The need and the impact of critical thinking

On engineering students and engineers

Prepared for
Dr. Zayed Al-huneiti
Al-Balqa University

Prepared by
Osama Ali

July 14, 2019

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 LIST OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………..3
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………4
Definition Of Critical Thinking……………………………….5
Critical Thinking Gives Good Preparation……………….5,6
The Importance Of Critical Thinking For Success In Our Present
World……………….6,7,8
Critical Thinking Enhances learning
Process…………………..8
Critical Thinking Develops Personal Goal Setting ……..9

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………….10
REFERENCES………………………………………………….11,12

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 ABSTRACT
This report will be about the critical thinking how it how it is important
for student engineers and engineers in their field work and in their
personal life.
Starting with definitions of critical thinking addressing them from
different perspectives.
Then completing about the importance of critical thinking by how it
gives good preparation for the challenge of this century.
After that mentioning and explaining how critical thinking is importance
for success in our fast changing world.
Then describing how critical thinking enhances learning in many fields
of it.
At last demonstrate how critical thinking developed goal settings.

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 INTRODUCTION

In different countries efforts have been made to integrate critical

thinking into science curricula, recognizing that it is necessary to
live in a plural society with citizenship competence.
Furthermore, as it is being important for countries, it is now day
very vital in the engineering world as it is not exist in the new
generation of engineers.
One of the reasons that critical thinking has not been remarkable
for engineering students, that they really do not know the serious
benefits of it.
In addition, employers are complaining that engineering
graduates often lack good critical thinking (according to one 2016
survey, more than half of companies say that new employees
aren’t sufficiently trained in effective forms of critical thinking) and
that is because they want engineers who can evaluate a situation
using logical thought and come up with the best solution. It is
clear that someone with critical thinking skills can be trusted to
make decisions on his or her own and does not need constant
handholding, this what really employers want.

However, this report will include the definition of critical thinking

and will focus on the main points that makes critical thinking very
important for engineers such as how would critical thinking
prepare engineers for the challenge of the 21 century live and
work.

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Definition Of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking — about any subject,
content, or problem — in which the thinker improves the quality of
his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and
reconstructing it.
Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored,
and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous
standards of excellence and mindful command of their use.
It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as
well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism.
Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments that are
logical and well-thought out. It is a way of thinking in which you
don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are
exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such
arguments and conclusions. It requires wanting to see what
evidence is involved to support a particular argument or
conclusion. People who use critical thinking are the ones who say
things such as, 'How do you know that? Is this conclusion based
on evidence or gut feelings?' and 'Are there alternative
possibilities when given new pieces of information?’

Critical Thinking Gives Good Preparation

In this century (21st century), engineering student and new
graduated engineers must prepare them self for the challenge of
this century, and the best preparation for this challenge is
achieving the ability of critical thinking.

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Critical thinking, is not an optional skill in the 21st century.
Innovation is needed to solve the serious problems of global
warming, economic crises, and food and water shortages. In
addition, rapid advances in technology make it crucial that we not
only learn new skill sets, but that we also continually assess the
results and impacts of our new habits.
This ability to learn, practice, and analyze is at the heart of critical
thinking, which many consider the key to closing the wisdom gap
in our country. Instruction in critical thinking is becoming
exceedingly important because it allows individuals to gain a more
complex understanding of information they encounter and
promotes good decision-making and problem-solving in real-world
applications (Butler et al., 2012, Halpern, 2003, Ku, 2009).
Due to what can be considered an exponential increase in the
creation of new information every year (Darling-Hammond, 2008,
Jukes and McCain, 2002), and that is what the world of
engineering need constantly and especially these days, the
creativity and the new solving methods for our contemporary
problems.
Critical thinking skills are needed more than ever in order to aid
individuals in becoming more adaptable, flexible and better able
to cope with this rapidly evolving information.

The Importance Of Critical Thinking For Success

In Our Present World
Success is a mindset is taken on to achieve specific goals, and
like all other mindsets, it does not just be drop once the specific
goals are achieved. Instead, it must be adopt it continue forever.

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One of the most important steps for success, is selecting smart
goals. As an engineering student or an engineer this not easy
enough to do, that is because of our fast changing world, from the
great development in technology to the rapidly advancing
innovations, where these things make choosing what direction
should an engineer goes for.
However, to take the right way and the appropriate goal,
analyzing the area around and detecting problems with analyzing
to determine the difficulty of solving them and what the present
and the future need all things mentioned requires critical thinking,
as it is the best way for coming with something new.
Critical thinking skills are essential to success — any kind of
success. Successful individuals are thinkers and they
surround themselves with thinkers.
Considering Warren Buffett. He is known as the most successful
investor of all time, and by his own estimate, he has spent 80
percent of his career reading, and what makes him so successful
is that he isn’t willing to be a passive recipient of what he reads.
Instead, he schedule time to evaluate the information he gets so
as to form his own insights. This may sound counterproductive.
We’ve been taught to work more, sleep less, and hyper-focus on
the things that directly pertain to our goals. We call it being
productive. Buffett and those like him find thinking, reading, and
contemplating more productive than taking meetings and
“working.” He actively pursues knowledge.
Why people with strong critical thinking skills like Warren Buffett
are more likely to succeed?
Critical thinking involves being able to process information
independently and to think clearly, logically, and reflectively.

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 It is the ability to engage in rational thought and to understand
and establish a connection between ideas. In essence, critical
thinking is the ability to reason. It is about being an active learner
rather than a passive recipient of information.

Critical Thinking Enhances learning Process

Encouraging students to build awareness, understanding and
control of their thought processes – also known as metacognition
– has been identified by the Education Endowment
Foundation (EEF) Toolkit as one of the most cost-effective ways
to improve learning. 
It’s all about getting students to think critically about their own
learning. As the EEF explains, learners can be given “specific
strategies to set goals and monitor and evaluate their own
academic development.
As the critical thinking helps in encouraging self-awareness,
setting goals and prompt self-questioning and enhances modeling
for the thought process. As result this will surely enhances the
learning process and will increase the outcomes.
The critical mind is customarily enquiring, inquisitive and probing.
But it could, equally and at the same time, be attentive, engaged
and interested. The student here typically is exposed to and
involved in processes that are speculative, investigative,
searching, intrusive, penetrating and explorative in nature, and
that what gives the learning process the enjoyment and improves
the scientific thinking.

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Critical Thinking Develops Personal Goal Setting
In general, people set for themselves a specific goal and then start
trying to achieve it. Unfortunately, most people does not achieve it
after even several attempts and that is because the problem with
typical goal setting is that the goals set are too broad — and
people have no idea where to start. So when they set a goal like,
“I want to get healthy,” they end up spinning your wheels.
One of the most efficient method for goal setting and have been
developed by critical thinking is “SMART”.
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and
time-oriented. 
 And with each element in SMART objectives, includes a set of
questions that’ll help in setting a winning goal.
 Specific. What will my goal achieve? What is the precise
outcome I’m looking for?
 Measurable. How will I know when I’ve accomplished the
goal? What does success look like?
 Attainable. Are there resources I need to achieve the goal?
What are those resources? (eg gym membership, bank
account, new clothes, etc)
 Relevant. Why am I doing this? Do I really WANT to do this?
Is it a priority in my life right now?
 Time-oriented. What is the deadline? Will I know in a few
weeks if I’m on the right track?

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, critical thinking represents a way of thinking that is
very desirable in engineering because it improves the creativity
and analysis methods for solving problems and it enhances the
learning skill by improving it with enjoyment and giving it the
scientific color as mentioned before.
Critical thinking is not just important in engineering field, it is
essential in our lives to get successful and do the best goal
setting in a perfect way.

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 LIST OF REFERENCES
1-Booklet from Open University “Thinking Critically”:
http://www.openuniversity.edu/sites/www.openuniversity.edu/files/brochures/C
ritical-thinking-Open-University.pdf
2-Critical thinking for engineers, by M.Tran:
https://sites.tufts.edu/eeseniordesignhandbook/2013/an-engineers-path-to-
critical-thinking/
3-Critical Thinking Definitions, Skills and Examples, by A.Dole:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/critical-thinking-definition-with-
examples-2063745
4- Critical thinking: Conceptual clarification and its importance in science
education, by Rui Marques Vieira, Celina Tenreiro-Vieira, Isabel P. Martins
University of Aveiro, Portugal: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ941655.pdf
5- An integrated critical thinking framework for the 21st centuryBy,
Christopher P.Dwyer, Michael J.HoganIanStewart
6- Thinking Matters: Critical Thinking Is Crucial for Success by
Stedman Graham :https://www.huffpost.com/entry/thinking-matters-
critical_b_6317198?guccounter=1
7- Warren Buffett: How He Does It, by INVESTOPEDIA STAFF:
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/01/071801.asp
8- Critical thinking enhances performance, by Clive W Kronenberg:
https://mg.co.za/article/2019-02-08-00-critical-thinking-enhances-
performance
9- Critical thinking: how to help your students become better learners, by
Guardian Tech: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-
network/2017/jul/21/critical-thinking-ideas-help-students-learn-better
10- How Critical Thinking Improves Life Outcomes, by Helen Lee Bouygues
https://www.forbes.com/sites/helenleebouygues/2018/11/21/how-critical-
thinking-improves-life-outcomes/#66d7c3c48117

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11- How to be successful: 3 simple steps to a better, fulfilling life by
R.smith:
https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-be-successful/
12- Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies:
https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-in-everyday-life-9-
strategies/512

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