Course Overview
Why learn critical thinking?
When working in the real world, the outcomes we achieve depend on the quality and rigour of the thinking and planning that goes into them. Short cuts often lead to failures. However, we are rarely taught directly how to think rigorously. Instead, we study other things and hope to pick it up via osmosis. Where we can learn it, it is often technical or academic.
This course helps connect the real world with the rigorous thinking we need. It provides practical training that, while based on the best research and thinking from thousands of years of philosophical practice, applies it through intuitive, real world examples and methods. It is designed to sharpen and improve your existing skills, not teach you a new vocabulary and discipline.
What you will learn
This course builds out a method that can be used to improve the rigour of your thinking for anything you might be doing, whether planning a trip away, writing a compelling business case, constructing an implementation plan or writing a PhD thesis. It focuses on teaching participants how to identify the structure of their thinking; ways to find gaps their planning, argument or evidence; and techniques to ensure the final plan or product is as coherent and persuasive as possible.
The thinking techniques in this course are drawn from the practice of philosophy and expand normal human intuitions and skills. Unlike some other critical thinking courses, it is not based on formal logic or maths and so no prior knowledge is needed. Participants will leave the course with templates and structured sets of questions to help improve their critical thinking every day.
The method and techniques covered in the course can be both applied individually and in groups. They can be adapted for team or workshop processes.
What to expect
This is a highly interactive, hands on course where you will learn by doing, not just listening to presentations. You will work through a number of seemingly simple examples and then get to go deeper as you practice your critical thinking skills on a real life example. Participants are encouraged to bring some piece of work or planning with them to work on through the course.
This is the only critical thinking course that combines principles from formal philosophy with training on when to embrace your inner 3-year-old; and that can explicitly be applied for planning, analysis and communications.
Upcoming Courses
We are holding a pilot demonstration course in person in Canberra on Monday 9 December 2024. This will be a great opportunity to experience a different type of training at a discounted price. We’ll be seeking detailed feedback from all participants.
Contact us to find out more.