12 Critical Thinking courses in Edinburgh

Overview We encounter lots of incidents every day at home or at work in which we need to think deeply about our decisions. Making the right choice not only saves time but also saves money and makes everyone happy. In this course, participants will learn how to refine their intuitions in order to make them trustable. Critical thinking and analysis will be a practice and habit for them and they will find themselves subconsciously using them. They will learn how to make sensible conclusions out of the data they managed to gather. 

Overview When it comes to a complex decision-making process, we are always confronted with problems that require us to take an efficient decision. It involves prioritising our work, understanding the failure of the process and deciding how to resolve the issue. All these things require a realistic approach to problem-solving.  This course will enable us to learn how to be inventive, logical decision maker by understanding the principles behind critical thinking and the tools used to consistently identify and select the best decision among multiple alternatives.

Critical Thinking and Creative Problem Solving: In-House Training Two critical skillsets for the future of work are critical thinking and creative problem solving. These modes of working and thinking intersect and overlap; both are necessary and both can be taught. Having the ability to exercise creativity while at the same time applying structure and discipline to the thinking process is a key competency in the twenty-first century workplace. This course explores the interplay between critical and creative thinking, and the necessity of each to effective problem solving and decision making. Participants will learn a variety of techniques to apply critical thinking to real-life scenarios. They will experiment with different problem-solving approaches and will learn about cognitive influences on our decisions and choices. The course delves into the business value of creativity and involves participants in actively integrating criticality, creativity, and problem solving. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain basic concepts of problem solving Infer types of cognitive biases that impact decision making Utilize types of root cause analysis Differentiate among obstacles to sound decision making Apply a variety of problem-solving approaches / processes to existing challenges Evaluate alternative solution methods using various techniques Analyze real world problem scenarios to determine the lateral thinking type needed to address them Foundation Concepts Definitions Thinking modes and cognitive bias Basic problem-solving framework Problem Definition and Solution Generation Root cause analysis Basic problem-solving obstacles Generating alternative solutions Evaluating Alternatives Critical thinking guidelines Obstacles to sound decision making Tools for evaluating alternatives Exploring Lateral Thinking Problem-solving challenge Workplace application

Overview Effective decision-making requires the adoption of decision approaches that fit the complexities of these situations and the efficient management of decision-making processes. It also requires the ability to think strategically in highly interactive markets and acute insights into the psychology behind people's behaviour. Objectives Develop critical thinking skills, sharpening your intuition in the face of risk and uncertainty Learn ways to discover, manage, mitigate and avoid decision-making traps Learn to leverage the power of 'nudges' - a light-touch way to influence human behaviour and improve decision-making Boost your ability to build high-performing teams by understanding what conditions enable teams to make better decisions than individuals Become a more strategic leader and decision-maker by understanding the long-term impact your decisions can have on your organisation

Enhance your clinical expertise with our "Extended Clinical Skills Training" course. Designed for healthcare professionals, this course provides practical skills and knowledge for extended clinical procedures and interventions.

DASA DevOps Professional: Enable and Scale: In-House Training DevOps embodies both cultural changes and practices through which organizations can facilitate the IT functions of software development (Dev) and software operation (Ops). The DevOps movement advocates automation and phase-based monitoring practices. Its objectives include: Decreasing development cycles · Increasing deployment frequency Improving the reliability of releases Developing a closer alignment with business objectives The DASA DevOps Professional: Enable and Scale course (formerly known as DevOps Practitioner) is designed to provide individuals with the core education necessary to put DevOps into practice. With the help of DevOps theory, pragmatic examples and exercises, and interactive group discussions, the course will help you understand how to apply the necessary skills to practice DevOps. Building on the knowledge learned on theFundamentals course (the 'why'), you will learn the 'how'. The DevOps Professional: Enable and Scale course focuses on improving the skill set of the DASA competency model, which includes competencies like Courage, Teambuilding, DevOps Leadership, and Continuous Improvement. On completion of the DASA DevOps Professional: Enable and Scale training and passing the exam, the certification is awarded. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain the importance of DevOps culture and the aspects that can influence it Explain why courage, teambuilding, leadership, and continuous improvement are required in a DevOps environment Explain why courage is essential to enable trust, honesty, and experimentation Identify and evaluate different types of behavior in a DevOps environment Recognize the signals indicating impediments and/or team dysfunctions Describe how to form good DevOps teams and assess their maturity List the effects of happiness and motivation on team performance Identify how leaders encourage feedback and transparency Discuss the factors that leaders can influence to build trust Explain how and why leaders promote a 'safe to fail' environment Analyze value streams to improve throughput and flow Facilitate the tools for continuous improvement: structured problem-solving workshops, Story Mapping sessions, and retrospectives TEAMBUILDING Teambuilding is about understanding the other's point of view, collaboration, mutual accountability, common purpose, and the ability to integrally support the service/product. Design Teams Characteristics of a DevOps team Skills of a DevOps Team Self-organization and autonomy Rules to consider when designing DevOps teams Build Teams Effects of happiness and motivation on performance Feedback Creating high-performance teams Governance Governance within teams and between multiple teams Governance between organizations DevOps contracts DEVOPS LEADERSHIP This module describes how to facilitate teams to high performance, DevOps behavior, transparency, and a service lifecycle mindset. Build Culture Creating the right environment and providing vision and purpose Stimulating the right behavior Servant leadership: giving control, supporting, and inspiring Create Purpose Defining and aligning purpose Purpose of having a purpose Alignment versus autonomy Be a Servant Leader Give control to the team Inspire and support the team Focus on Success Output versus outcome Measuring and steering COURAGE The Courage module is about coaching courageous behavior, proactivity, reflection, trust, open discussions, experimentation, fail fast, and the courage to change. Build Courage The importance of courage Courage in relationship with leadership and feedback Enabling courage at the team level Dealing with failure Think Different Courage day to day Encourage critical thinking Techniques to promote courageous behavior VALUE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC ACTION This module describes the important aspects that are relevant to identify and deliver the required and expected value for all relevant stakeholders. Aspects of Value and Managing Expectations The different aspects of value Stakeholder management Customer collaboration and using customer feedback How to do prioritization CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Continuous improvement describes the importance of a Kaizen mindset, quality at the source, first time right, knowledge-sharing, and the ability to adapt. Build Flow Understanding the importance of flow Using Lean to optimize flow Kaizen as a mindset Radical change versus Kaizen Using Pull to optimize flow Continuous Improvement Tools Kaizen Event Value Stream Mapping Visual Management Retrospective Daily Standup Five Times Why

Decision Making and Problem Solving: In-House Training We may live in an era of fast technology and increasing reliance upon automation, but our human abilities to think critically, make careful decisions, and solve nuanced problems are more important than ever. Our personal lives depend on those things, and so do the lives of our organizations. Since business is now conducted at remarkable speeds, we put our organizations at great risk daily when we have weak competencies with decision-making and problem-solving. Decisions and solutions that are executed impulsively and without structured approaches can create more problems or make existing ones worse! This course aims to help participants improve their skills so they can execute well and add value to the workplace. Learners will experience multiple decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques meant for the real world. They will learn how to align their growing toolboxes with the right situational contexts so that they can transfer that skill to the workplace. They will also discover how indecision, cognitive bias, and default thought processes can create obstacles to effective decision-making and problem-solving. What you will Learn Recognize the importance of making a sound decision in a timely manner Infer types of cognitive biases and obstacles that impact decision-making Separate facts, requirements, ideas, and perceptions when making a decision or solving problems Apply structured decision-making and problem-solving approaches Conduct cause and effect and Force Field analyses Evaluate alternative solution methods using various techniques Analyze real world situations to determine the best aligned decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques Implement decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques Foundation Concepts Contextualizing decisiveness and problem-solving Discriminating between decisiveness and problem-solving Understanding Decision-Making Decision-making challenges and impacts Key drivers of good decision-making Thought processes and obstacles Knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) Decision-Making Models and Supporting Tools Decision-making models, tools, and guidelines Tools to evaluate alternatives Translating requirements into action Problem-Solving Defining the problem Problem-solving models Cause and effect analysis Quick hit vs. innovative problem-solving Summary and Next Steps Course summary Personal action plan

Strategic Thinking: In-House Training The goal of this course is to provide you with the building blocks and the motivation to develop the critical skill of strategic thinking. The participants will consider a four-part model that distinguishes strategic thinking from strategic planning and managing. With that understanding, you will investigate the critical components of strategic thinking and how to apply it effectively. What you Will Learn Define strategic thinking and distinguish it from strategic planning and management Explain a high-level approach to gaining strategic thinking skills Integrate other interpersonal skills, such as self-awareness, systems thinking, leadership, constructive conflict, and collaboration, into the fabric of strategic thinking skills Select appropriate techniques to apply strategic thinking in specific situations Recognize and emulate effective strategic thinking behaviors Getting Started Introductions Course structure Course goals and objectives Foundation Concepts Interactive event: Define Strategic Thinking (ST) Interactive event: Discuss relationship of ST with Strategic Planning, Management and Decision Making Strategic Level Framework - Tying it all together Strategic thinking attributes Strategic Thinking Critical Success Factors Strategic Thinking Critical Success Factors - 5-part model Strategic Thinking and the Organization Critical Success Factors Model applied to an organization Tools Introduction (5): Environmental, 5 Forces, SWOT, Value Proposition, Integral Theory of Worldview Video: Fog of War Strategic Thinking and the Individual Critical Success Factors Model applied to an individual Tools Introduction (5): Thinking Styles, Six Thinking Hats, Reverse Thinking, Systems Thinking, Integral Theory of Worldview Strategic Thinking at the Interpersonal and Team Levels Emotional Intelligence - Self Awareness and Working With Others Team Leadership and Trust Constructive Conflict as the Gateway to Collaboration Interactive event: Testing the Models - Challenge Perspective; What's Missing Applying the critical skill of Strategic Thinking Worldview: Team versus client Trusted Advisor Interactive event: Doing what is asked (Case study, wherein participants review the default case scenario prepared for this workshop and add specific details to make the scenario more relevant to their experiences / needs. Teams develop an action plan for applying ST concepts and techniques they have learned here to the situation, then compare and contrast results.)

The main aim of this workshop is to encourage and enable delegates to present their sales messages stylishly and persuasively to expert buying audiences and improve their conversion rates. The focus is placed firmly on performance and creativity in top level presenting. It is aimed at experienced sales professionals who are expert at selling but need to be able to present and pitch for business at high skill levels in order to land major accounts. Delegate numbers will be restricted to 4 people. Delegates should be willing and be prepared to give video-recorded presentations as part of the course. Course Syllabus The syllabus of the Sales Presenting course is comprised of two modules, covering the following: Module One Components of Top Presenting Preparation and performance in presenting Being stylish and compelling Differentiation, risk-taking and presenting Connecting with your audience Achieving impact and drama Creating a buying emotion Getting out of a comfort zone First delegate presentations Module Two Pitching in Teams Getting your act together - the plan Looking and sounding like a team The buyer's perspective Getting your moves right - choreography Dealing successfully with questions Rehearsing to succeed Second delegate presentations Dragon's Den Exercise The delegation is split into two groups, each with a specific product or service to win the Dragons' investment. They have to also present to the Dragon's Den their business case for feedback and negotiate with the Dragons to gain either an "I'm in" or an "I'm out" reply. A full debrief is then conducted covering: Planning Commercial consequences Putting forward a business case Critical thinking Negotiating Selling skills Presentation skills Profile building Scheduled Courses This course is not one that is currently scheduled as an open course, and is only available on an in-house basis. For more information please contact us.

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