CRITICAL THINKING, BIAS, & BIBLICAL INTEGRATION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS OVERVIEW You will explore the art of critical thinking. According to Paul and Elder (2001) “Critical thinking is the mode of

CRITICAL THINKING, BIAS, & BIBLICAL INTEGRATION ASSIGNMENTINSTRUCTIONSOVERVIEWYou will explore the art of critical thinking. According to Paul and Elder (2001) “Criticalthinking is the mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinkerimproves the quality of their thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent inthinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.”Critical thinking is:Domain-general thinking,Enhances language andpresentation skills,Promotes creativity, andFundamental to self-reflection.Critical thinking is not:Based on feelings or intuition,Personal unsupported opinion orjudgment,or Opinions derived from whatothers say or have said.Elder and Paul (2004), “Good thinkers routinely ask questions in order to understand andeffectively deal with the world around them. They question the status quo. They know that thingsare often different from the way they are presented. Their questions penetrate images, masks,fronts, and propaganda.”Critical thinking is impeded by our biases, perceptions, and the patterns we impose to life andour environment to reduce ambiguity. Bias takes many forms in research and may cause error inresearch design elements including methodology, measures of observations, data collection, andinterpretation of findings. Bias is a mental inclination to see things our way or the way we wantto see them. Similarly, since our perceptions shape the way we see the world, they shape ourreality as we experience it. Hence, they can mask the reality that exists beyond our perceptions.The need to reduce the discomfort we experience in ambiguous situations, whether inrelationships or completing a work task, means we tend to impose our own meaning andunderstanding of events based on past experience and heuristics (rules of thumb).The scholar and critical thinker will recognize how their bias, perceptions and need to reduceambiguity threaten open-minded fair thinking. It takes practice and academic discipline todevelop new behaviors and attitudes that will consider with equal weight alternative perspectivesto our own. This is fundamental to presenting a balanced doctoral level approach in producing acritical analysis of the existing literature on your topic of inquiry with minimal bias and error.INSTRUCTIONSAfter reviewing the Reading and Study material for this module and conducting your ownoutside research, discuss in depth the art of critical thinking and the importance of developingstrategies to minimize bias as follows:Length of assignment: 700-1000 words excluding title page and references.Format of assignment:Times New Roman 12 FontDouble-Spacing with zero-point line spacing (10-point line spacing not allowed).One Inch MarginsCover Page and Reference PageAnd more...using the 7th edition as your guide.NO Abstract needed for this assignment.Number of citations: Three peer-reviewed scholarly references, and two scripture references arerequired. Do not just include two scripture verses but integrate them into the paper showing howthey address the topic at hand.Writing style this semester:Use subject headers for all papers.No visuals in the paper - put in Appendix if absolutely needed.No contractionsNo PDF files accepted.Avoid using bullet points and numbered lists - write formally, in full paragraphs and fullsentences only.Reference page and in-text citations must match exactly.Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.