Ready to Roar: Critical Thinking
July 17, 2024
LSU produces highly capable students that are ready to enter the workplace of any
discipline. The combination of professional experiences, academic pursuits, and involvement
opportunities on and off campus produce graduates that are: Ready to Roar.
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Critical Thinking
What is critical thinking?
The ability to identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information. Also the ability to think clearly and rationally to make decisions.
What critical thinking looks like:
- Making decisions and solving problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgement.
- Gathering and analyzing information from a diverse set of sources and individuals to fully understand a problem.
- Proactively anticipating needs and prioritizing action steps.
- Accurately summarizing and interpreting data with an awareness of personal biases that may impact outcomes.
- Effectively communicating actions and rationale, recognizing the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of stakeholders.
- Multi-tasking well in a fast-paced environment.
Where to build critical thinking skills as a student:
- Classroom discussions
- Student employment
- Supplemental Instructor roles
- Resident Assistant roles
- Student research
How employers may ask about critical thinking:
- Tell me about a time that you used data to make an informed decision about your next steps in a project.
- Describe a time when you had to come up with a creative solution to a problem
- How do you effectively gather information to make well informed decisions?
- Recall a time when your education and experiences did not prepare you for a task. What did you do?
- Can you give me an example of a time when your attention to detail prevented a mistake or error?
How to put critical thinking skills on your resume:
- Strategically evaluated materials submitted to determine placement and flow in yearbook.
- Resolved customer concerns effectively and with a high level of customer service.
- Analyzed data on a monthly basis to showcase progress of each specimen and overall project.
- Tailored communication and explanations to students based on current level of understanding.
- Researched and developed a counselor mentoring program for new staff members to provide additional training and support.
- Creatively planned and implemented residential programs that focused on social and academic success.
- Analyzed customer purchase history using sales tracking database to produce product ordering guidelines for a local small business.
- Conducted extensive research on foreign companies and international trade for capstone project.
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