Soft Skills: Critical Thinking

Soft Skills: Critical Thinking

This microcredential gives participants an understanding of critical thinking soft skills within the workplace. At the completion of this microcredential, participants will be able to identify ways to improve their critical thinking skills.

MICROCREDENTIAL ID: PDO-SSW-0019
CREDENTIAL: Soft Skills for the Workplace
CREDITS: 1.0 CEU (10 hours)
AUTHOR: Dr. Mandy Cenker

Registration

 

How to Earn This Microcredential

Participants will need to submit evidence of learning, implementing, and reflecting on critical thinking skills in the workplace. This includes a written overview of the important elements of critical thinking, an implementation plan, and a reflection on lessons learned in this microcredential.

Fees

Participants submitting this microcredential for review will be assessed an administrative fee of $50. Participants who successfully complete the microcredential will receive a certificate showing completion of 1.0 CEU.

 Why Get This Microcredential?

 

This microcredential is part of the Soft Skills for the Workplace Credential. This microcredential focuses on critical thinking strategies to improve those skills.

What are soft skills? Soft skills, also called non-technical skills, are interpersonal skills that determine a person’s ability to work well with others in the workplace. These skills include adaptability and flexibility, communication, critical thinking, and teamwork and collaboration. Soft skills play a vital role for professional success; they help us excel in the workplace.

Important Terms
  • Critical thinking- The ability to analyze information objectively, assess different perspectives, and reach logical conclusions without being influenced by emotion or personal biases.

  Benefits of this Microcredential

 

Critical thinking is one of the top three soft skills U.S. employers have the most trouble finding (Reimagining the Workforce 2021: Close the Skills Gap Through Education). Critical thinking fosters your ability to “think outside the box.” By using these skills, you will be able to weigh the pros on cons of different options and make informed decisions; thus, increasing your workplace confidence and success.

Standards

SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)
  • Behavioral Competency #6: Critical Evaluation 
    • Key Behaviors:
      • Making sound decisions based on evaluation of available information.
      • Applying critical thinking to information received from organizational stakeholders, and evaluating what can be used for organizational success.
      • Gathering critical information.
Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession
  • Standard 7: Teachers assume responsibility for professional growth, performance, and involvement as an individual and as a member of a learning community.
    • Teachers take responsibility for engaging in continuous, purposeful professional development.

 Evidence Review

 

Candidates interested in earning this microcredential must submit three pieces of evidence: one piece related to learning, one related to implementing, and one related to reflecting.

When you are ready for your evidence review, submit your pieces of evidence for feedback from a qualified instructor. 

Evidence Review Submission Form

Learning

In this first of three sections, you will be learning about important aspects of soft skills related to critical thinking.

Required Resources:

Additional (Optional) Resources:

Required Evidence:

  • Submit a 1-2 page overview of what you learned from the required resources. Specifically, consider the following question: What do you consider as the most important elements of critical thinking?
  • Formatting – One to two pages maximum; double-spaced, no smaller than 11pt font.
  • Use two to three references to support your claims. References do not count towards the 1-2 page minimum/maximum. Any format for references is allowed but APA is preferred.

​​​​​​​Evidence Review Criteria:

  • Criterion 1: Participants will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental elements of critical thinking.
Implementing

In this second of three sections, you will identify gaps in your critical thinking skills set and create an implementation plan to improve your skills.

Required Resources:

Additional (Optional) Resources:

Required Evidence:

  • Review the Critical Thinking Mindset Self-Rating Form in the Cultivating A Critical Thinking Mindset resource to determine your current disposition towards critical thinking.
  • Based on your results, create an implementation plan to improve your skills by focusing on the following prompts:
    • Discuss current disposition level. Did you discover any surprises about yourself?
    • Identify two strategies to cultivate critical thinking and discuss how you are going to implement them into your skill set.
  • Formatting – One to two pages maximum; double-spaced, no smaller than 11pt font.
  • No references are required.

Evidence Review Criteria:

  • Criterion 1: Participants will be able to identify gaps in their skill set.
  • Criterion 2: Participants will be able to demonstrate an understanding of strategies to implement into their critical thinking skills.
Reflecting

In this final of three sections, you will reflect upon your experiences in this microcredential.

Required Resources: If you are new to writing reflections, or this is your first microcredential, please visit one of the additional resources.

Additional Resources:

Required Evidence:

  • Reflect on your learning from this module. Specifically, focus on the following questions:
    • What is your biggest takeaway from this module and how will you use it your professional life?
    • What is one question you still have about critical thinking soft skills, and what is your plan to continuing your learning?
  • Formatting – One to two pages maximum; double-spaced, no smaller than 11pt font.
  • No references are required.

Evidence Review Criteria:

  • Criterion 1: Participants will be able to demonstrate a thoughtful reflection on their learning experiences.
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