My Critical Thinking Journey: Breanne Harris

I’m in Berkeley, CA this week attending a critical thinking conference and listened to the conference organizers share their “critical thinking journey” this morning.  That got me thinking about my own critical thinking journey and the fact that I’ve never really introduced myself on this blog.  So, in case you were wondering, this is the story of how I became one of the authors of Critical-Thinkers.

The two most instrumental components to my critical thinking journey as an adolescent were my parents and my debate team.  My mom and dad were very active parents (and still are to this day).  They have always been both my biggest fans and best critics.  They support me and reinforce when I make the right decision, and are openly question me when I’m making a mistake in my thinking process.  As a child, I remember sitting at the dinner table talking about business, family issues, and religion.  They spoke to me like an adult and asked me to present my thoughts on adult issues.  In our conversations, the answer wasn’t nearly as important as the thought process behind the conclusion.  

Perhaps that is what set me up to join the Debate team in high school.  If I’m honest with myself, I really joined Debate to compete with my brother’s amazing success and try to beat his all-time point record.  However, I quickly realized I was passionate about debate too.  I enjoyed the competition, the research, the education, and the skill of argumentation.  As an adult, I can now look back and realize how much my 4 years on the Debate team propelled my critical thinking skills.

In debate, you must research to prepare a strong case, expect counterarguments, and prepare evidence-supported responses.  Then, one hour later, you have to take the opposite position and critique the case of another team to win the round.  On an average weekend, I typically argued for and against a particular topic about 7 times.  Competing in debate not only gave me the mental agility to switch positions and defend them quickly, but also to learn fair-mindedness.  I learned that nothing in life is black and white, and if you step into someone else’s shoes, the perspective changes completely.

After high school, I was blessed with a great undergraduate education at the University of Kansas and then a rigorous Master’s program at the University of Missouri- St. Louis.  When I entered the corporate world and worked in recruitment/selection, I realized that learning the theories of Industrial/Organizational Psychology is very different from applying them in the real world.

Eventually, I ended up working for an assessment publisher and started blogging about assessments, selection, and human resources in my spare time.  I believed that blogging about assessments and training empowered people to continue applying the concepts they learned in a 4 or 8 hour training program to their every day lives.  I believed that the power of the assessment wasn’t in the introductory overview of the results, but in the self-reflection that occurs days/weeks/months later.  In addition, I believed we should provide the opportunity for this insight for free.  I was passionate about self-development, blogging, and psychology.

And then I was offered a position with Pearson TalentLens where I could blog about all of the issues related to critical thinking, including problem solving, decision making, creative thinking, strategic planning, innovation,  logic, reason, assumptions, emotions, etc.  My goal here is to take the core concepts of critical thinking (and often the RED Model of Critical Thinking) and apply them to every day experiences ranging from visits to the veterinarian to strategic business decisions.

The beauty of blogging about critical thinking is that I never run out of content.  No one is a perfect critical thinker.  We can all improve our thinking skills.  In addition, every single life moment is an opportunity to exercise critical thinking.  Every mistake is an opportunity to reflect and learn a better way of thinking.

Helping others learn to think better is a passion of mine, and I’m thrilled to be able to share my passion through social media.  I always welcome any thoughtful debate, comment, or critique.

How about you?  What is your “critical thinking journey?”  What made you the thinker that you are today?

Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens.  She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training.  She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting.  She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson.  Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.