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What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates?

What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates?. A primer on critical and creative thinking by Randall Peterman (with a few thoughts added from Ken Lertzman). What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates?. A. Critical thinking skills B. Creative thinking and problem-solving skills

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What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates?

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  1. What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates? A primer on critical and creative thinking by Randall Peterman (with a few thoughts added from Ken Lertzman)

  2. What do people look for in Ph.D. graduates? A. Critical thinking skills B. Creative thinking and problem-solving skills C. Ability to synthesize across large amounts of complex information D. Excellent ability to communicate in writing and through speaking E. Ability to carry out thorough and rigorous analyses independently

  3. A. Critical thinking skills Be able to: • Judge plausibility of specific assertions • Weigh evidence • Assess the logical soundness of assumptions • Construct counter-arguments  • Come up with alternative explanations or hypotheses (part of creative thinking skills too)

  4. What makes people good critical thinkers? • Good background knowledge • Disposition to think critically • Questioning attitude • Willingness to become actively involved in a subject • Ability to combine several different types of thinking at the same time (e.g. logical, creative, critical)

  5. Critical Thinking Four-Step Model (Brookfield 1987): • Identifying assumptions • Challenging assumptions • Exploring alternatives • Imagining outcomes of alternatives

  6. B. Creative thinking and problem-solving skills Be able to: • Think outside the narrow confines (or accepted norms) of a problem 2. Generate several alternative explanations or hypotheses about some observation (or, if applicable, alternative ways of solving some problem) 3. Notice, and follow up on, deviations from a pattern, rather than just noticing the pattern 4. Come up with innovative ideas 5. Apply those ideas to something tangible and real 6. Question underlying assumptions (thus, apply critical thinking skills)

  7. What makes people creative? • Sense of challenge • Curiosity • Joy of discovery • Tolerance of ambiguity • Desire to learn • Willingness to experiment • Desire to see things differently • Wonder • Positive discontent • Willingness to take risks • Inquisitiveness • Continually asking questions • Internal motivation

  8. C. Ability to synthesize across large amounts of complex information Be able to: 1. View information (problems, questions, knowledge, and research methods) from multiple perspectives. 2. Combine separate elements to create something that is original, innovative, and adds insight. 3. Do more than simply integrate (i.e., combine) those elements, so that the result is "greater than simply the sum of its parts”. 4. Distill from the literature various patterns, trends, categories, similarities, differences, etc. in research questions, methods, results, and implications of results. 5. Judge the relative importance of such patterns, trends, etc.

  9. What makes people good synthesizers? • Widely read/experienced • Good recollection of the literature • Creative thinker

  10. D. Excellent ability to communicate in writing and through speaking Good writers are able to: • Articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively • Thoroughly examine claims and accompanying evidence • Support ideas with relevant reasons and examples • Sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion • Appropriately use elements of standard written English, including topic sentences at the start of each paragraph

  11. Good speakers are able to: • Articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively. 2. Get and keep listeners engaged in the discussion. 3. Think ahead about what listeners need to know and what is superfluous. 4. Do not try to bury the audience in too much information, too many acronyms, equations, or other detailed technical material. 5. Stay within time limits.

  12. E. Ability to carry out thorough and rigorous analyses independently For example, "Daubert" principles (1993 standards for judges to use when dealing with scientific evidence) 1. Theories generally accepted by the scientific community?  2. Theories and evidence subject to peer review? 3. Theories and evidence supported by the scientific community? 4. Theories and evidence backed by reliable data? 5. Conclusions reached through the scientific method of testing hypotheses or other accepted means?

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