Ellen Moser

I'm enjoying retirement by staying deeply involved in my community. I volunteer with several non-profit organizations, lending my time and energy to causes I care about. I also mentor aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them refine their public speaking skills and craft compelling business plans to bring their visions to life. Additionally, I serve on the Fram Executive Advisory Board, a group that advises the Fram chair, selected from RIT alumni who are thought leaders in their respective areas. In recent years, this board has been directly engaged in the development of the Fram MIND Field process for developing learner experiences that inspire professional thinking across the domains.

1. How do you use Applied Critical Thinking in your professional practice, teaching, or research, and what are your favorite resources?

I use Applied Critical thinking in everyday practice. When mentoring speakers, I use critical thinking to analyze the speech according to several criteria and write an analysis of the speech quality and delivery. The analysis includes recommendations for improvement, which require analytical critical thinking of the speech as a whole and identifying areas to be improved.

2. Why do you think Applied Critical Thinking is important in your domain or role?

It is required to solve problems, assess the current state of a business to determine their current stage, or how developed they are. The business plan development needs an understanding of the business and its goals. It takes analytical critical thinking to put all of this together.

3. Can you share a story where quality Applied Critical Thinking was key to your success?

My success at work was definitely due to my analytical and critical thinking skills. I was a software engineer who read computer dumps to solve failure problems, progressed to project management, where I used analytical critical thinking to solve business problems such as scope deviances, and technical project solution challenges - thinking through options and various solutions to reduce or eliminate the challenges. (i.e., issues, risks, etc.)  I finally made it to the executive ranks, where business situations were key to resolving or addressing in my career. These situations required analytical and critical thinking to propose solutions or options.

4. How do you use Applied Critical Thinking in other areas of your life outside of your profession?

I use critical thinking every day. In 2021, I had to get a new car with a lot of specific requirements, for example, a hatchback long enough to hold my husband's wheelchair, a driver seat that sits high enough for me to see over the hood of the car, a hybrid model to get good gas mileage, and an all-wheel drive feature. I studied car models on the internet and in the Car and Driver magazine. I used to have a 2009 Honda CR-V that got great gas mileage, was roomy, and was a comfortable car for me to drive. So, I pursued a Hybrid Honda CR-V and found one! I had the car I desired!

5. Any last critical thoughts you wish to share?

Critical thinking is used in everyday activities, even if you don't recognize it. Solving problems in life, resorting to addressing challenges and general life events, to create a happy environment. Just thinking through problems and solutions takes analytical thinking. All problems have unique solutions that somebody must think through. Learn what you can about analytical critical thinking - it will take you far in life.