The Reflective Judgment Model by Pat King and Karen Kitchener describes epistemological development and reflects a special type of adult cognitive development. This development is vital for informed decision-making and for an educated citizenry

1. Reflective Judgment
by Pat King and Karen Kitchener
slides by Bill Garris, Ph.D.
What it is.
Why it matters.
(Simplified Version)

2. Bill Garris, Ph.D.
bgarris@tusculum.edu
Reflective Judgment
Describes a
way of thinking
that emerges...

3. Bill Garris, Ph.D.
bgarris@tusculum.edu
Reflective Judgment
when you
think carefully about
what makes
ish!
information true

4. Reflective Judgment
involves overlapping skills
Critical
Thinking
Reflective
Judgment
Information
Literacy

5. . .examine it more
closely..
Reflective
Judgment
Recognizing the limits (uncertainty)Critical
of knowledge and yet being able to
Thinking
construct a reasonable knowledge claim or
solving a problem with a defensible solution,
all the while holding this view tentatively and
recognizing that with better tools or a
different perspective that the truth of
the situation may change. Information
Literacy
Bill Garris, Ph.D.
bgarris@tusculum.edu

6. King and Kitchener found that as
people thought about what made
something true, they tended to
make one of three
attributions about
information.

7. Reflective Judgment Model
(three stages describing views of “truth,” grossly simplified)
It is true - Absolute!
Truth is relative; it’s opinion
“Truth” depends upon the
quality of evidence and
reasoning

8. Reflective Judgment Model
with the names of the King and Kitchener stages
Pre-reflective It is true - Absolute!
Quasi-reflective
it’s opinion
Reflective judgment “Truth”
depends upon the quality of evidence and
reasoning

9. As a teacher,
how do you get students from
?
Reflective
Pre-reflective
absolutism
Judgment

10. Pre-reflective
absolutism
Age
Higher Education
Reflective
Judgment
Respect where people are developmentally
Use your discipline’s ill-structured problems in teaching
Challenge and Support students both Cognitively and Emotionally
Foster an environment that supports thoughtful analysis and discourse
(King & Kitchener, 1994)

11. Reflective Judgment
Why it
matters.

12. Reflective
Judgment is to
information...
as taste buds are
to identifying good (and
non-toxic) foods

13. While we may not
get a perfect screen for
“truth,” we at least
progress toward a more
sophisticated and
discerning palate.

14. What if
we eat
bad food
What if
we think
with bad
information

15. We
MAKE DECISIONS
using information

16. We
SOLVE
PROBLEMS
using information

17. What if your information was bad..
And you
didn’t even
know?

18. . .information was bad..
And you
didn’t even
know it?

19. didn’t even know..

20. Reflective Judgment
Know why you believe
what you believe

21. Reflective Judgment
Take positions based on evidence,
not authority or blind trust.
Think. Better.
King, P,. & Kitchener, K. (1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting
intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

22. For faculty development on
reflective judgment
(epistemological development that is linked to the Perry Model)
or
critical thinking
drawing from the six skills identified in the 1990 APA Delphi Report
See Contact Below
billgarris@gmail.com