Post by Lauren Benatti on Feb 11, 2016 23:50:33 GMT
There are various elements that can get in the way of one's critical thinking. Some of these elements include a desire to make a quick decision, which can lead to a lack of consideration of all facts, emotions and personal biases. The video also highlighted some factors that may prevent critical thinking that I had not previously considered, such as one's intuition and assuming something is just "common sense." It is also valued that someone can just "go with their gut" however upon further reflection I can definitely seen how that may not leave room for critical thinking.
I have definitely been guilty of relying on my intuition in situations where critical thinking would have been more appropriate. Last year, I challenged myself to increase lab attendance in our career services department by 30%. Our funder had made some systematic changes that allowed clients greater flexibility with reporting and our computer labs were seeing the consequences of this change most. I designed a plan to increase attendance by relaxing the client requirements to be placed in the lab and I erroneously believed, because my intuition told me, that this plan would work for all clients. I failed to consider that some groups of clients had different reasons for not attending and that the funders new rules were being applied differently to different client groups. If I had taken the time to fully think through this plan before implantation, I would have realized these factors sooner.