critical thinking

1. Ideas to Action (I2A)
Introduction to I2A
& Critical Thinking
A session for UofL’s
Division of Student Affairs
Michael Mardis, Ph.D
Patricia R. Payette, Ph.D.
Hannah Anthony
February 6, 2008

2. Session Objectives
• Introduce participants to basic information
about UofL’s “Ideas to Action”
• Challenge participants to work individually and
in groups to articulate their understanding of
“critical thinking”
• Clarify the definitions of critical thinking
adopted by I2A
• Explore what participants can do to promote
critical thinking in their everyday work

3. Ideas to Action:
Ideas to Action (I2A) is our Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP), and we
need to show measurable progress
to the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools (SACS) by
April 2012.
Using Critical Thinking to Foster Student
Learning and Community Engagement

4. The Effect of Undergraduate Student Involvement on Critical
Thinking: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature 1991-2000
Gellin, A., Journal of College Student Development, November/December 2003, 44, No. 6
“Implication from findings - strengthened institutional
relationships as student affairs administrators can
work with academic affairs administrators to help
facilitate the higher education goal of increasing
undergraduate critical thinking.” (Pg. 758)

5. Gellin Continued
Students’ participation in co-curricular activities such
as Greek life, clubs and organizations, faculty and
peer interaction, as well as living on campus has a
significant effect on helping students develop the
ability to think critically.
“Students involved in a variety of activities acquire multiple points of view and
perspectives that may encourage them to reevaluate their prior opinions of the world.
This accumulation of experiences may contribute to gains in critical thinking and
illustrates how undergraduates can benefit from their involvement in the overall
college environment.” (pg 754)
“The findings in this study suggest that students involved in a variety of co-curricular
activities experience a significant gain in critical thinking as compared to students
who are not involved. Thus, institutions may want to continue to support activities
outside the classroom because these activities may provide value to students in the
form of critical thinking gains.” (pg 757)
From The Effect of Undergraduate Student Involvement on Critical Thinking: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature 1991-2000
Gellin, A., Journal of College Student Development, November/December 2003, 44, No. 6

6. NSSE Overview
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is considered
to be one of the major assessment surveys administered at UofL.
The NSSE has been administered four times at UofL (2001, 2003,
2005, and 2007).
The survey is administered in the spring semester to a random
sample of freshmen and senior students.
The survey is administered to students electronically by UofL’s
Office of Academic Planning and Accountability in collaboration
with Indiana University.

7. Categories
Level of Academic Challenge
Active and Collaborative
Learning
Student-Faculty Interaction
Enriching Educational
Experience
Supportive Campus
Environment
Comparisons were made between the average responses from UofL in these
categories and the average responses of all schools that participated in the
2007 iteration of the NSSE survey.
NSSE groups items
together under five
broad categories:

8. Differences by Student Type within UofL
Result: On-campus freshmen had a significantly
higher average response for the category of Enriching
Educational Experiences.
This implies that those living on campus indicated a
greater satisfaction with enriching educational
experiences than those living off campus.
On-campus
Freshmen
Off-campus
Freshmen
vs

9. Multivariate Results
(Freshmen)
Evaluation
of
Education
Experience
Significant Predictors of Satisfaction with Education
Experience:
• Relationships with faculty members
• Quality of academic advising
• Support provided to thrive socially
• This implies that students’ degree of satisfaction in
these three areas indicates the level of satisfaction
with their overall education experience.
Probability
of
Attending
UofL Again
Significant Predictors of Probability of Attending
UofL Again:
• Relationships with faculty members
• Quality of academic advising
• Relationships with other students
• This implies that students’ degree of satisfaction in
these three areas predicted the probability of their
attending UofL again.

10. Multivariate Results
(Seniors)
Evaluation
of
Education
Experience
Significant Predictors of Education Experience:
• Relationship with faculty members
• Relationships with other students
• Quality of academic advising
• Support provided to succeed academically
Probability
of
Attending
UofL Again
Significant Predictors of Probability of Attending
UofL Again:
• Relationships with faculty members
• Relationships with other students
• Relationships with administrative personnel and offices
• Quality of academic advising
• Support provided to succeed academically

11. I2A and “Connecting the Dots”
“Our extensive consultation with all University constituencies
yielded a surprisingly strong and clear call for education
focused on the skills and knowledge needed to deal with
real-world issues and problems, an education in which
students can see the importance of the parts (the
courses) to the whole (their education as citizens and
workers).” [QEP Report, 2007]
http://louisville.edu/ideastoaction/files/finalreport.pdf
skills and
knowledge
real-world issues
& problems
the parts to the
whole

12. From student focus groups:
“Reduce the amount of
memorization required for tests, I
feel I don’t learn as much by
doing this.”
“Decrease the
memorization required,
can’t remember it all.”
“Too much
memorization and no
sufficient critical
analysis.”
“The subject testing is not
challenging due to
memorization.”
“Regurgitated material
(can just read chapters
for tests).”
One student even
suggested that student
learning could be
improved by offering a
course that would aid in
memorization.

13. What’s in it for us
Better prepared students who need to live and work in a
complex world
Re-affirmation of the centrality of a liberal arts foundation
for every University student
A framework for thinking about the education we provide
as we attract increasingly better-prepared students
Resources to inform the development of planning and
programming in all units

14. I2A: The Learning Paradigm
The (OLD) Instruction Paradigm Mission &
Purposes
 Provide/deliver instruction
 Transfer knowledge from faculty to students
 Offer courses and programs
 Improve the quality of instruction
 Achieve access for diverse students
The focus moves from what
the instructor is doing or
covering to what students
are learning….
The (NEW) Learning Paradigm Mission and Purposes
• Produce learning
• Elicit students discovery and construction of knowledge
• Create powerful learning environments
• Improve the quality of learning
• Achieve success for diverse students From Teaching to Learning: A
New Paradigm for
Undergraduate Education
Robert B. Barr and John Tagg,
November/December 1995,
Change Magazine

15. Higher Education in the 21st
Century
 Public accountability & SLO’s: state legislatures,
accrediting bodies and other stakeholders
 New emphasis on intellectual, technical and practical
skills
 UofL’s Metropolitan Mission not unusual
 Emphasis on “deep learning,” integrative learning,
brain research, digital literacy, etc.
 Shifts in traditional structures and divisions in the
academy

16. Employers Advise Colleges Where to Focus
Resources to Assess Student Learning
One/Two Practices to Which Colleges Should Devote
Resources
All Employers
Faculty-evaluated internships or community-based learning
experiences
50%
Essay tests that measure students' problem-solving, writing, and
analytical-thinking skills
35%
Electronic portfolios of students' work, including examples of
accomplishments in key skill areas and faculty assessments of them
32%
Faculty-evaluated comprehensive senior projects demonstrating
students' depth of skill in major & advanced problem-solving, writing,
and analytic-reasoning skills
31%
Tests that show how a college compares to others in advancing
students' critical-thinking skills
8%
Multiple-choice tests of general content knowledge 5%
From How Should Colleges Assess And Improve Student Learning
Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., January 2008, Association of American Colleges and Universities

17. I2A: What are the components?
Sharpen our
existing focus
on building
critical thinking
skills in the
general
education
program…
…..continuing
through
undergraduate
major courses
with an emphasis
on applying and
refining those
skills…
…resulting in a
culminating
experience, such
as a thesis,
service learning
project, internship
or capstone
project that
fosters
engagement

18. • Integral part of I2A, not peripheral
• Holistic conception of the student experience
(curricular and co-curricular)
• Prepares students for life beyond the campus
• Aligns with the existing focus on student
development
Student Affairs & I2A

19. Student Affairs & I2A…the next steps!
 Familiarity with shared goals and missions
(ie. The Office of Civic Engagement, Leadership & Service)
 Shared vocabulary around critical thinking
(Paul-Elder Model)
 Opportunities for culminating experiences
outside the traditional format
 Student Interest Group (Fall 2008)
 Other opportunities

20. Define Critical Thinking
Individually, use a short phrase to complete
these sentences. Write down each response
on a sticky note.
Critical thinking is
________________________.
Critical thinking is not
_____________________.

21. Define Critical Thinking
In groups of 5-6, debrief and try to come to a
consensus. Write down each of your responses on
two separate sheets of your flip chart.
Critical thinking is ________________________.
Critical thinking is not _____________________.

22. Define Critical Thinking
In your groups, together decide what it “looks like”
when students and/or you and your colleagues
are thinking critically. Draw a picture on your flip
chart sheet that highlights critical thinking within
your field.
(Ex. When students are engaged in critical thinking in my field or department, it looks like this.
When my colleagues and I are engaged in critical thinking it looks like this.)

23. What is Critical Thinking?
“Higher-Order Thinking”
“Complex Thinking”

24. What is Critical Thinking?
The words ‘critical’ and ‘criteria’ come
from the same root word meaning
judgment
Critical Thinking is
reasonable, reflective
thinking that is focused on
deciding what to believe or
do. (Robert Ennis)

25. Critical thinking = “Grappling with
open-ended problems”
“Effective personal and professional
functioning requires dealing with open-
ended problems that are fraught with
significant and enduring uncertainties
about such issues as the scope of the
problem, interpretations of relevant
information, range of solution options,
and potential outcomes of various
options.”
From Helping Your Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Cindy L. Lynch and Susan K. Wolcott, October 2001, The IDEA Center

26. Examples of when we use critical
thinking…
• Professional problems
- What is the best interpretation of a piece of literature?
- How can a leader most efficiently promote effective team
work?
• Personal problems
- What should I do to optimize my career development?
• Civic problems
- How should I vote on a particular ballot initiative?
From Helping Your Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills
Cindy L. Lynch and Susan K. Wolcott, October 2001, The IDEA Center

27. Critical Thinking definition adopted for I2A
(From: Scriven and Paul, 2003)
a guide to belief and action.
that results in
the intellectually disciplined process
Critical thinking is

28.  What are the “intellectual tools” that you
use in your work?
 What does this “process” look like in
field, in your discipline, in your division?
 What guides your beliefs and actions in
the Division of Student Affairs?
Critical thinking is
the intellectually disciplined process that
results in a guide to belief and action.

29. The tools for this
“process” include
actively and
skillfully:
conceptualizing
applying
analyzing
synthesizing
evaluating
information gathered
from, or generated by,
observation
experience
reflection
 reasoning
or communication
Critical Thinking definition adopted for I2A
(From: Scriven and Paul, 2003)
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined
process that results in a guide to belief and action.

30. What Critical Thinking is NOT
The problem of “egocentric” thinking:
 Leads to self-serving perspectives and
evaluations
 Leads to a false sense of objectivity
 Leads to flawed thinking
 Lends itself to the unconscious substitution of
subjective intuitions for intellectual standards
in thinking

31. Instead of:
 Its true because I believe it
 Its true because we believe it
 Its true because I want to believe it
 Its true because I have always believed it
 Its true because its in my selfish interest to
believe it

32. …we want to foster an awareness that
critical thinking is more than thinking, it’s:
 Reflecting upon
 Questioning
 Monitoring
…my very reasoning itself in order to
continuously improve my thinking.
It’s “thinking things through.”

33. A Well-Cultivated Critical Thinker:
 Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them
clearly and precisely
 Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract
ideas to interpret it effectively
 Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing
them against relevant criteria and standards
 Thinks open mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
recognizing and assessing, as needs be, their assumptions,
implications, and practical consequences
 Communicates effectively with others in figuring out
solutions to complex problems
(Richard Paul and Linda Elder, the Foundation for Critical Thinking:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/)

34. What you can do:
1. Become aware and discuss with your colleagues how and why
critical thinking is important to your work.
2. Model for students—in a very explicit way—how you “think
things through.” Give the gift of your time, your mentorship in
issues large and small.
3. Remember that students are on a developmental path. Meet
them where they are in terms of their readiness for complex
decision making. Sometimes the comfort zone is for absolute
“rights and wrongs.”
4. Never forget that at the heart of critical thinking is learning to ask
relevant, important questions. To re-evaluate, to reconsider and
reflect on the answers –and then ask the next set of questions—
are the intellectual habits of mind we wish to cultivate in our
students.

36. I2A Team
Dr. Patty Payette, I2A Executive Director:
patty.payette@louisville.edu, 852-5171
Dr. Cathy Bays, Delphi Specialist for Assessment:
cathy.bays@louisville.edu, 852-5138
Dr. Edna Ross, Delphi Specialist for Critical Thinking:
edna.ross@louisville.edu, 852-5105
Hannah Anthony, I2A Program Assistant Senior:
hannah.gatlin@louisville.edu, 852-7611
Student Affairs Facilitators:
Dr. Michael Mardis
Michael Anthony
Becky Clark
Pam Curtis
Kim Shaver
http://www.louisville.edu/ideastoaction
http://www.louisville.edu/ideastoaction