Latest Module Specifications
Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026
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Description Critical thinking sits at the centre of good decision making. This module is the second step on your critical thinking pathway and further sets out to demystify this approach to thinking. Critical Thinking is the basis for all good thinking and helps individuals and groups to make sound decisions and to solve problems. Examining critical thinking in action in both business and academic research, students will learn about the role of critical thinking in supporting sound business decision making, problem solving and communication and will learn about academic research within DCU Business School. Decision making is a fundamental aspect of human behaviour and is of interest to every discipline that informs the world of business – economics, finance, consumer behaviour, accounting, organisational behaviour and the management of people. Students will gain insights from current business problems and will learn how academic research translates into industry. There are five aims of this module – continuing the development of students’ critical thinking skills; understanding how those skills translate into the world of business to solve problems and to inform decisions; understanding academic research and its value as a foundation for higher level study within specialisms; and using critical thinking to develop persuasive arguments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. LO1: Think critically and logically when making decisions and solving problems. 2. Make judgements as to the most appropriate research solutions to practical Business problems, and argue in defence of their judgements. 3. Comprehend and engage with different views of reality in an open-minded way and challenge preconceptions. 4. Apply simple strategies for improving their work based on critical reflection. 5. Draw on critical thinking approaches to inform communication, particularly the construction of persuasive arguments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Introduction - Critical Reflection: The Reflective Cycle Introduction - Critical Reflection: The Reflective Cycle Building on the Rolfe model covered in CT1, students will be reintroduced to the process of critical reflection ● Reflective Practice and critical reflection ● How critical reflection informs best practice in business ● Models of critical reflection Phase 1 – Linking Back to First Year Revision of Critical Thinking Frameworks Plenary: Revision and overview of the module Workshop on “Factfulness” and Decision Making ● Students will complete the “Factfullness” Quiz and see how their knowledge about the true state of the world stacks up against supposed experts (including their professors!) ● This exercise will lead to a facilitated discussion about the dangers of pre- and mis-conception ● The session will end by mapping the elements of the discussion against Han’s Rosling’s “Rules of Thumb” to achieve a fact based worldview ● The assessment will entail a reflective write up of how one (or more) of the rules of thumb would have been of benefit to the student in their career to date, or would be useful in avoiding mistakes in the future Phase 2 Critical Thinking in Business Plenary (Industry Speaker & Academic) In a fast-paced, rapidly changing business landscape, being able to navigate information and evidence to inform problem solving and decision making is a key skill required to be successful in business. Not only does critical thinking help people in business to deal with incoming information but it also supports the framing of communications to compel others to action. This phase of the module looks at the translation of critical thinking into the Business World. Drawing on key insights from industry, students learn about the application of critical thinking to solve problems and to overcome bias and misinformation in making decisions in a variety of business settings. Students will also learn how critical thinking can underpin effective business communication, particularly the use of evidence in persuasion. Workshops 1 Decision Making in Business Before the workshop, students watch a prerecorded video of a live issue in a business setting. A group exercise that will involve applying critical thinking to solve a live business problem. Groups will develop a proposed intervention to solve a managerial problem at a particular organization and will develop an argument for why their proposal should be implemented by the organization in question. Workshop 2 Problem Solving: The Ethical Dilemma in Business Students have prescribed reading before this class. Students are presented with an ethical dilemma problem in a business setting. Drawing on a critical thinking framework, students analyse the problem in groups and generate a proposal for a solution. Group discussion on various solutions. Phase 3: Critical Thinking for Business Research (Gender Focus) Following on from the first year CT module work on reasoning and argumentation, the aim of this phase is to enhance students’ critical thinking about academic knowledge. In this phase, students focus on the ways in which Business academic research generates new ideas, perspectives and arguments. They are introduced to the fundamentals of logic including inductive and deductive reasoning, and causality, using examples drawn from business practice. We will discuss the structure of academic knowledge across Business disciplines - looking at how theories are formed and tested. We will consider the positivism vs hermeneutics debate, “how we know things” and how this debate impacts on Business research. Finally, we consider how Business academic research interacts with Business practice. Plenary: Guest lecture on world issue: presenting the facts with evidence Workshop 1: Debate; Critical Thinking for Effective Communication | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List Books: None Articles: None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Resources None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||