Course Information
Critical Thinking 2.0: Taking it to the Next Level
Parking for SAO, Professional Development courses is in Garage B (1511 San Jacinto Blvd.). The Garage signage may read 1511 San Jacinto or Garage B. The elevator in Garage B is not reliable. If you are unable to walk the stairs, please contact the professionaldevelopment@sao.texas.gov for alternate parking arrangements. Handicapped parking is free at the meters around the downtown area.
A course coordinator will Email you a parking permit prior to the course start date. A permit must be displayed or you will be ticketed.
Course Description
Want to improve your Critical Thinking Skills even more? This follow up course to the popular Embedding Critical Thinking in the Audit Process dives deeper into critical thinking skills while also exploring many new critical thinking topics. This course will help participants improve decision making and create better solutions both at work and at home. This exercise, case-study filled course will leave participants buzzing with new ideas and thoughts on how to solve their most pressing problems. Participants will discover how to ask the right questions in the right way, challenge assumptions and learn to see other’s point of view to improve solutions.
This activity packed two-day course uses lecture, case studies, small group exercises, videos and games to keep participants engaged throughout the learning process.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Understand the thinking process and how it impacts decision making
• Identify and remove barriers to thinking critically
• Understand different thinking styles and behaviors
• Learn how you can develop intellectual traits
• Ask better questions
• Improve reading, writing and analytical skills
The Human Mind
• Thinking, feeling, wanting
• Rational capacities
• Irrational tendencies
• Normal human behaviors
Barriers to Critical Thinking
• Fallacies
• Inferences
• Biases
• Assumptions
• Egocentric thinking
• Sociocentric thinking (Group Think)
Types of Thinkers
• Fair-minded Critical Thinker
• Selfish Critical Thinking
• Naïve Thinker
• Good leaders and bad leaders
Developing Intellectual Character
• Intellectual standards
• Intellectual characteristics
• Emdiv class="aboutText"ing intellectual character
Asking Essential Questions
• Analytic questions
• Evaluative questions
• Questioning for self-knowledge
• Questioning systematically
• Socratic questioning
Analytical Thinking
• Basic Theory of Analysis
• Getting started
• Analysis and logic
• A deeper level of understanding
Critical Thinking & Creative Thinking
• Why critical and creative thought are inseparable
• Reasoning as a critical act
• Foundations of meaningfulness
• Figuring out the “logic of things”
• Critiquing thinking
Using Critical Thinking Skills in Reading
• Reading for a purpose
• Avoiding impressionistic reading
• Reading reflectively
• Five levels of reading
• Structural reading
• Reading to learn
Using Critical Thinking Skills in Writing
• Writing for a purpose
• Types of writing
• Substantive writing
• Relating core ideas to other ideas
• Questioning as you write
• Writing substantively to analyze reasoning
Improvement Techniques
• Red Team concept
• Getting beyond group think
• Priming critical thinking
• Getting past the Planning Fallacy
Improvement plans
Instructors
Bret Kobel is Managing Partner for Verracy Training & Consulting and has more than 20 years of professional finance, accounting, audit, risk and compliance experience. Mr. Kobel specializes in internal controls, process improvement, process transformation & implementation with organizations operating under GAAP and/or IFRS Standards. He brings a diverse background to the organization from venture-backed startups to global Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to joining Empower, Mr. Kobel spent two years on assignment in Singapore as the Regional CFO and Controller for an international logistics company responsible for seven countries in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Kobel was tasked with transforming the financial organization and redesigning the financial processes to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting.
Prior to that, Mr. Kobel spent several years with a large international drilling services company operating in over 40 countries on six continents. He was responsible for developing the company’s initial policies and procedures and implementing the baseline internal controls framework for the company as well as the initial Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program. Mr. Kobel later led global Internal Audit teams performing the first ever internal audits in the company’s 120-year history.
Earlier in Mr. Kobel’s career, he was part of a team that interpreted the newly released 1992 COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework that worked to define a set of policies and procedures for one of the largest university systems in the nation and later led teams conducting the initial internal audits for the newly-implemented procedures.
Mr. Kobel received his BS degree from Indiana University and his MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and is currently an instructor and conference speaker for the IIA and ISACA.
Additional Information
TAC Rule 523.142(g) requires the CPE Sponsor to monitor individual attendance and assign the correct number of CPE credits. Participants will be asked to document their time of arrival and departure in compliance with this Rule. Additionally, attendance will be monitored throughout the day and CPE certificates will reflect actual attendance of each participant.
If you are making travel plans to come to Austin, we recommend making "refundable" air and hotel reservations or waiting until 14 days before the class to actually book your reservations. Courses are occasionally canceled or rescheduled due to low enrollment. We determine whether a course has enough participants 16 days prior to the course date. If we cancel or reschedule, we will email the participant and his or her billing contact no later than 14 days before the original class date.
The course coordinator will contact you with parking information. Handicapped parking is free at the meters around the downtown area.
Vending machines with Coca-Cola products and various snack items are available. There is also a refrigerator and microwave in our coffee bar area. Feel free to bring in your own drinks and food if you prefer.
You might want to bring a light sweater or jacket, as room temperatures vary.
To see answers to our Frequently Asked Questions, visit http://www.sao.texas.gov/training/faq.html.