Chapter 15 Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Handout and Study Guide

Melody

Adding this when you first learn new information and may help trigger your memory when you try to recall that information.

flashcards

Effective study tool for learning new material or reviewing information, writing the term on one side and the information to that term on the other side

study group

Explaining information to others helps to understand it better, everyone here is thinking out loud and learning from one another.

reception phase

First phase of the learning process in which you take in information without yet knowing what it means.

associating

Making links between familiar items and new information helps you remember the new information

Acrostic

Phrases or sentences created from the first letter of each item on a list

Name the four processes involved in effective studying.

Refreshing one's memory, Taking in new information, Organizing and memorizing data, Making connections among information

perception phase

Second phase of the learning process is where you give meaning to the information

Name five possible distractions that you want to avoid when choosing a study area.

TV, Cooking odors, High or low temperature, Lighting, Surroundings

To evaluate information is to assess whether it is supported by what?

facts

Being open to all viewpoints and evaluating them equally

fair-mindedness

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ means being open to all viewpoints and evaluating the viewpoints equally.

fair-mindedness

What are the seven characteristics of critical thinkers?

fair-mindedness, autonomy, perseverance, integrity, creativity, humility, confidence

Hypothesis testing is a step in both basic problem solving and scientific problem solving. true or false

false

If you have implemented your solution and it does not work right away, abandon it and find another. true or false

false

Intuitive problem solving is based on logic. true or false

false

One way to gather information is through brainstorming sessions, during which you should let people know if their ideas and thoughts seem crazy to you. true or false

false

Step three, selecting the best option, involves choosing the course of action with the biggest payoff even if it is the riskiest. true or false

false

There are a total 10 steps in the basic problem-solving approach. true or false

false

Being willing to admit what you do not know is called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and is an important characteristic of a critical thinker.

humility

What are the five steps of basic problem solving?

identify the problem, identify possible solutions, select the best option, implement the solution, evaluate the results

Critical thinking is self-correcting through constant reevaluation and reflects a desire to what?

improve

A health care professional who has _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ applies the same rigorous standards of proof to his or her own knowledge and beliefs as he or she would apply to the knowledge and beliefs of others.

integrity

When a person instinctively, without logical thinking, identifies a solution to a problem based on its similarity or dissimilarity to other problems, which type of problem solving is the person using?

intuitive

What are the important characteristics of a good study area?

little distractions, good lighting, comfortable temperature, and inviting surroundings.

Where does the brain organize and store information for extended periods?

long-term memory

List effective strategies for learning and retaining knowledge in long-term memory.

make associations, acronyms, acrostics, flashcards, music

As a healthcare professional, what will you often be called on to analyze?

patient information

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ requires dedication and determination to find an effective solution to a problem.

perseverance

What steps are involved in the scientific problem-solving process?

problem identification, data collection, hypothesis formulation, plan of action, hypothesis testing, interpretation of results, evaluation

One of the four principles of critical thinking states that critical thinking is results-oriented and what else?

purposeful

What are the four features of effective critical thinking in health care?

purposeful and results-oriented, judgments based on evidence rather than guesswork, guided professional standards and ethics code, self-correcting through constant reevaluation and reflects desire to improve

Briefly describe the three-part process of receiving information.

reception, perception, and selection. Reception is where you take in information without knowing what it means, perception is where you give meaning to the information and lastly the selection is where your brain recognizes information as important or unimportant, determining whether to remember it or not.

studying involves...

refreshing one's memory, taking in new information, organizing and memorizing data

Surveying material that has already been covered is called

reviewing

____________ problem solving is a systematic problem-solving process used in controlled laboratory settings.

scientific

What critical thinking is based on and which means that judgments are based on evidence rather than guesswork

scientific method

Which type of memory can hold five to nine chunks of information, depending on how well the information is grouped?

short-term memory

explain why surroundings is important when choosing a good study area

should be inviting, where you are able to spend a long time in that place, must feel comfortable in order to work effectively

The basic problem-solving process includes identifying the problem; identifying possible ___________; selecting the best option; implementing the solution; and evaluating the results.

solutions

Explain what daily preparation is and name two things that help keep your daily preparation organized.

this is preparing for your day, being able to keep up with your work in an organized way. Two things that will keep you organized are to make to-do lists and keep a planner

explain why temperature is important when choosing a good study area

too cold is distracting, too hot can cause heat stress and impair mental sharpness, the best way to study is to have something that is comfortable for you

explain why lighting is important when choosing a good study area

too much would hurt your eyes, too little will strain your eyes, must be evenly distributed over the workstation and not directly into your eyes

Evaluating the results is the last step in basic problem solving and it means reassessing the situation to determine whether the problem has been solved. true or false

true

Gathering pertinent data, step two, may take some time but will be worth it. true or false

true

Health care professionals would not be likely to use scientific problem solving in the workplace. true or false

true

Intuition often plays a role in clinical decision making. true or false

true

Most health care professionals use the general problem-solving technique more regularly than the intuitive problem-solving technique. true or false

true

Scientific problem solving involves seven steps. true or false

true

Scientific problem solving has a few steps in common with basic problem solving. true or false

true

The first step in the basic problem-solving approach is to identify the problem. true or false

true

Trial-and-error problem solving is another effective problem-solving technique for health care professionals. true or false

true

________ memory describes how the brain stores and retrieves information from short-term and long-term memory.

working

The first step in critical thinking is to ________ information in an objective way

analyze

To analyze information as part of the critical thinking process, what is a good way to break that information down into parts?

ask questions

Being capable of thinking for oneself and reaching one's own conclusions

autonomy

Thinking for yourself and reaching your own conclusions is a component of critical thinking called _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

autonomy

Encourages people to generate creative thoughts spontaneously, without stopping to analyze each idea

brainstorming

What four elements should members of a successful study group possess?

committed- interest in learning, contributing- willing to share, compatible- able to overlook differences and focus, considerate- willing to arrive for studying on time

Believing that well-reasoned thinking will lead to trustworthy conclusions demonstrates _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in the reasoning process.

confidence

Where is the scientific problem-solving technique most often used?

controlled laboratory settings to carry out experiments.

Questioning the best way to accomplish any task and finding more effective solutions is showing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

creativity

____________ thinking is a systematic way to form and shape one's thinking that functions purposefully and exactingly.

critical

Systematic way to form and shape one's thinking that functions purposefully and exactingly

critical thinking

A good study area should be free of ____________ and have adequate space and lighting, a comfortable temperature, and pleasant surroundings.

distractions

One of the four principles of critical thinking states that critical thinking is guided by professional standards and what else?

ethics code

Once information has been objectively analyzed in critical thinking, the next step is to do what with it?

evaluate

Phrase or sentence created from the first letter of each item on a list

acrostic

working memory

What the brain uses to store and retrieve information from short-term and long-term memory.

acronym

Word created from the first letter of each word in a phrase or each item on a list.

selection phase

Your brain recognizes information as important or unimportant and decides whether the fact should be processed for remembering.

Word created from the first letter of each word in a phrase or each item on a list

acronym