Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following:

Understand the logical connections between ideas.
Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.
Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning.
Solve problems systematically.
Identify the relevance and importance of ideas.
Reflect on the justification of one’s own beliefs and values.
Critical thinking is not simply a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. Critical thinkers are able to deduce consequences from what they know, make use of information to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform themselves.

Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people. Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking can also play an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks. Critical thinking can help us acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments. We can also use critical thinking to enhance work processes and improve social institutions.

Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because critical thinking requires following the rules of logic and rationality, whereas creativity might require breaking those rules. This is a misconception. Critical thinking is quite compatible with thinking “out-of-the-box,” challenging consensus views, and pursuing less popular approaches. If anything, critical thinking is an essential part of creativity because we need critical thinking to evaluate and improve our creative ideas.

This resource is used to provide library instruction for introductory undergraduate composition courses.

This resource is used for library instruction in undergraduate second semester composition courses

This resource serves as a resource for those engaged in exploring open at Oklahoma State University.

What is educational technology? The current definition provided by AECT is “the ethical study and application of theory, research, and practices to advance knowledge, improve learning and performance, and empower learners through strategic design, management, implementation, and evaluation of learning experiences and environments using appropriate processes and resources.”

Word Count: 22753

Philosophical Thought: across cultures and through the ages, is an open-educational resource (OER) to be used as a collection of readings for introductory philosophy courses. The objectives for developing and sharing this open resource are three-fold:

1. to provide a collection of philosophical works that can be used as a foundation for faculty and students to use in undergraduate philosophy courses
2. to provide a resource that is free to students
3. to provide a resource that compiles philosophical thought from a variety of cultures and eras

The works included in this book come from a wide range of sources. However, this book is indebted to Henry Imler’s editorial work on Sapienta and Phronesis, both of which are OER texts available on Pressbooks.

Short Description:
This modern, open-source guide to technical and professional writing explores workplace composition through theoretical and practical applications. Discussions of multiple writing genres will assist you in understanding how to apply for jobs, how to compose clear and precise business communications once the job has been acquired, and how to create documents -- such as proposals and reports -- that will be instrumental in helping to advance your career.

Long Description:
Building from strong open-source foundations, this modern guide to technical and professional writing explores workplace composition through both practical and theoretical lenses. Multidisciplinary backgrounds and decades of professional work experience–both in and outside of academia–have given the authors and editors of this text keen insight into the writing demands of professional, business environments. With an emphasis on understanding the basics of each writing genre–as well as the supplemental sections that may, for example, enhance a résumé or a strengthen a proposal–this text aims to provide clear, informed, considerate, and contemporary explanations for those wanting to optimally construct and efficiently compose résumés, cover letters, memorandums, instructional guides, proposals, and analytical and oral reports.

Word Count: 77972

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Short Description:
This resource is designed specifically to meet the academic writing needs of international students studying at universities in the United States. The materials in the book can be covered within a 14-week semester, but each chapter or section may also be used independently.Based on a series of needs analysis projects, this resource provides an overview of major rhetorical patterns of writing that are commonly used in university settings in the United States. These commonly required genres include descriptive and evaluative summaries, short essays, comparison and contrast assignments, literature reviews, descriptive reports, and proposals. The resource includes chapters that address the structure and purpose of these more common genres, including an awareness of the ways that the target audience and situation should shape the writing of each.

Long Description:
This resource is designed specifically to meet the academic writing needs of international students studying at universities in the United States. The materials in the book can be covered within a 14-week semester, but each chapter or section may also be used independently.

Based on a series of needs analysis projects, this resource provides an overview of major rhetorical patterns of writing that are commonly used in university settings in the United States. These commonly required genres include descriptive and evaluative summaries, short essays, comparison and contrast assignments, literature reviews, descriptive reports, and proposals. The resource includes chapters that address the structure and purpose of these more common genres, including an awareness of the ways that the target audience and situation should shape the writing of each.

A second important focus of the textbook is teaching students how to make effective use of sources within established academic integrity standards. The third focus of the book is on key grammatical forms and constructions that are important in each of the types of writing the students will practice. By treating grammar integratively in context, we hope to address more effectively the aspects that cause difficulties in academic writing.

Word Count: 42280

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)