk, and takes a shortcut through a park. A policeman sees all this and still doesn’t arrest him. Why not?

2. Why is it against the law for a person living in New York to be buried in California?

3. One house is made of red bricks, one of blue bricks, one of yellow bricks, and one of purple bricks. What is the green house made of?

4. In South Africa you can’t take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

5. If it took 8 men 10 hours to build a wall, how long would it take 4 men to build the same wall?

6. Your friend says he can predict the exact score of every football game before it begins. He's right every time. How is that possible?

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UNIT 5 SELF-REFLECTION: Practice and Developing Critical Thinking What areas of Critical Thinking do you believe you could benefit through practicing for improvement?

Make a plan to start increasing your Critical Thinking capabilities. What exercises and practice skills will be helpful and how could you implement them into your routine?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Unit 6 Case Study

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Unit 6: Capstone Case Study ATLAS PAPER COMPANY The Atlas Paper Company is one of the world's largest producers of paper, with plants in nearly twenty countries. The paper making process requires that wet pulp slurry be deposited uniformly on a continuously moving fabric belt. The fabric is approximately 12 feet wide and the belt is about 60 feet in circumference. Fabrics are woven to enable the water in the pulp to be drawn out through the fabric, so that when the pulp leaves the end of the belt, the pulp goes onto the other machines, which further dry and then press the pulp into paper.

Fabrics cost approximately $25,000 each, and take about 6 hours to put on to a paper machine. Labor costs (Direct and Employee Related Expenses) for maintenance personnel cost $50 per hour. While replacing fabrics on the machine, the paper machine must be shut down. Because of the production costs involved and the manufacturing of the paper product requires a continuous process, the machine is considered efficient only when it runs 24 hours a day. A machine shutdown costs the company $100,000/day for lost production wages, utilities, etc.

Additional details about the process and machines include the following information.  On average fabrics at this company only lasted an average of 40 days. The maximum time that a fabric has lasted was 96 days and the minimum time was 24.  When a fabric broke, it normally had less than 10% wear  The industry group provides performance statistics and reports that the average fabric life span was 60 days, and that the industry benchmark fabric life span was reported to be 470 days.  Most fabrics broke while still on the machines meaning that the in-process job was lost. For lost lots that were scrapped because of the broken fabrics the percentage completion ranged 12% of the lot to a maximum of 84% of the lot. For all jobs scrapped the average was 42% of the lot completed at the time the fabric broke.  For Atlas Company, each lot used 200 pounds of materials at a cost of $10 per pound and direct labor costs for factory workers amounted to $35 per hour including all ERE. Each lot took 6 hours to complete.

Management has approached your team for assistance. The question they have asked your team is to provide a cost analysis on the paper screens. How much does each paper screen really cost the company? How much should each screen cost?

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Atlas Paper Case Part 2 For further discussion (optional)

     

  

What different perspectives and viewpoints are possible?

How will these viewpoints affect how we calculate costs?

How will these viewpoints affect how we frame the problem statement or objectives?

What is the purpose/objective or problem that needs to be solved?

How would we go about identifying the right problem?

How would we go about solving the problem? o What information needs to be gathered? o How will we gather the information?

Once we have the data, how will we evaluate the information and draw inferences?

What assumptions will or are we making? o How do those assumptions affect the conclusions?

What do our conclusions imply or mean? (what is next)

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Unit 7 Bringing it All Together

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Unit 7: Wrapping Up  Defining Critical Thinking  What Makes an Effective Critical Thinker - The Critical Thinking Process  Fundamental Critical Thinking Skills and Tools  Barriers to Sound Critical Thought  Developing Our Ability to apply Critical Thinking Skills  Applied what learned in a case Study

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

Our Lessons Learned - Course Take-A-Ways Now that this course is coming to a close I invite you to review the reflections notes at the end of each learning unit. Consider the thoughts and insights that you have written down and make a plan to implement those actions you think will benefit you in your audit work and your organization. Take some time to reflect on these insights. If you were asked to describe the most important concept you learned from this course what is that concept or insight?

How will you take the concepts discussed these past two days and apply them at your organization or in your own work?

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Appendix

Summary Glossary of Terms Critical thinking: applying a systematic process to evaluate the validity of a claim or belief Logic: a formal process or principle of reasoning Valid: an argument in which the logic is proper and not fallacious Cognitive dissonance: An unpleasant emotion generated by the simultaneous existence of mutually exclusive beliefs Confirmation bias: A cognitive bias to support beliefs we already hold, including the tendency to notice and accept confirming information while ignoring or rationalizing disconfirming information Confabulation: The filling in of details missing from either perception or memory. The brain invents the missing details to construct a consistent narrative Recall/retrieval: The act of bringing to the conscious mind memories stored in long-term memory.

Data mining: The process of sifting through large sets of data and looking for apparent patterns. This is a legitimate way to generate hypotheses—but not of confirming them—because this process lends itself to finding illusory patterns.

Pattern recognition: The phenomenon of perceiving patterns—whether in visual information, other sensory information, or even events or behavior. Humans generally have a great ability to recognize patterns and a tendency to see patterns even when they are illusory.

Reality testing: A cognitive process by which the brain compares any new information to its internal model of reality to see if the new information makes sense Hyperactive agency detection: The human tendency to detect a conscious agent behind natural or random behavior or events—for example, believing that random events are a conspiracy to punish us.

Argument: A statement that is used to support a conclusion or belief, often following deductive reasoning.

Deductive reasoning: Reasoning that begins with one or more general statements that are taken as premises and then concludes what must be true if the premises are true.

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Inductive reasoning: Inductive reasoning begins with observations of the world and then derives general statements about what is probably true from those observations.

Logical fallacy: A logical operation that is not valid.

Non sequitur: A Latin term referring to an invalid argument in which the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises.

Premise: A fact that is assumed to be true, or treated as if it is true, as a starting point for an argument.

Ad hominem: A logical fallacy in which an assertion is said to be false or unreliable because of an alleged negative attribute of the person making the assertion; arguing against the person rather than the claim itself.

Anomaly: A phenomenon that is incompatible with or cannot be explained by current scientific theories.

False continuum: A logical fallacy in which the fact that a characteristic varies along a continuum is used to argue that the extreme ends of the continuum do not exist or cannot be meaningfully identified.

False dichotomy: A logical fallacy in which multiple choices are reduced artificially to only a binary choice, or where a continuum is reduced to its two extremes.

Anchoring: The tendency to focus disproportionately on one feature or aspect of an item or phenomenon and base judgments on that one feature.

Cognitive bias: A subconscious tendency to think in a certain way, or a bias toward certain decision-making pathways.

Congruence bias: The tendency to test our own theories but not alternative theories, which can lead to a false sense of confirmation of our own beliefs.

Exposure effect: The tendency to more favorably rate things or beliefs with which we are more familiar.

Forer effect: The tendency to take vague or general statements and apply them specifically to ourselves or to find specific examples, making the statements seem more accurate and specific than they are.

Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

More Examples of Logical Fallacies Authoritative argument – conclusion is correct because an authority figure suggests it is correct (However be careful not to dismiss the value of an authoritative or expert opinion witness)

Consequential argument – the conclusion cannot be true because the consequences are undesired or abhorrent; or the conclusion must be true because the result is positive or desirable.

Causation argument – if B follows A, therefore A must have caused B

Correlation argument – we see B with A therefore A and B must correlate with each other. This argument also continues that because of the correlation one must cause the other. First this assumes that the correlation is real and not a coincidence. Second it ignores the possibility that some other factor such as C causes both B and A

Special pleading – inventing reasons in order to explain the evidence or outcome. This activity works in developing hypothesis to test but does not effectively establish a valid conclusion.

Attack the messenger – focusing on the person

(typically devolves into choices that are not mutually exclusive or reduces the continuum to its extremes)

False continuum fallacy – eliminates the existence of extreme outcomes because there is not a clear demarcation between these extremes. (Example is TallShort dichotomy, what differentiates between tall and short where is the boundary?)

Inconsistent criteria – applying different criteria to similar situations when the same criteria really should apply (Common in value judgement or where subjectivity is easily applied.)

Moving the goal posts – changing the criteria for acceptance of a claim to keep the criteria just out of reach of whatever evidence is presented

Absurdity argument – forcing a conclusion that doesn’t flow from the premises. (Abuse of legitimate method of demonstrating that an argument is false by showing the absurdity of the outcome when carried to its logical conclusion)

Slippery slope argument – if a position is accepted then the most extreme version must also be accepted or will obviously occur (political or persuasive dialog)

making the argument rather than the argument itself.

Circular reasoning – assuming the conclusion in the

Poison the well – instead of attacking the person this argument attempts to negate the argument or premise by attaching or associating it with an unsavory or unpopular element.

premise. (Example: claim that A equals characteristic B; when shown an example of an A that does not demonstrate characteristic B the person dismisses by claiming that the example must not have really been A)

You too argument – an attempt to counter a

False analogy – making a comparison when the

legitimate criticism by pointing out that others (or more specifically the other person) is also guilty of the same thing

Straw man argument – responding to an altered

Appeal to ignorance – using a lack of evidence or knowledge as if it were a positive argument for a specific conclusion.

False dichotomy or false choice – limiting outcomes or conclusions to a select few by ignoring any other possible and valid options and forcing a conclusion

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characteristics being compared are not really compatible. (and easily dismissed) version of the opponents’ argument rather than the actual position or premise.

Fallacy fallacy – assuming that because an argument for a conclusion is incorrect or unsound therefore the conclusion must be false. Disproving a conclusion still requires sound reasoned arguments and premises.

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Critical Thinking Strategies – Self Assessment Critical Thinking Strategies

Yes

No

1. I do not believe everything I hear. Instead, I evaluate the source and make sure the source is credible and reliable.

2. I make inferences (reasoned guesses based on what I know), when I read academic and non-academic sources.

3. I verify inferences once I have attained all the facts.

4. I evaluate the things I read, see, and hear to decipher if the information given is fact or opinion. I decipher between fact (information that can be verified) and opinion (information that incorporates someone’s feelings or biases).

5. I try to determine the author’s opinion as I read or listen to information whether the information is from academic sources or non-academic sources, such as newspapers, T.V. shows, advertisements, and radio programs.

6. I assess the tone of material I read, see, or hear. This helps me recognize the author’s feelings and/or any biases he/she may have on the subject matter.

7. I evaluate the evidence used in the material that I hear, see, or read rather than automatically accepting the evidence as true.

Evaluating the evidence used helps me to determine if the examples used are credible, relevant, and sufficient.

8. When I read or hear information, I examine it closely.

9. When I read or hear information, I try to make connections between the information and knowledge I already have.

10. When I learn new facts, I adjust my opinion.

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Developing Your Critical Thinking Capability

References and Resources The following are resources and references that I have found useful in practicing and learning more about critical thinking. They are included here for your information, but inclusion does not imply endorsement or recommendation for these over any other available resources.

Associations American Philosophical Association www.apaonline.org Association for Informal Logic & Critical Thinking www.ailact.wordpress.com The Critical Thinking Community (Foundation for Critical Thinking) www.criticalthinking.org

Bibliographic Resources Bowell, Tracy and Gary Kemp. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide Second Edition, Routledge, 2005 New York Butera, Ann. Five Ways to Increase Your Critical Thinking, KnoweldgeLeader accessed May 21, 2015 Damer, T Edward. Attacking Faulty Reasoning A Practical Guide to Fallacy Free Arguments Sixth Edition, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009 California Novella, Stephen M.D. Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills, The Great Courses, 2012 Virginia Page, Scott E. The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset, The Great Courses, 2012 Virginia Paul, Richard PhD. and Linda Elder PhD. The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools Fifth Edition, Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2008 California Roberto, Michael A. The Art of Critical Decision Making, The Great Courses, 2009 Virginia Shermer, Michael. Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist, The Great Courses, 2013 Virginia Tindale, Christopher W. Fallacies and Argument Appraisal, Cambridge University Press, 2007 UK Zarefsky, David. Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, The Great Courses, 2005 Virginia

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