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College Success: Chapter 3: Thinking about thought, 3.1 Types of Thinking …
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3.1 Types of Thinking
So what are the various types of thinking skills, and what kind things are we doing when we apply them?
In the 1950s, Benjamin Bloom developed a classification of thinking skills that is still helpful today; it is known as Bloom’s taxonomy.
He lists six types of thinking skills, ranked in order of complexity:
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Types of Thinking Skills
- Remembering and Recalling
Retrieving or repeating information or ideas from memory. This is the first and most basic thinking skill you develop (starting as a toddler with learning numbers, letters, and colors).
Interpreting, constructing meaning, inferring, or explaining material from written, spoken, or graphic sources. Reading is the most common understanding skill; these skills are developed starting with early education.
Interpreting, constructing meaning, inferring, or explaining material from written, spoken, or graphic sources. Reading is the most common understanding skill; these skills are developed starting with early education.
Breaking material or concepts into key elements and determining how the parts relate to one another or to an overall structure or purpose. Mental actions included in this skill are examining, contrasting or differentiating, separating, categorizing, experimenting, and deducing. You most likely started developing this skill in high school (particularly in science courses) and will continue to practice it in college.
Assessing, making judgments, and drawing conclusions from ideas, information, or data. Critiquing the value and usefulness of material. This skill encompasses most of what is commonly referred to as critical thinking; this skill will be called on frequently during your college years and beyond. Critical thinking is the first focus of this chapter.
Putting parts together or reorganizing them in a new way, form, or product. This process is the most difficult mental function. This skill will make you stand out in college and is in very high demand in the workforce. Creative thinking is the second focus of this chapter.
When you see these verbs as a prompt in an assignment or an exam, you will know what kind of thinking the instructor expects from you. Thinking Verbs lists some of the most common verbs associated with each thinking skill.
- Remembering and Recalling
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Key Takeaways
We use different types of thinking skills to address different requirements, and these skills are classified in Bloom’s taxonomy
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Two very important thinking skills you will need to develop for success in college and in life are critical (or evaluative) thinking and creative thinking
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