Page 119 - Keys To Community College Success

the quality of the questions posed.” Now a physician, Dr. Hunter asks ques-
tions about new ways to use drugs. His risk-taking has helped his com-
pany reach the reward of developing a revolutionary product—a
drug-coated mesh used to strengthen diseased blood vessels. How
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can you question effectively?
Know why you question. To ask useful questions, you need
to know why you are questioning. Define your purpose by ask-
ing: “What am I trying to accomplish, and why?” For example,
if Joe’s purpose for questioning his choice to go into the mili- Critical, Creative, and Practical Thinking
tary was to find a different job, that would generate an entirely
different set of questions than if he intended to determine his
personal mission.

Question in different ways. Use questions to:
■ Analyze (“How bad is my money situation?”)
■ Come up with creative ideas (“How can I earn more money?”)
■ Apply practical solutions (“Who do I talk to about getting a job on
campus?”)

Want to question. Knowing why you are questioning also helps you want to think.
“Critical-thinking skills are different from critical thinking dispositions, or a willing-
ness to deploy these skills,” says cognitive psychologist D. Alan Bensley of Frostburg
State University in Maryland. In other words, having the skills isn’t enough—you also
need the willingness to risk using them. Having a clear understanding of your desired
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reward can motivate you to work to achieve it.

Your Primary Questioning Tool: The Prefrontal Cortex
One of the most significant research findings of the last decade is that your brain’s pre-
frontal cortex, which controls your most complex thinking actions, undergoes its last and EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
most comprehensive phase of development from around 18 to 25 years of age. During this A set of higher-order
phase, dendrites grow thicker, frequently used synapses become stronger, and nerve fibers behaviors and cognitive
become more heavily insulated, making “the entire brain a much faster and more sophis- processes involving
ticated organ.” The prefrontal cortex controls executive function, which allows people planning, prioritizing tasks,
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to perceive possible future consequences of a choice, weigh pros and cons of different important information,
selecting the most
choices, and risk putting one to work, based on what seems to offer the greatest reward. and evaluating potential
One key takeaway from this research is the fact that executive function is still under future consequences
construction in the brains of people under the age of 25. Younger students who fall into of decisions.
this category might struggle to think through decisions and problems effectively, tend
toward impulsive and physically risky actions, and make choices without anticipating
pros and cons. However, the advantage is that college, offering both academic learning
and new experiences, provides exactly the training ground for thinking that a brain
18 to 25 years old needs at that stage. 6
All college students have entered a different phase of life; for younger students, this
phase involves a new level of independence, and for older students who are already
independent, it involves a need for increased focus on personal goals. If you can apply
risk-taking tendencies to the actions you take on behalf of your education, you may be
more receptive to relationships, information, and experiences that will change and
develop your mind. The richer networks you build among the neurons in your brain
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will increase your ability to think analytically, creatively, and practically in the service
of solving problems and making decisions—your two most important and frequently
used thinking processes.
As you read and work, keep in mind your sense of where your strengths and chal-
lenges lie in the three thinking skill areas. If you are using the MyStudentSuccessLab,
you may also want to complete the My Thinking Styles inventory to get a view of your

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