Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully

conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered

from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a
guide to belief and action. (Michael Scriven & Richard Paul,, 1987). Problem-solving skills
are the ability to identify problems, brainstorm and analyse answers, and implement the best
solutions. The above defined are soft skills, that is, non-technical skills that describe how you
work and interact with others. These have proven to be part of the most important life skills
in the 21st century, hence their incorporation in the new Education 5.0 where all academic
institutions are expected to inculcate these values in the learner. This paper will focus on the
importance of these skills in tertiary education.

Critical Thinking skills and their importance in tertiary education

Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the

highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently
attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. (Linda Elder, , September, 2007) Critical
thinkers have specific traits that allow them to think the way they do. These traits
include:

 Dispositions

These include open mindedness, being able to consider different points of view, clarity
and precision

 Argument

An argument is making a statement aided by supporting evidence. use of well thought-

out arguments when one is in a constructive conflict is one trait of a critical thinking.
When analysing a situation critically, one needs to make several arguments in their
own mind to come to a judgment.

 Reasoning

critical thinking also requires inferring conclusions. One ought to use reasoning skills
to come to a logical conclusion.

 Criteria

Critical thinking is sometimes a matter of discerning truth from fiction. Not all facts
presented may have the same level of truth. Certain conditions need to be met for
something to be considered believable, and a critical thinker needs to be able to get to
that conclusion.

 Metacognition

Metacognition is the ability to think about your own thinking. Critical thinkers
should be able to analyse their thoughts so that they can judge whether or not
they’ve thought everything through
 Critical thinking is essential for students’ overall development and for the social
transformation of their environment, since universities should not only be certificate-granting
institutions, but should also aim to educate people to engage in ethical and socially
responsible behaviour, capable to solve complex problems, thus transforming, improving and
building the societies of the future, through processes of analysis, reflection and decision
making g (Agredo Tobar & Burbano Mulcue, 2012; González, 2008; Indrasiene et al.,
2019) . (Fahim and Masouleh 2012; Bassham et al. 2013 There are a number of critical
thinking skills such as: identifying bias, inference, research , identification, curiosity
and judging relevance.

Students who implement critical thinking skills approach the courseware in a more thoughtful
and effective manner, ask more challenging questions and participate in the learning process
more intensely. Students who develop critical thinking skills often practice those skills well
into later life. Other scholars interpreted the role of critical thinking in higher education as
natural because higher education itself requires higher cognitive skills from a person. Other
authors argue that critical thinking is associated with higher academic achievements because
it not only helps to better understand, select and analyse information but also allows one to
partake in discussions more aptly, reason logically (Stupnisky et al. 2008) and present
evidence and facts, as well as generally contributing to more effective behaviour in
overcoming obstacles or dealing with ordinary situations (Ghazivakili et al. 2014)

In academics, critical thinking allows people to understand and apply things instead of just
remembering and maybe later forgetting them. Being a good student requires thinking
critically about what is going on in your school and other institutions. It can be argued that
being a good human requires one to learn actively and make choices rationally. Critical
thinking in education also helps people to analyze interpret, observe and explain
concepts. Students are expected to think critically in such a way that their ideas would
provide better life for themselves and the people around them, which is the aim of university
students.

First year students tend to face difficulties during their first days on the campus due to an
intense change of environment from high school to University. Hence they are required to
know how to use their critical thinking skills to adapt to their environmental changes. College
students are also required to use their skills in critical thinking when writing assignments.
Most students often plagiarise their assignments from friends, internet or sometimes books
which is an academic offense. Critical thinking enables students to properly select
information, acting as a filter of sorts; it also encourages looking for the correct information
in order to fully understand a phenomenon or process (Magrabi et al. 2018).

College might be academically challenging and this can be improved by attacking the
complex course of studying and sharing of ideas between one another and charting each other
understands to bring out best results. Critical thinking is essential as one has to search for a
competent school mate or class mate to tackle the load with and it is impossible to do so
without critical thinking skills. Identification of bias is an essential skill in critical
thinking and hence should be inculcated in university students. When students conduct
project or dissertation studies they conduct researches and they should be by all means
factual, free from bias and provide solutions. It's important to understand bias when one is
researching because it helps identify purpose of a text and if the text is biased or not. This is
important in preparing students as participants in democratic and civil societies (Barnett
2015) who will be able to expose fake news in the flow of information—in other words,
deconstruct this fake ‘knowledge’ while also weakening the threat it poses. Critical thinking
facilitates creativity. Creative solutions to problems require more than new ideas.
Students who are able to analyze and critique ideas are able to make connections across
disciplines, see knowledge as useful and applicable, and comprehend the subject matter
on a deeper, more lasting level.

Problem Solving skills and their importance in tertiary education

Problem solving is the process of identifying a problem, developing possible solution paths,
and taking the appropriate course of action. It is one of the key skills employers seek in job
applicants, as employees with these skills tend to be self-reliant. Problem solving involves the
following steps:

 Analysing Contributing Factors

To solve a problem, one must find the cause of the problem at hand. This requires
gathering and evaluation of data, isolation of possible contributing circumstances, and
pinpointing what needs to be addressed for a resolution.

 Generating Interventions

Once the cause has been determined, brainstorming of possible solutions comes into play.
Sometimes this involves. A single strategy is rarely the obvious route to solving a complex
problem; devising a set of alternatives helps cover bases and reduces your risk of exposure
should the first strategy you implement fail.

 Evaluating Solutions

Depending on the nature of the problem and the chain of command, evaluating best
solutions may be performed by assigned teams, team leads, or forwarded to corporate
decision-makers. Whoever makes the decision must evaluate potential costs, required
resources, and possible barriers to successful solution implementation.

 Implementing a Plan

Once a course of action has been decided, it must be implemented along with benchmarks
that can quickly and accurately determine whether it’s working. Plan implementation also
involves letting personnel know about changes in standard operating procedures.

 Assessing the Solution's Effectiveness

Once a solution is implemented, the best problem-solvers have systems in place to

evaluate if and how quickly it's working. This way, they know as soon as possible
whether the issue has been resolved or whether they’ll have to change their response to
the problem mid-stream
Some examples of the problem solving skills or the certain attributes that a problem solver
should possess include: Decision making, Communication, Team building, Active listening
and Creativity. These skills are inculcated in students through various methods that include:
Group assignments, Group presentation, Sporting activities, Scientific and other research
projects.

After having these skills inculcated in students they should contain a form of relevance to
them as individuals. In order to achieve success outside the classroom, students must be
creative and adaptable. Creativity is important as it alters the way students approach a
problem. It allows them to think outside the box, experiment and come up with innovative
ways to find solutions for various problems. Employers always demand individuals who can
work in a group and can jump out of their inherent thinking mode, especially since many of
the challenges that the world faces today are unique and new. Hence creativity is essential for
university students because after a few years of study they are incorporated into the industry
where employers need innovation and fresh ideas, thus making it an essential skill.

Between all the rigorous study times, pressures from loads of work and stress from their own
social lives students should possess skills such as decision making to curb these problems.
They ought to decide what is more important than the other and evaluate different life
situations. University can be emotionally overwhelming, some students run the risk of falling
behind their peers or becoming emotionally withdrawn at school. With well-developed
communication skills one can communicate the problem to others and seek the appropriate
assistance be it emotionally or academics. Hence students must be able to communicate
effectively.

Dependability is one of the most important skills for students in tertiary education for
problem solving. The method of team work or group work is mainly emphasised in the
tertiary education hence one should be able to depend on their team for a successful group
assignment. Dependability is also important as one should be able to rely and trust others for
advice and ideas towards tackling a problem one could be having. Analysis is one other
important problem solving skill and it is important as one should evaluate whether a solution
is effective or not. This applies in university when peers come up with solutions and others
critic the problem until an ideal solution is given. Moreover, analysis is also important on
evaluating if the advice given to an individual when they as their peers is solid or not.

When students practice problem solving consistently, they can develop better social and
situational awareness. They will also learn to manage time properly and develop patience.
Students who learn problem-solving skills often have a deeper understanding of causality.
When students solve problems individually or in a group, they become more resilient. They
learn to look at problems from a new perspective. Therefore, it makes them capable of taking
more calculated risks.

Conclusion

When establishing curricula and teaching-learning activities to develop critical thinking at

university, it is very important to take into account the opinion of teachers on the importance
they give to this competence, the possibilities they see for teaching it in the classroom and the
difficulties they perceive in this process. The University should also find interesting methods
to teach modules as such as students have a lot of pressure and these might help release the
pressure. In summary these problem solving and critical thinking skills have become so
essential that one can not do without.

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