Critical Thinking: Overcoming Barriers Matrix
Identify 6 barriers to critical thinking listed in your text. You may use the barriers you already identified in your Week 1 assignment to get you started or choose new ones. Enter the barriers in the first column of the table below.
Provide an example from your personal, professional, or school life for each of the 6 barriers you choose. You may use the examples from your Week 1 assignment or choose new ones. Enter the examples from your life in the second column of the table below.
Explain in 2- to 3-sentences how you can overcome each barrier you identified. Think about what you might do to overcome that barrier in that situation. Consider if that strategy or method would be useful in another situation. Enter your explanation in the third column of the table below.
Note: The first row has been completed for you as an example.
| Barrier to Critical Thinking | Example | How You Can Overcome the Barrier |
| Example barrier to critical thinking: Cognitive dissonance | Example from your life: I have an opportunity for promotion and raise in salary at work, but the job requires more time commitment so I would be unable to continue my education right now. | Example strategy for overcoming the barrier: I can overcome my cognitive dissonance by comparing short- and long-term advantages and disadvantages. I am going to school to improve my career opportunities and earn more money for my family; the promotion would give me more money now but going to school improves my career prospects long-term. While this promotion does not require a college degree, future promotions would, so I would decide to decline the promotion and continue my college education. |
