Berpikir merupakan
suatu proses mental untuk menghasilkan sebuah pengetahuan (knowledge). Berpikir tidak
pernah lepas dari aktivitas manusia karena hal inilah yang membedakan manusia
dengan makhluk hidup lainnya di muka bumi. Arends & Kilcher (2010:231)
menguraikan “What exactly is meant by
thinking?” seperti yang dikutip berikut ini.
...thinking consists of using
particular skills and cognitive processes, currentefforts to identify
these skills and processes have produced different and multiplelistings, and
the exact nature of particular thinking processes remains somewhatundefined.
Selanjutnya, berpikir dibagi menjadi dua dimensi yang berbeda seperti yang
dikutip berikut ini.
Most theorists
and practitioners today also view thinking as having two distinct dimensions.
The first dimension consists of a set of skills
or abilities, such as being ableto recognize bias in an argument or to
reach conclusions based on sound evidence. These skills are activated in
problem solving situations and make thinking more effective. The second
dimension consists of broad dispositions, or habits of mind, such as curiosity and open-mindedness
Dispositions are not thinking skills, but instead attitudes
and habits of
mind about
thinking that motivate and direct us to engage in thinking pursuits in the first
placeAfter synthesizing the work of several researchers, dispositions grouped
into three overarching categories.
·
Creative
thinking: looking out, up,
around, and about
1. Disposition
to be open-minded: Thinking
that works against narrowness and rigidity and ability to look at things from a
different perspective or point of view.
2. Disposition
to be curious: Thinking that
propels one to explore our world and of finding the interesting and puzzling in
all aspects of our intellectual and everyday lives.
·
Reflective
thinking: looking within
3. Disposition
to be metacognitive: Thinking
that is thinking about one’s own thinking and the particular disposition to
actively monitor, regulate, and evaluate one’s thinking.
·
Critical
thinking: looking at,
through, and in between
4. Disposition
to be seeking truth and understanding:
Thinking that takes a person deeper into the topic at hand and involves
weighing evidence, testing hypotheses, and exploring applications and
consequences.
5. Disposition
to be strategic: Thinking that
is organized, methodical, and planned to meet particular goals or solve
particular problems.
6. Disposition
to be skeptical: Thinking that
is probing and that looks beneath the surface of things, ideas, and arguments.
(Arends &
Kilcher, 2010:244).