Analytical thinking and problem solving

This learning block is focused on analytical thinking and problem solving – the soft skills that help in identifying and solving complex problems.

The skills of thinking analytically and solving problems are needed across a wide variety of professions. Being so ubiquitous, they are the topic of many learning materials that provide the knowledge, tools and tips needed to develop these skills. Therefore in this block, we provide a curated selection of the most useful and user-friendly online resources. In addition, we present a set of exercises in analytical thinking and problem solving designed explicitly for language and linguistics specialists. 

The pedagogical approach behind this block is that students take an active approach in learning. We provide definitions of important concepts accompanied by examples and practical activities that will guide students towards their deeper understanding. 

The block’s units are conceived in a modular way that allows lecturers and learners to take (or adapt) them either in sequence or as self-standing contents, depending on their needs.

1. What is it all about? – basic concepts and methods (1 ECTS)
2. Practice makes perfect – exercises in analytical thinking and problem solving for language and linguistics specialists (1 ECTS)
3. Think, solve, repeat – student project: What do you learn when you study language and linguistics (1 ECTS)
4. Student project – completing the learning experience (1 ECTS)

Overall, the materials and activities present in this block will allow students to:

• identify and define problems, critically examine them and break them down into manageable parts;
• collect relevant data in order to identify possible causes for the problem;
• extract key information from the data to develop workable solutions to test;
• identify the logical, factual solutions based on the data and conducted analyses;
• apply different problem-solving methods.

The primary target audience of this block are lecturers who (want to) teach about analytical thinking and problem solving in the domain of linguistics, translation and other language-related areas. Students can also use the materials autonomously, but should be aware that this is not a typical self-study course.