What is the Difference Between Comprehension Skills & Critical Thinking Skills?
The differences between comprehension skills and critical thinking skills are subtle. The former can be regarded as skills that aid in understanding something that is being read or heard. The latter, on the other hand, are skills that allow the person to delve deeper into what is going on through analysis, application and evaluation.
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Critical Thinking
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Critical thinking skills include skepticism, keeping an open mind, respecting evidence and reasoning, looking at different points of view, and changing positions when reason calls for it. Critical thinking also involves identifying, evaluating and constructing arguments.
Comprehension
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Comprehension skills include the ability to use context, or how something occurs, and prior knowledge of something in order to help with reading and to make sense of what is being read or heard.
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Memory Skills
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Comprehension is usually considered as an activity where memorization is necessary for success. In critical thinking, the focus is not so much on memorizing as it is on considering all sources provided.
Vocabulary Skills
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Gaining mastery of a wider vocabulary is a goal of comprehension. To do well at critical thinking, you need an extensive enough vocabulary to use all the materials given, but the words should have already been learned during comprehension.
Outcomes
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The outcome of comprehension is that the person will know the meaning of the material they are presented with. When people do critical thinking, they are able to make a decision based on the material presented.
Beliefs
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Comprehension skills can help you to decide what to believe about the material you are given. Critical thinking skills allow you to use the material presented to make a decision of belief about something beyond the scope of the material as it is presented.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Sarah
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aha? :D
