Critical Thinking

1. Teaching, Learning &
Assessing Critical Thinking
October 25th
2017
Professor David Carless,
Interim Dean, Faculty of
Education
The University of Hong Kong

2. The University of Hong Kong
Preamble
Assessment drives student behavior
Learning-oriented assessment
Research into teaching award-winners

3. Overview
1. CT in the classroom
2. Definitions of CT
3. Promoting CT via assessment design
4. Issues and implications
The University of Hong Kong

4. The University of Hong Kong
Einstein
“Imagination is more important than
knowledge”

5. The University of Hong Kong
CRITICAL THINKING IN PRACTICE

6. The University of Hong Kong
Ali Farhoomand
• Award-winning teacher, Faculty of
Business & Economics, HKU
Creativity & Business Innovation
E-business Transformation

7. The University of Hong Kong
Relevant outputs
Carless, D. (2013).
Sustainable feedback and the development of student self-evaluative capacities.
In Merry, S., Price, M., Carless, D. & Taras, M. (Eds.). Reconceptualising
feedback in higher education: developing dialogue with students. London:
Routledge.
Carless, D. (2013). Trust and its role in facilitating dialogic feedback. In D.
Boud & L. Molloy (Eds.), Feedback in Higher and Professional Education:
Understanding it and doing it well (pp. 90-103). London: Routledge.

9. The University of Hong Kong
Ali’s philosophy
“Shift from teaching content to generating
knowledge”
Less content, more understanding

10. The University of Hong Kong
Learning to Learn
“I put students at the centre of a dynamic
process where they can learn to think, learn
to change, and learn to learn”

11. The University of Hong Kong
What did you learn?
….
“Description is not enough, it is too easy to
forget, go deeper … If you understand why,
you usually won’t forget”

12. Classroom atmosphere
“He is very successful in building an interactive
relationship between him and the students”
“He challenges us to bring our thinking to a higher
level”

13. Classroom interaction
“His way of interacting is that there is not
one right answer, but many good answers
so you can mention an idea and we will
discuss how to improve it and that’s one of
the reasons why we speak more”

14. Tensions in interactive teaching
“Sometimes I don’t know what we are
learning because he is talking about
philosophical things, sometimes I don’t
really know what that has to do with the
topic of the course”

15. The University of Hong Kong
CRITICAL THINKING AND
ASSESSMENT DESIGN

16. Ali’s views on assessment
“I don’t believe in exams …
they remove the whole process
of learning and discovery”
“The job of the teacher is to come
up with an assessment method
different from exams”

17. Assessment task design
• Case, class and blog discussion (40%)
• Individual written case assignments (30%)
• Group project:
- Oral presentation
- Written report 1 week later (30%)

18. Assessment design principles
Assessment tasks should
-promote deep approaches to learning
-involve some student choice & investment
-distribute student effort evenly.

19. Tensions in assessment design
• Reliability vs productive
learning
• Individual vs group
• Judgement vs measurement

20. Student view on assessment
“I like the assessment approach because it
promotes my critical and analytical thinking skills”

21. Contrasting student view
“I am more advantaged by exams and I tend
to get good grades because I know how to
prepare for them”

22. Oral presentations
Peer feedback & student self-evaluation of
oral presentations
I video-tape each student for five minutes … We show the
video right after the presentation … Usually I get them to
reflect first, “How do you think you did?” And then we give
them feedback. I think they find it phenomenally useful
because they are able to give insightful analysis on their own
performance.
Challenge students intellectually and emotionally to
develop their oral presentation skills

23. Student data: video activity
“You have the feedback directly after the
presentation and you can see how you are
doing through other people’s eyes”
“When I look at others presenting, I actually
start noticing the things to avoid”
“For myself, I really appreciate it, but
sometimes I think it is a waste of time”.

24. Tensions
• Time-consuming to view multiple
presentations
• Challenge of process versus delivering
course content

25. Discussion 1
The University of Hong Kong

26. The University of Hong Kong
Group Discussion
Share with your partner:
What is critical thinking?

27. The University of Hong Kong
Defining CT (1)
“Critical thinking is reasonable reflective
thinking that is focused on deciding what to
believe or do.”
(Robert Ennis, 1987)

28. The University of Hong Kong
Defining CT (2)
“Critical thinking is the intellectually
disciplined process of actively and skilfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, and/or
evaluating information…”
(Richard Paul and Michael Scriven, 1987)

29. The University of Hong Kong
Conceptualizing CT (1)
• How to think
• The ability to change one’s
own thinking
(Behar-Horenstein & Niu, 2011)
• Higher order cognitive skills
(Tsui, 2002)

30. The University of Hong Kong
Conceptualizing CT (2)
• Careful evaluation of evidence
(Behar-Horenstein & Niu, 2011)
• Involves scrutinizing, differentiating and
appraising information
(Banning, 2006)

31. The University of Hong Kong
CT Activities (1)
Barometer
•Ask students to line up along a U-shaped
continuum representing where they stand on
a particular issue
•The sides of the U are opposite extremes,
with the middle being neutral
•Students are given the chance to
speak about their stance

32. The University of Hong Kong
CT Activities (1)
Merits of Barometer:
• Students are given the opportunity to
reflect on an issue and take a stance
• Learn to think in different ways by listening
to peers

33. The University of Hong Kong
Big Paper
• Students work in pairs to have a
conversation on the Big Paper over a
particular issue
• Students can write at will, but it
must be done in silence after a
reflection on the question

34. Discussion 2
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35. The University of Hong Kong
Your assessment practice
EITHER
Share an assessment which you think
promotes CT
OR
Consider how you could change an
assessment to stimulate more CT

36. Evaluating Critical Thinking
Rating Criteria:
• Summarized issue
• Considers context and assumptions
• Communicates own perspective
• Analyzes supporting data and evidence
• Uses other perspectives
• Evaluates conclusions & implications

37. The University of Hong Kong

38. The University of Hong Kong
Ethical dilemma for analysis
Goffman points out that all social groups, including
professions, develop a protective attitude toward members
of their group, even when members have done something
morally wrong. A sense of loyalty to the group often
overrides what they would otherwise deem immoral.
Consider the arguments for and against exposing people
with whom you are personally close or with whom you have
close professional ties. Develop a stance on this issue that
could serve as a guide for anyone in such a position.

39. References
Banning, M. (2006). Measures that can be used to instill critical thinking in
nurse prescribers. Teaching of Psychology, 22(1), 46-48.
Behar-Horenstein, L.S., & Niu, L. (2011). Teaching critical thinking skills in
higher education: A review of the literature. Journal of College Teaching &
Learning, 8(2), 25-42.
Ennis, R. (1987). A taxonomy of critical thinking dispositions and abilities. In
Baron and Sternberg (Eds.), Teaching thinking skills: Theory and practice.
NY: W.H. Freeman, pp. 9-26.
Paul, R., & Scriven, M. (1987). Critical thinking as defined by the National
Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987. Statement presented at the
8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education
Reform, Berkeley.
Tsui, L. (2002). Fostering critical thinking through effective pedagogy: Evidence
from four institutional case studies. Journal of Higher Education, 73(6), 740-
763.
The University of Hong Kong

40. THANK YOU
The University of Hong Kong