How can I tell what is ‘true?’

Positive Relationships

How can I tell what is ‘true?’

Uncover where information comes from and find out how our biases can affect the information we receive. Get ready to sharpen your investigative skills and dive deep into the world of information!

11-13

Life skills covered in this lesson:

Decision Making

Decision Making is the ability to choose between two or more courses of action. It is the ability to identify and analyze the implications and consequences of our decisions. It is a process of making thoughtful, constructive and responsible choices about personal behaviour related to health, relationships, career and lifestyle, considering existing social, ethical and safety norms, in varied conditions.. It includes being able to make decisions independently and taking responsibility for our actions.

This key skill when imbibed at a young age contributes to a feeling of autonomy and also a sense of fulfilment. Decision Making is also proven to positively impact the attitude and effort we put into any task.

Decision Making In Action

The person will be able to :

Make informed decisions based on their own experience and learning.
Understand and evaluate the consequences of their decisions.
Take personal responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.
Consider others’ needs while making decisions.
Evaluate the influence of social norms and authority on personal decision making.
Apply ethical reasoning while making decisions.
Make responsible decisions with respect to interpersonal and group relationships.
Analyse how present decision making affects college and career choices.
Evaluate the influence of personal biases and discrimination on personal decision making.
Identify and evaluate strategies to resist pressure to engage in unsafe or unethical activities.
Improve study habits and academic performance through responsible decision making skills.

Information Synthesis

Information Synthesis is the ability to gather, analyze and evaluate information from various sources, make connections between the information found, and combine the recently acquired information with prior knowledge to create a new understanding. It includes the ability to check the authenticity and accuracy of the information, and an awareness of the short term and long term consequences of sharing of the information. This skill enables us to visualise and resolve contradictory findings.

Information Synthesis is a vital skill necessary to achieve personal, social, occupational and educational goals.

Information Synthesis In Action

The person is able to:

Gather and use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
Determine the nature and extent of the information needed for a given task.
Use multiple sources which address multiple perspectives, including opposing viewpoints.
Evaluate the information and its sources critically before drawing a conclusion.
Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information.
Access and use information ethically and legally.
Build explicit connections between sources, including connections between contradictory sources, by identifying similarities, differences, relationships and patterns.

Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking is the ability to engage in the generation, evaluation and improvement of diverse ideas, which can result in original and effective solutions, advancement in knowledge and meaningful expressions of imagination. It involves making connections across topics, concepts, disciplines and methodologies.

Creative Thinking is a vital life skill which enables us to imagine, innovate and respond to unexpected or changing situations. It can improve other abilities like metacognition and problem-solving skills, as well as promote identity development, academic achievement, future career success and social engagement.

Creative Thinking In Action

The person will be able to :

Follow new approaches and produce original ideas.
See existing situations in new ways or improve on existing ideas.
Act on intuition.
Identify alternative explanations.
Generate diverse and numerous ideas.
Generate ideas that are relevant to the requirements of the problem/situation.
Form unexpected combinations from available information to come up with solutions or new ideas.
Engage in the task because they find it rewarding, enjoyable and challenging rather than for incentives offered.

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking is the ability to question, interpret, analyse, evaluate, infer and explain using reliable evidence and reasoning, conceptual knowledge, clear criteria and relevant context. It helps us solve problems, learn new concepts, develop innovative solutions or make an independent judgement or decision. It is a skill through which we are able to reflect on our own thinking, observe our own biases, ascertain credibility of information, recognise and interpret ambiguous and conflicting information, be open-minded, flexible and fair.

This skill is vital for developing young people to be competent, reflective and independent, valuing reason and truth, while being respectful of others. It is considered a key skill necessary for lifelong learning and navigating an increasingly complex world.

Critical Thinking In Action

The person will be able to:

Gather information and understanding through framing questions relevant to the context.
Make correlations between various types of information available.
Interpret the available information and draw conclusions.
Analyse the pros and cons of making a decision.
Reflect and question their own views.
Notice and examine their own biases.
Acknowledge reasonable arguments made.
Synthesise different ideas and opinions.

Problem Solving

Problem Solving is the ability to seek, identify and define the problem, generate alternatives or potential solutions, evaluate and choose between these and act on the chosen solution to reach a goal. It includes the process of using reasoning and analysis to look beyond the surface of a problem and understand the underlying causes to come to conclusions. It is also the process by which we identify or discover effective, adaptive or creative ways of handling problematic situations encountered in everyday living.

Problem Solving increases our involvement in the learning process. This creates opportunities for higher order thinking which increases our adaptability to our environment and helps us navigate through future trends and uncertainty.

Problem Solving In Action

The person will be able to:

Recognise a problem situation.
Identify the root cause of a problem situation or a conflict.
Identify and sift out information relevant to a problem.
Pay attention to relevant cues.
Make interpretations based on patterns that emerge.
Set goals and a plan of action.
Evaluate progress towards an identified goal.
Suggest various options to resolve an issue.
Consider different sides to a problem, both the pros and cons.

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