4 models of critical thinking

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A Short Guide to Building Your Team’s Critical Thinking Skills

Matt Plummer

Critical thinking isn’t an innate skill. It can be learned.

Most employers lack an effective way to objectively assess critical thinking skills and most managers don’t know how to provide specific instruction to team members in need of becoming better thinkers. Instead, most managers employ a sink-or-swim approach, ultimately creating work-arounds to keep those who can’t figure out how to “swim” from making important decisions. But it doesn’t have to be this way. To demystify what critical thinking is and how it is developed, the author’s team turned to three research-backed models: The Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, Pearson’s RED Critical Thinking Model, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Using these models, they developed the Critical Thinking Roadmap, a framework that breaks critical thinking down into four measurable phases: the ability to execute, synthesize, recommend, and generate.

With critical thinking ranking among the most in-demand skills for job candidates , you would think that educational institutions would prepare candidates well to be exceptional thinkers, and employers would be adept at developing such skills in existing employees. Unfortunately, both are largely untrue.

Matt Plummer (@mtplummer) is the founder of Zarvana, which offers online programs and coaching services to help working professionals become more productive by developing time-saving habits. Before starting Zarvana, Matt spent six years at Bain & Company spin-out, The Bridgespan Group, a strategy and management consulting firm for nonprofits, foundations, and philanthropists.

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The R.E.D. Model of Development of Critical Thinking Skills

The R.E.D. Model of Development…

“How and why is critical thinking applied in the workplace? Critical thinking in the workplace comes in many forms. We see critical thinking being used in teams to help effectively resolve problems. We even see critical thinking being used in the workplace to help teams figure out what issues exist, and then we see teams come up with possible answers for those issues. Critical thinking is applied to leadership approaches because leaders need to have critical thinking skills, be able to understand logical relationships between ideas, recognize the importance and the relationship of an argument, as well as recognize mistakes in reasoning and then be able to make the right decisions.”

– sattar bawany (2023), what is critical thinking.

Critical thinking is an active form of reflection which is deliberate, persistent, and careful. It challenges preconceptions, perceptions, and received wisdom. And it is, most important of all, focused on deciding what to believe and what to do. It is, therefore, inherently practical and generates a set of guidelines for the practitioner. It involves what some have called metacognition or the act of thinking about how we think.

Critical thinking aims to better understand the meaning and implications of information, conclusions, options, and decisions and to identify and evaluate the assumptions upon which thinking (our own and others’) is based. It can bring a powerful rigor to crisis management if it is applied with perseverance, determination, and self-awareness.

Critical thinking in the business literature is often confused with skills like “problem solving.” In reality, “problem solving” is quite different from “critical thinking.”

Sometimes problem solving requires thinking skills, like how best to balance profit and loss statements, but not critical thinking skills—rational, reflective thinking. Some business-related problems, for example, require emotional intelligence, which is thinking that is neither rational nor reflective.

In other words, while critical thinking often refers to “problem solving,” not all problem solving is an example of critical thinking. Critical thinking consists more of “habits of mind” providing a framework in which problem solving can occur. Often, these distinctions aren’t clear in business education literature.

How and why is critical thinking applied in the workplace? Critical thinking in the workplace comes in many forms. We see critical thinking being used in teams to help effectively resolve problems. We even see critical thinking being used in the workplace to help teams figure out what issues exist, and then we see teams come up with possible answers for those issues.

Critical thinking is applied to leadership approaches because leaders need to have critical thinking skills, be able to understand logical relationships between ideas, recognize the importance and the relationship of an argument, as well as recognize mistakes in reasoning and then be able to make the right decisions.

The need for critical thinking in leadership has always been around. A model was developed in 1925, called the Watson–Glaser critical thinking model, which helps organizations identify factors in people that are important for critical thinking and judgment making, which explains why critical thinking needs to be a part of leadership approaches.

The Elements of the “R.E.D.” Model of Critical Thinking

Pearson has developed the following RED model—Recognize assumptions, Evaluate arguments, and Draw conclusions as a way to view and apply critical thinking principles when faced with a decision ( Chartrand, Ishikawa, and Flander 2018 ).

Recognize assumptions. This is the ability to separate fact from opinion. It is deceptively easy to listen to a comment or presentation and assume the information presented is true even though no evidence was given to back it up. Perhaps the speaker is particularly credible or trustworthy or the information makes sense or matches our own view. We just don’t question it. Noticing and questioning assumptions helps to reveal information gaps or unfounded logic. Taking it a step further, when we examine assumptions through the eyes of different people (e.g., the viewpoint of different stakeholders), the end result is a richer perspective on a topic.

Why does it matter? This is the ability to separate fact from opinion. It is deceptively easy to listen to a comment or presentation and assume the information presented is true even though no evidence was given to back it up. Noticing and questioning assumptions helps to reveal information gaps or unfounded logic. Taking it a step further, when we examine assumptions through the eyes of different people (e.g., the viewpoint of different stakeholders) the end result is a richer perspective on a topic.

How/when to use it? When you’re gathering information, listening to what people say, or assessing a situation, think about what assumptions you have going in. Perhaps you assume that a trusted co-worker is providing reliable information, but is there really evidence to back it up? Learn to see gaps in logic and opinion disguised as fact.

Evaluate arguments. It is difficult to suspend judgment systematically and walk through various arguments and information with the impartiality of Sherlock Holmes. The art of evaluating arguments entails analyzing information objectively and accurately, questioning the quality of supporting evidence, and understanding how emotion influences the situation. Common barriers include confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out and agree with the information that is consistent with your own point of view or allow emotions—yours or others’—to get in the way of objective evaluation. People may quickly conclude simply to avoid conflict. Being able to remain objective and sort through the validity of different positions helps people draw more accurate conclusions.

Why does it matter? We often have problems sorting through conflicting information because we unknowingly let our emotions or pride get in the way or because we only hear what we want to hear (confirmation bias). Being able to remain objective and sort through the validity of different positions helps people draw more accurate conclusions.

How/when to use it? The art of evaluating arguments entails analyzing information objectively and accurately, questioning the quality of supporting evidence, and understanding how emotions—yours or others—influence the situation or get in the way of objectivity. People may quickly conclude simply to avoid conflict. Learn how to push all that aside, and analyze information accurately and objectively.

Draw conclusions. People who possess these skills can bring diverse information together to arrive at conclusions that logically follow from the available evidence, and they do not inappropriately generalize beyond the evidence. Furthermore, they will change their position when the evidence warrants doing so. They are often characterized as having “good judgment” because they typically arrive at a quality decision.

Why does it matter? People who possess this skill can bring diverse information together to arrive at conclusions that logically follow from the available evidence, and they do not inappropriately generalize beyond that evidence. Furthermore, they will change their position when the evidence warrants doing so. They are often characterized as having “good judgment” because of their quality decisions.

How/when to use it? This is the payoff. When you think critically, the true picture becomes clear, and you can make the tough decision or attack the difficult problem.

Each of these critical thinking skills fits together in a process that is both fluid and sequential.

When presented with information, people typically alternate between recognizing assumptions and evaluating arguments. Critical thinking is sequential in that recognizing faulty assumptions or weak arguments improves the likelihood of reaching an appropriate conclusion. It is helpful to focus on each of the RED skills individually when practicing skill development. With concentrated practice over time, typically several months, critical thinking skills can be significantly increased.

Reference: Sattar Bawany (2023), Leadership in Disruptive Times: Negotiating the New Balance. Business Expert Press (BEP) LLC, New York, NY. Abstract available at: https://www.disruptiveleadership.institute/second-edition-book/