Discussion forums are commonly used in online courses as a medium for students to develop critical thinking, communication, and information literacy skills. An effective way to meet these objectives is to use an explicit critical thinking framework, in which students are given specific instructions on how to structure their posts. http://www.criticalthinking.org COTE NOTE: http://bit.ly/COTENOTEcriticalthinking

1. Fellow Chat with Dr. Kamil Hamaoui
Student-Driven Critical Thinking in Online
Discussions
Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE)
Community of Practice Speaker Series
May 14, 2014

2. 2
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FACULTY SUPPORTS
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3. Open SUNY Fellow Dr. Kamil Hamaoui
#COTEchat
– Psychology Professor
Westchester Community College
– Open SUNY Fellow Role:
Exemplar, Coach, and Mentor
– Topic:
Student-Driven Critical Thinking
in Online Discussions
– Theme:
Effective Practice
3COTE NOTE: http://bit.ly/COTENOTEcriticalthinking

4. Kamil Hamaoui
Critical Thinking Discussion Forums
Psychology Department
Westchester Community College
EFFECTIVE PRACTICE

5. Critical thinking is the process of analyzing and
evaluating thinking for the purpose of improving it.
Paul, R. W., & Elder, L. (2000). Critical thinking: Basic
theory and instructional structures handbook.
Tomales, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

6. Elements of Thought
 Question
 Information
 Assumptions
 Inferences
 Concepts
 Implications
 Point of View
Intellectual Standards
 Clarity
 Accuracy
 Precision
 Depth
 Breadth
 Logic
 Relevance
 Significance
 Fairness
Intellectual Virtues
 Intellectual Humility
 Intellectual Courage
 Intellectual Empathy
 Intellectual Integrity
 Intellectual Perseverance
 Faith in Reason
 Fairmindedness

7. Critical Thinking Discussion Forums
PARTS
 Present reasoned judgment to controversial question.
 Ask classmates targeted questions about their thinking.
 Respond to questions asked by classmates.
 Summarize forum postings and evaluate own thinking.

8. Assignment Instructions
The purpose of these discussions is for students to practice and develop
critical thinking. You will discuss controversial psychological issues in
these forums, but the critical thinking skills you develop are applicable to
any topic in addition to everyday personal interactions.
Critical thinking involves analyzing thinking by breaking it down into its
elements (the purpose, question, information, inferences, concepts,
assumptions, implications, and point of view) and then evaluating each
element in accordance with standards for high quality thinking (clarity,
precision, accuracy, depth, breadth, relevance, significance, logic, and
fairness) for the purpose of improving it. Review the document titled
“What Is Critical Thinking?” each time before participating in this
discussion forum.
CRITICAL THINKING

9. Assignment Instructions
The primary purpose of this course is to learn how psychologists think.
The best way to learn how psychologists think is to practice how
psychologists think. Therefore, it is expected that students will approach
the questions and issues from a scientific perspective by using scientific
information (that is objective observations of events as they occur in the
natural world) to explain their positions on the issues rather than
referring to metaphysical forces and entities (such as God or spirit).
Religion and science are two different ways of understanding human
experiences. Both are valuable, and these two ways of thinking are
compatible. Since this is a social science course, however, the focus
should be on scientific, or more specifically psychological, thinking.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THINKING

10. Assignment Instructions
Is sexual orientation primarily due to nature (biological
processes dictated by the genes) or nurture (a person's
upbringing and experiences in life)?
NOTE: This question is not directly about the morality (that is, the
rightness or wrongness) of homosexuality. In your reflection, and in the
discussion that will follow, stay focused on the question of the
assignment and the information offered in support of one view or
another.
DISCUSSION QUESTION

11. Assignment Instructions
In your Initial Post, present your conclusion to the question posed
above. Take a specific position on the question and present a thorough
rationale (a set of reasons) in support of your position. Your rationale
must incorporate specific scientific information found from an
online source. Provide a reference for the online source that
includes the complete web address, organization, and author (no
particular format for the reference is required). You can also
present specific experiences that you have had and/or specific
observations you have made of others as part of your rationale. You are
not required to reveal your own sexual orientation if that is a sensitive
issue for you; only share personal information to the extent that you are
comfortable.
INITIAL POST (IP)

12. Assignment Instructions
Read your classmates' IPs as they are posted in the forum. By
Wednesday at 11:59 PM, you are required to post replies to two
IPs submitted by your classmates. These are termed Level 1 Replies
(R1).
Each R1 should include the following: (1) a quote of the specific
statement(s) you are responding to; (2) a paraphrasing of the
statement(s) to communicate to your classmate how you interpreted the
statement(s); (3) an explanation of how your thinking on the question is
different from your classmate’s thinking; (4) an essential question that
targets a specific element of thought along with a
specific intellectual standard (see the “What Is Critical Thinking?”
document for examples); and (5) an explanation as to why you thought
that specific intellectual standard was lacking in your classmate’s
thinking. To receive full credit, each R1 must be at least 150 words
in length.
LEVEL 1 REPLIES (R1)

13. Assignment Instructions
By Thursday at 11:59 PM, you are required to reply to the two
R1s submitted to your IP. These replies to R1s are termed Level 2
Replies (R2).
In each R2, respond to your classmate’s essential question with further
elaboration of your thinking. Explicitly acknowledge how your thinking in
the quoted statement lacked the intellectual standard identified by your
classmate, or explain in a polite and non-defensive way why you think
your statement did not lack the intellectual standard. In addition, if you
think your classmate applied the critical thinking concepts inaccurately
in her/his essential question, explain why you think that is the case. To
receive full credit, each R2 must be at least 100 words in length.
LEVEL 2 REPLIES (R2)

14. Assignment Instructions
By Sunday at 11:59 PM, you are required to submit a Final Post
(FP). For this post (which must be submitted as a new thread, not as a
reply to your IP), complete the following:
1. Read all of your classmates’ IPs, count the number of individuals on
each side of the question of the assignment, and present the exact
results of your tally. Then compile and present a listing of all the
reasons mentioned by your classmates on each side of the issue.
2. Was your conclusion to the question on the side of the majority of
students in this class or not? Which reasons on the opposing side did
you not consider or had least awareness of prior to participating in
this discussion?
FINAL POST (FP)

15. Assignment Instructions
3. How has your thinking on this issue developed from reading the
information on the website and the postings in the discussion forum?
When answering this question, evaluate your own thinking in
accordance with the intellectual standards and present two
specific, quoted statements (one from a classmate's R1 submitted
in response to your own IP and one from a classmate's R2 submitted
in response to one of your R1s) that led to a development in your
own thinking. Reference the quoted statements by identifying the
student’s name and whether the post was an R1 or R2.
For example, you can state that Statement X allowed you to develop
a clearer (or deeper or broader) understanding of Issue X. The
purpose of the evaluation is not to state how great your thinking (as
presented in your forum postings) was but to reflect upon how it
improved or could be improved.
FINAL POST (FP)

16. Assignment Instructions
If someone writes a statement that you perceive as lacking civility (e.g.,
it comes across as rude, condescending, offensive, mean, angry, etc.),
please point that out to your classmate in a polite and friendly way.
Explicitly state that you perceived Statement X as offensive and provide
a reason as to why. Then, request that your classmate present her/his
thinking in a different way.
If the recipient of such as a message fails to respond with a restatement
of the ideas and an apology for any intentional or unintentional offense
that the earlier statement(s) caused, the recipient of such as message
will receive a 0 on the discussion forum assignment, despite the number
or quality of any other postings submitted.
IMPORTANT NOTE

17. Benefits of CT Discussion Forum
 Students have meaningful intellectual dialogues.
 Students develop academic writing skills.
 Students develop critical thinking skills.
 Students learn from one another.
 Instructor involvement is minimal.

18. Example of Student’s R1
I found your post very informative, especially your input on how families many
times attempt to save their relative's lives, not realizing that the result may be
the patient living a worse, more painful life. I question the breadth of your point
of view when you stated "I dont believe physicians should have that type of
authority when it comes to medication. There purpose should mainly
be focused on human body, that's it." Sometimes, treating the human body
requires prescribing medication to comfort a patient in pain. If physicians should
not be allowed to prescribe lethal doses of medication, when, then, is the line
drawn between controlling a terminally ill patient's pain and going too far?
Another role of the physician is to comfort their patient. If a terminally ill patient
requests high doses of pain medication, and is of sound mind to do so, should
they be denied medication and be allowed to suffer?

19. Example of Student’s FP
The vast majority of the class (12) stated that they believed
physicians should be allowed to assist terminally ill patients in death,
whereas 1 stated that physicians should not have this power. Those
who stated this practice should be allowed to be practice mentioned
reasons such as relieving the terminally ill patient of their pain,
respecting patient's rights to request death, and the fact that death
of the patient is inevitable, so they should have a say in when it
occurs. The reasons mentioned for not allowing this practice were
mainly that physicians should not have the right or power to kill
another individual.

20. Example of Student’s FP (cont.)
My conclusions were in line with the majority of students. I had previously
not considered the other individuals affected when they have a friend or
family member who is terminally ill. Many would rather keep their loved
ones alive and with them for as long as possible, not realizing the patient's
feelings or suffering associated with keeping them alive. Friends and family
members may alter the patient's opinions on requesting death which may
be a factor to consider as well. I stated that certain medications may alter
the patient's mental status which should be considered when deciphering
whether or not patients are of sound mind to request death, but the
opinions and alterations a family member or friend could make in the
patient's mind should be recognized as well.

21. Example of Student’s FP (cont.)
When I mentioned that medications could alter someone's mental status,
Crystle made the very good point that "pain changes someone's mental
state as well." This made me reconsider the depth of my statement. I had
previously only considered the one potential mind altering factor, pain
medication, as having an effect on the patient. I did not consider how
when people are in unbearable pain, they may request something that
they, in the long run, wouldn't necessarily want. Which also made me
think about the effects family and friends and how their opinions and
requests could alter a patient's decisions.

22. Example of Student’s FP (cont.)
I enjoyed Christine's post which brought up the point of inmates on death row and
their rights as far as the death penalty goes. Christine responded to my question
regarding whether any person, terminally ill or being sentenced to death, should have
to die in pain by stating "I personally think it’s a backwards way of thinking for our
society as a whole that a person that is terminally ill can’t have a painless assisted
death but inmates on death row can be rendered unconscious for death by lethal
injection." Before reading this post, I had not even considered the fact that terminally
ill, innocent people are dying in pain, whereas those who have done something to
deserve being sentenced to death, get to do so in a painless way. This brought an
entirely new breadth to the subject for me, causing me to take into consideration that
there are people out there being painlessly killed against their will, while others are
being denied an inevitable death, but to be preformed without pain.

23. Formal Assessment Project
How are students developing their CT knowledge and skills?
 CT Knowledge Probe
 CT Dispositions Scale
PRE
 CT Knowledge Probe
 CT Dispositions Scale
 Student CT Reflection
POST
 CT Discussions / Post-Disc Commentary
 Post-Disc Student Feedback
 Summary, Added Instruction, Revisions
AR
Intervention

24. Thank You!
• Join the SUNY Learning Commons
http://commons.suny.edu for access to the COTE Community
group to continue the conversation!
• View a Recording of today’s Fellow Chat:
http://bit.ly/COTEfellowchatRECORDING
• View the COTE NOTE:
http://bit.ly/COTENOTEcriticalthinking
• Become an Open SUNY Fellow:
http://commons.suny.edu/cote/join-community-of-practice/
• Submit a Proposal:
http://bit.ly/COTEproposal
24

25. Open SUNY Fellow Anne Reed
#COTEchat
– Instructional Designer
Online Programs
University at Buffalo
– Open SUNY Fellow Role:
Expert Instructional Designer
– Topic:
Approaches to Online Faculty
Development
– Date
June 5, 2014 at 12pm
25COTE NOTE: http://bit.ly/COTEfellowchatLIVE