Critical Thinking
We define Creative Thinking as the ability to subject one’s own and others’ ideas, arguments, assumptions and evidence to careful and logical scrutiny in order to make an informed judgment, draw a sound conclusion or solve a problem.
What we expect our students to learn
Students will be able to recognize formally valid forms of argument.
Sample: Who are we looking at?
200 randomly selected students with senior status, who took the CLA+ during their freshman year.
Measures: How are we rating their performance?
This Learning Outcome is measured through the Critical Reading and Evaluation (CRE) subsection of the CLA+.
Targets: What score did we expect?
Percentages of scores expected on the CRE subsections.
| SQR Levels | CRE Subsection Targets |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | 90% of students will score 500 (or above) |
| Level 2 | 45% of students will score 600 (or above) |
| Level 3 | 10% of students will score 700 (or above) |
Findings: What score did our students earn?
| SQR Levels | CRE Subsection Findings |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | 79.5% of students scored 500 (or above) |
| Level 2 | 32.5% of students scored 600 (or above) |
| Level 3 | 1.7% of students scored 700 (or above) |
Action Plans: Distribute the CLA+ sample questions packet to course instructor and encourage instructors to set aside some class time (this need not be more than 30 minutes) to familiarize students with the types of questions on the CLA+ relevant to assessing the outcome, and to address any potential confusions or evident weaknesses that emerge. Instructors can either use sample questions as exercises for teaching the normal content of their course (in cases where the content of the questions overlaps with course content), or alter the content of the questions to fit course content.
Students will demonstrate the ability to detect logical fallacies.
Sample: Who are we looking at?
200 randomly selected students with senior status, who took the CLA+ during their freshman year.
Measure: How are we rating their performance?
TThis Learning Outcome is measured through the following subsections of the CLA+:
- Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning (SQR)
- Critiquing and Argument (CA)
Target: What score did we expect?
Percentages of scores expected on the SQR subsections
| SQR Subsection Targets | CA Subsections Targets | |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 90% of students will score 500 (or above) | 85% of students will score 500 (or above) |
| Level 2 | 50% of students will score 600 (or above) | 40% of students will score 600 (or above) |
| Level 3 | 10% of students will score 700 (or above) | 10% of students will score 700 (or above) |
Findings: What score did our students earn?
| SQR Subsection Findings | CA Subsections Findings | |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 88% of students will score 500 (or above) | 77.8% of students scored 500 (or above) |
| Level 2 | 51.3% of students will score 600 (or above) | 24.8% of students scored 600 (or above) |
| Level 3 | 9.4% of students will score 700 (or above) | 0.9% of students scored 700 (or above) |
Action Plans: Advise instructors to consult rubric for APS, WE, and WM subsections of CLA+ in preparing students for, and grading, argument papers.