THINK! Critical Thinking In Every Classroom New Faculty Orientation August 16, 2008

The Age of the Acronym SACS: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools QEP: Quality Enhancement Plan VCCS: Virginia Community College System CCTST: California Critical Thinking Skills Test CCSSE: Community College Survey of Student Engagement

The QEP at LFCC Because of results from the 2006 CCTST and the 2005 CCSSE survey, along with discussions among faculty and staff, we chose CRITICAL THINKING (CT) as the focus of our QEP. The purpose of the QEP is to create a culture of critical thinking which permeates all aspects of the College community, with an outcome of improved critical thinking skills in our students.

What is critical thinking? Well, it’s hard to define, and some would say that it doesn’t even exist! (see, for example, Willingham, 2007). Others say it’s just educational jargon for what we used to call thinking…

Thinking means… Explaining, analyzing, and synthesizing what we see, hear, and read Using creativity to discover multiple solutions and diverse approaches to issues Seeing connections and patterns Evaluating claims and evidence to draw reasonable conclusions Finding relevant information to address tasks and problems Justifying conclusions and solutions Reflecting on how we think and learn. Applying concepts to real-world problems

However it is defined, over 90% of faculty across the country today argue that critical thinking is the main purpose of undergraduate education. (Derek Bok, President Emeritus, Harvard)

3 Broad Goals, LFCC QEP 1. Foster awareness and understanding of critical thinking among College employees in all disciplines and units. 2. Enhance critical thinking skills in all LFCC degree, certificate, and workforce development programs. 3. Encourage critical thinking practice outside the classroom.

Some More Acronyms SLO: Student Learning Outcome CCS: Course Content Summary CAG: Course Assessment Guide For the QEP, we have selected the six VCCS critical thinking SLOs as our learning outcomes for assessment. EVERY course at LFCC must include one of these CT SLOs.

If each course lists a CT SLO on the CCS, Then, So What? If each course lists a CT SLO on the CCS, Then, Each course must include a CT SLO on the syllabus, AND Each course must include assignments and assessments based on the CT SLO.

Critical Thinking SLOs Degree graduates will demonstrate the ability to: 2.1 Discriminate among degrees of credibility, accuracy, and reliability of inferences drawn from given data 2.2 Recognize parallels, assumptions, or presuppositions in any given source of information

CT SLOs 2.3 Evaluate the strengths and relevance of arguments on a particular question or issue 2.4 Weigh evidence and decide if generalizations or conclusions based on the given data are warranted

CT SLOs 2.5 Determine whether certain conclusions or consequences are supported by the information provided. 2.6 Use problem solving skills.

Thus, faculty should… KNOW the CT SLO for the course(s) they teach, IDENTIFY and SCHEDULE assignments that support that SLO with practice and feedback, ASSESS the SLO, using the faculty designed instrument/measurement (for courses being assessed in fall 2008), and SHARE experiences, successes, struggles, tips, techniques, questions, and insights with other faculty.

We are asking that you * Make your classroom an on-going experiment * Pay attention to results from CAGs for courses you are teaching * Assess your own teaching in relation to critical thinking SLOs

What am I doing in my classes? Analysis Knowledge What am I doing in my classes? Comprehension Synthesis Application Evaluation

A little self-assessment… At what stage of Bloom’s taxonomy are… * My class discussion questions? * My homework assignments? * My project and research assignments? * My test questions? * My PowerPoint presentations? Can I “QEP” one of these to enhance critical thinking?

Another tool for reflection for self-evaluation for teaching for discussion… The Ox pictures… (The pictures shown are those of the Kyoto woodblock artist Tomikichiro Tokuriki. They are taken from Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo. Internet reference: http://www.jaysquare.com/ljohnson/ox-herding.html)

Seeking The Ox

Finding the Footprints

Perceiving the Ox

Catching the Ox

Taming the Ox

Riding the Ox Home

The Ox Transcended

The Ox and Farmer Transcended

Returning to the Source

Going into the World

Questions? Comments? Miriam Moore Professor of English/ESL Lord Fairfax Community College mmoore2@lfcc.edu 540-868-7173