The four pillars of learning

The four pillars of learning are fundamental principles for reshaping education:
Learning to know: to provide the cognitive tools required to better comprehend the world and its complexities,
and to provide an appropriate and adequate foundation for future learning.
Learning to do: to provide the skills that would enable individuals to effectively participate in the global
economy and society.
Learning to be: to provide self analytical and social skills to enable individuals to develop to their fullest
potential psycho-socially, affectively as well as physically, for a all-round complete person.
Learning to live together: to expose individuals to the values implicit within human rights, democratic
principles, intercultural understanding and respect and peace at all levels of society and human relationships to
enable individuals and societies to live in peace and harmony.
6 Critical Thinking Skills You Need to Master Now
Critical thinking skills are extremely important in developing a successful career.

Have you heard that before? Chances are youve heard it many times, such as when you began applying
for your first job or maybe when you were passed over for a promotion. Whenever it was, there is usually
one problem.

They never tell you what critical skills are, why you need them or how to get them!

College students and young professionals alike are flooded with advice on why they need to develop
these skills. And yet, when you ask them to explain exactly what these critical thinking skills are and how
you can develop them, its like watching the movie Inception it doesnt make sense!
In an effort to help you make sense of it all and finally get some answers, I broke down the six core
critical thinking skills you need for your career to help you both understand why you need them and how
you can develop them.

Finally a List of Actionable Critical Thinking Skills

Identifying a list of skills critical to your professional career is not as easy as it may seem. If you were to
Google "critical thinking skills" you would see more than 21 million results. So in an effort to help you stop
listening to the so-called advice that doesnt help you at all, here are the six critical thinking skills,
according to Dr. Peter A. Facione. Ill explain what they mean (in laymans terms) and how they may be
used in a professional career. And because employers are looking to hire individuals with critical
thinking skills, I have included six exercises for you to complete to help you master these skills now.

Skill #1: Interpretation

What it Means: Having the ability to understand the information you are being presented with and being
able to communicate the meaning of that information to others.
Throughout your career you will be presented with a variety of information in many different types of
situations. Imagine you are looking at demographic information, hoping to target a different group of
customers for a new product. Interpretation skills will enable you to better decode the information and add
clarity to what you have discovered - which in turn will help you better understand any potential new
customer opportunities for your company.
Application Exercise: Write down 10 emotions you feel can be paired with facial expressions, e.g.
smiling equals happiness. Then give your list to a friend and ask them to randomly recreate each facial
expression as you attempt to interpret the correct emotion simply by looking at their face. You will learn
how to identify the key bits of information you need in order to connect the dots. How many can you
correctly identify?

Skill #2: Analysis

What it Means: Having the ability to connect pieces of information together in order to determine what
the intended meaning of the information was meant to represent.
Imagine you are reading a companywide memo that is discussing making changes in order to address
recent movement within the business landscape. Having this skill will better provide you with the ability to
read between the lines and help you understand how this will impact the overall strategy you have in
your position.

Application Exercise: To practice this skill, try to determine the meaning behind this Chinese
Proverb: Be the first to the field and the last to the couch. Are you able to identify the intended meaning
behind this statement? While we all analyze information a little differently, you should have been able to
determine that this proverb is referencing having a hard work ethic. Go here to practice some more in
order to further develop this skill.

Skill #3: Inference

What it Means: Having the ability to understand and recognize what elements you will need in order to
determine an accurate conclusion or hypothesis from the information you have at your disposal.
Picture yourself as a business manager; you are looking at the latest sales forecast and you see sales
have decreased. Its important for you to be able to understand what additional information you may need
in order to determine why that happened, including identifying internal issues, external competition or
even economic conditions. The ability to understand the information you already have and determine what
you may still need to find the best solution is an important skill for you to have no matter what career field
you are in.

Application Exercise: Try watching an episode of a weekly crime show. Focus on absorbing the
clues in an effort to determine the mystery of who completed the crime during the episode. These shows
do a fantastic job of dropping clues and bits of information along the way that can help you make an
educated guess prior to the end of the episode. Were you able to identify it correctly?

Skill #4: Evaluation

What it Means: Being able to evaluate the credibility of statements or descriptions of a persons
experience, judgment or opinion in order to measure the validity of the information being presented.
Imagine you are leading a focus group at work to determine how your customers view the organizations
products. You ask the group a few questions that uncover several negative opinions about certain items
you sell. You will need to use this skill to evaluate those responses, so you can determine if the
information you received is valid and whether or not it needs to be further looked into.
Application Exercise: With the invention of the Internet this is a skill you can hone anytime you begin
a search online. For practice, run a search on how to be a leader at work to test your evaluation skills. Are
you able to identify whether the information you find is reliable and valid? Being aware of additional
information you may need to make this assessment is essential. (Hint: In this example, you may need to
evaluate the websites URL, the authors bio and potentially many other pieces of information.)

Skill #5: Explanation

What it Means: Having the ability to not only restate information, but add clarity and perspective to the
information, so it can be fully understood by anyone you are sharing it with.
Imagine you are giving two presentations for new product ideas; one to the CEO of the company, and the
other to product engineers. You know both groups are extremely interested in hearing what you have to
say, but you will need to be able to explain these ideas in two very different ways. The CEO may only
need to hear high level ideas about the products while the engineers will need more specific product
details. Your ability to clearly explain your ideas while keeping in mind who you are presenting to is
important for making sure the information is understood and well received.

Application Exercise: Its important to remember not everyone has or needs the knowledge or
information you have. Practice this skill by explaining something complex that you have knowledge about
to two different types of people. Use your kids and your spouse since they typically will not have the same
level of knowledge of certain subjects. For example, explain to your kids and your spouse separately how
a cell phone works. The explanation should be different since they have two different levels of
knowledge yet both of them should receive a similar understanding of the subject.

Skill #6: Self-Regulation

What it Means: Having the awareness of your own thinking abilities and the elements that you are using
to find results.
Imagine you are on the phone with a customer attempting to work through a problem they are having with
your companys software, and its your first week on the job. The problem they are having is complex, and
yet, you still want to assist them in order to make a good impression at work. Your ability to understand
that perhaps transferring them to a coworker with more knowledge on the subject is the best way to
provide the customer with a positive result.

Application Exercise: Its important to be able to separate your own personal biases or self-interests
when making decisions at work. Lets imagine your manager asks you to write down 10 reasons why you
deserve a raise prior to an annual review. After you complete your reasons, read through each and focus
on identifying your own potential biases that may impact your argument. Awareness of these biases
will help you generate a much stronger case for getting a raise.
So the next time someone starts talking to you about developing critical thinking skills for your career,
hopefully now you will be able to tell them you know what they are, how they are used in the workplace
and how to go about continually developing them for the future.
Three Aspects of Successful Intelligence
To be successfully intelligent (see Graphic 13) is to think well in three different ways: analytically,
creatively, and practically. Typically, only analytical intelligence is valued on tests and in the
classroom. Yet the style of intelligence that schools most readily recognize may well be less useful to
many students in their adult lives than creative and practical intelligence.
The three aspects of successful intelligence are related. Analytical or componential thinking is
required to solve problems and to judge the quality of ideas. Creative or experiential
intelligence is required to formulate good problems and ideas in the first place. Practical or
contextual intelligence is needed to use the ideas and their analysis in an effective way in ones
everyday life.

Successful intelligence is most effective when it balances all three of its analytical, creative, and
practical aspects. It is more important to know when and how to use these aspects of successful
intelligence than just to have them. Successfully intelligent people dont just have abilities, they
reflect on when and how to use these abilities effectively.

The theory suggests that successfully intelligent people are those who have the ability to achieve
success according to their own definition of success, within their socio-cultural context. They do so
by identifying and capitalizing on their strengths, and identifying and correcting or compensating for
their weaknesses in order to adapt to, shape, and select environments. Such attunement to the
environment uses a balance of analytical, creative, and practical skills. The theory views intelligence
as a form of developing competencies, and competencies as forms of developing expertise. In other
words, intelligence is modifiable rather than fixed. ~ R. Sternberg
(http://www.yale.edu/rjsternberg/#higher)
 Analytical Componential Intelligence==

Analytical intelligence encompasses the ability to think abstractly and process information effectively.
Persons high on this dimension are able to think critically and analytically. Analytical intelligence
emphasizes effectiveness in information processing and is characterized by high test scores and
high I.Q. scores.

Qualities of analytical intelligence:

Analyze Informed Evaluate

Logical Judge Organized

Explain Critique Balanced (points of view)

Creative Experiential Intelligence

Creative intelligence includes the ability to formulate new ideas, to combine seemingly unrelated
facts or information. It emphasizes insight and the ability to invent new solutions and is overlooked
by test scores.

Qualities of creative intelligence:

Create Novel Design

Compelling Imagine Informed

Suppose Invent Appropriate to task

Practical Contextual Intelligence

Practical intelligence covers the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and to shape
the environment so as to maximize ones strengths and compensate for ones weaknesses. It
emphasizes intelligence in a practical sense. Persons high on this dimension quickly recognize what
factors influence success on various tasks and are adept at both adapting to and shaping their
environment so that they can accomplish various goals. Practical intelligence is not reflected in test
scores.

Qualities of practical intelligence:

Use Apply Informed
Contextualize Implement Feasible (time and resources)