Printer-FriendlyApplied Knowledge > Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking skills enable employees to think critically and creatively in the context of their work, solve work-based problems, and make sound decisions at work. They include:
- Thinks critically
- Thinks creatively
- Makes sound decisions
- Solves problems
- Reasons
- Plans and organizes
The following initiatives identified critical thinking skills as an important employability skill. Rollover the matrix content to see descriptions of the skills from primary sources.
View Complete Matrix.
| Resource | Critical Thinking Skills | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinks critically | Thinks creatively | Makes sound decisions | Solves problems | Reasons | Plans and organizes | |
| 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success, NOCTI | X Reasons, problem-solves, and makes decisions |
X Reasons, problem-solves, and makes decisions |
X Reasons, problem-solves, and makes decisions |
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| Arizona's New Workplace Skills, Arizona Department of Education | X Displays expert thinking skills |
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| Assessing 21st Century Skills, Board on Testing and Assessment, the National Research Council | X Displays critical thinking skills |
X Solves non-routine problems |
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| Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft | X Displays critical thinking skills |
X Displays creativity |
X Makes decisions |
X Solves problems |
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| Career Clusters Framework, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium | X Solves problems using creativity and innovation |
X Solves problems using critical thinking skills |
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| Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates? U.S. Department of Agriculture | X Thinks abstractly about problems |
X Develops creative and innovative solutions |
X Realizes the effect of decisions |
X Identifies and analyzes problems |
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| Employability Assessment Rubric, Chicago Public Schools | X Applies a problem-solving approach |
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| Employability Skills 2000+, Conference Board of Canada | X Readily uses science, technology, and mathematics as ways to think, gain and share knowledge, solve problems, and make decisions |
X Is creative and innovative in exploring possible solutions |
X Evaluates solutions to make recommendations or decisions |
X Thinks and solves problems |
X Participates in projects and tasks |
|
| Equipped for the Future, Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee | X Solves problems and makes decisions |
X Solves problems and makes decisions |
X Plans |
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| Industry Competency Models, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Displays critical and analytic thinking |
X Displays creative thinking skills |
X Solves problems and makes decisions |
X Solves problems and makes decisions |
X Reasons |
X Plans and organizes |
| Maryland Skills for Success, Maryland State Department of Education | X Thinks creatively, critically, and strategically to make effective decisions, solve problems, and achieve goals |
X Thinks creatively, critically, and strategically to make effective decisions, solve problems, and achieve goals |
X Thinks creatively, critically, and strategically to make effective decisions, solve problems, and achieve goals |
X Thinks creatively, critically, and strategically to make effective decisions, solve problems, and achieve goals |
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| National Career Readiness Certificate, ACT | X Displays critical thinking skills |
X Solves problems |
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| National Work Readiness Credential | X Solves problems and makes decisions |
X Solves problems and makes decisions |
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| O*NET, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor | X Displays critical thinking skills |
X Makes judgments and decisions |
X Demonstrates complex problem-solving skills |
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| Partnership for 21st Century Skills | X Thinks creatively, works creatively with others, and implements innovations |
X Makes judgments and decisions |
X Solves problems |
X Reasons effectively |
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| Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), U.S. Department of Labor | X Displays creative thinking skills |
X Makes decisions |
X Solves problems |
X Reasons |
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| Workforce Skills Certification System, CASAS and Learning Resources, Inc. | X Makes decisions |
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NOTE: These examples represent a sample of employability standards and assessments compiled during an inventory of employability skills conducted in 2012. They do not represent an exhaustive list of employability skills but rather include sources that are widely cited. The content of these sources may change over time to address skills that are not reflected in the above matrix.
