The document details a citizen critical thinking assessment model presented at a workshop in Athens, focusing on the psychological framework of social cognitive theory and critical thinking skills. It outlines the main cognitive aspects of critical thinking, including self-regulated learning methodologies and a multidimensional assessment approach using open-ended questions to foster critical thinking skills. Additionally, it discusses the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) as a valid tool for measuring critical thinking mindsets.

1. CRITICAL
THINKING
CITIZEN
ASSESSMENT
MODEL
WP2 Workshop, Athens, 02/02/2023

2. Citizen Critical Thinking Assessment Model
A wide yet solid
psychological
framework
Social
Cognitive
Theory
Critical
Thinking
Assessment
The main
cognitive
aspects of CT
04
03
01 02
How to learn
critical
thinking skills?
Self-
Regulated
Learning
Methodology
CT
multidimensional
assessment
methodology

3. Citizen Critical Thinking Assessment Model
A wide yet solid
psychological
framework
Social
Cognitive
Theory
01

4. Social Cognitive Theory: Triadic reciprocal determinism
● Motivational aspects (why do I
want to read this?)
● Ability to discriminate true/false
● Cognitive biases
● Emotional aspects
● Beliefs
Personal Factors

5. Social Cognitive Theory: Triadic reciprocal determinism
● The external conditions
● “Digital ecosystem”
● Different SNs/website have
different affordances
● Different news content =
different impact
Situational-contextual factors

6. Social Cognitive Theory: Triadic reciprocal determinism
● The actual actions
● Actions impact on context and on
other persons
● Involvement: can you feel the
urge to react/engage?
● Responsiveness: can you take the
time to check your reaction?
● Content: is your behavior different
according to contents?
Behavioral factors

7. Citizen Critical Thinking Assessment Model
Critical
Thinking
Assessment
The main
cognitive
aspects of CT
02

8. Critical thinking assessment
“The process of purposeful, self-
regulatory judgment, which results in
interpretation, analysis, evaluation,
and inference” (Facione, 1990)
“critical thinking is different from just
thinking. It is metacognitive - it
involves thinking about your
thinking” (Nosich, 2012)
What is CT in psychology?

9. Critical thinking assessment & coaching
Six cognitive skills of critical thinking (Delphi reference panel, 1990)
Cognitive
Skills of
Critical
Thinking
Interpretation
to comprehend and
express the meaning
of statements
Evaluation
to assess the credibility
of statements
Inference
to educe consequences
from the appropriate
statements
(Self-regulation)
conscious monitoring of
one's cognitive activities
Analysis
to identify the relationships
among different statements
Explanation
to justify appropriately
one’s own reasoning

10. Critical thinking assessment
- “is the premier instrument for assessing critical thinking mindset and
provides valid and reliable data for individuals and for groups”
- CCTDI is a measure of the dispositional side of critical thinking.
- Derived from the more demanding but articulated test (CCTST, California
Critical Thinking Skills Test)
CCTDI: California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory
(Facione, 1990)

11. CCTDI Example Items for Each CCTDI subscale
SUBSCALE EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2
Truth-seeking
It’s never easy to decide between
competing points of view.
Being impartial is impossible when I’m
discussing my own opinions.
Open-mindedness
It concerns me that I might have biases
of which I’m not aware.
It’s important to me to understand what
other people think about things.
Analyticity
It bothers me when people rely on weak
arguments to defend good ideas.
Others look to me to decide when the
problem is solved.
Systematicity
People say I rush into decisions too
quickly.
If I have to work on a problem, I can put
other things out of my mind.
Self-confidence
I’m proud that I can think with great
precision.
My peers call on me to make judgments
because I decide things fairly.
Inquisitiveness
Studying new things all my life would
be wonderful.
Learn everything you can, you never
know when it could come in handy.
Cognitive Maturity
Reading is something I avoid, if
possible.
Powerful people determine the right
answer.

12. Citizen Critical Thinking Assessment Model
03
How to learn
critical
thinking skills?
Self-
Regulated
Learning

13. Self-regulated learning of critical thinking skills
- To assess (and teach) these skills through self-
regulation, the most promising data-driven
model is the Self-Regulatory Feedback Loop
(Zimmerman, 2000).
- Open-ended questions to encourage
metacognition (thinking about one’s own
thinking processes).
1. Forethought phase:
self-motivational beliefs.
1. Executive phase:
self-control and self-monitoring.
1. Self-reflection phase:
self-judgment and self-reaction.

14. Self-regulated learning of critical thinking skills
From the perspective of
cyberpsychology, intelligent systems
support learning critical thinking
skills as adaptive environments that
can provide personalized support
(Durlach & Lesgold, 2012).

15. Citizen Critical Thinking Assessment Model
CT
multidimensional
assessment
methodology
04
Methodology

16. CT assessment through open-ended questions
Self-regulated learning phase
Topics & importance
for CT skills
Assessment of
relevant dimensions
Tech-assisted support
of critical thinking skills
(1) Forethought phase
Importance of the general
effect of personal values
orientations and cognitive
processes in a given situation
as possible antecedents of
critical thinking.
-How much does this information
activate you emotionally?
-Have you thought about the
consequences of circulating this
news?
-Do you think you recognize
manipulated news?
-Evaluation of personal values
and of their importance in
discerning news
-Evaluation of personal beliefs
about the ability to realistically
discriminate news.
(2) Executive phase Impact of self-observation and
self-monitoring in the ability to
critically judge news in
different online contexts.
-Are you able to manage the
impulse to share?
-Can you resist the impulse to
judge this news?
-Do you recognize the site's
interest in having you read this
news?
-Assessment of the relative
importance of the time factor in
sharing fake news
(3) Self-reflective phase
Importance of attribution of the
cause of failure in critical
thinking skills, showing through
interactive coaching the
cognitive mechanisms in
action so as to improve the
future phases.
-If you realize that you believed
fake news, what do you think was
the mistake?
-Do you think you can correct this
error in the future?
-Can you experience the feelings
that follow reading the news?
-Assessment of the importance of
others' reactions on social media
to news sharing.

17. Multidimensional CT Assessment
2
CT
ASSESSMENT
2
Triadic reciprocal determinism
→ Self, environment, behavior
California Critical Thinking
Disposition Inventory
→ Interpretation, analysis,
evaluation, inference, explanation
Self-Regulatory Feedback
Loop model
→ Forethought phase, executive
phase, self-reflection phase
3

18. THANK YOU!
Uninettuno University, 02/02/2023