Closing the Loop: Critical Thinking Assessment Brown Bag Series April 14-15, 2009

CRITICAL THINKING Learning Communities Course

Well-cultivated Critical Thinker Raises vital questions & problems Gathers and assesses relevant information Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions Thinks open-mindedly Communicates effectively

HIS 451 & Critical Thinking Introduce and reinforce the concept Engage students in planning and conducting lessons Engage students in metacognitive thinking

Karin’s Questions What kind of critical thinking is happening here? What’s a systematic way to measure it? Can students identify when they do it? Can they identify what kind it is?

Course Goals/Questions Essential Questions Primary Sources Argumentation Important Concepts Interpretation Collaboration Meta-cognitive

Essential Questions What essential questions will students try to answer with the information from the narrative text and primary sources? – How well did these questions work to stimulate substantive conversation? – How many students participated? – Were students engaged?

Primary Sources What primary sources will students analyze and interpret during the class? – Which offered the best opportunity for substantive discussion – Did students develop and consider a range of interpretations, citing specific evidence from the text or the visual source to support their interpretations?

Argumentation How will students develop their arguments? Will they write individually? Collaborate in pairs or groups? – Did students work well in groups or as individuals? – Did students successfully cite appropriate and relevant sources to support their arguments? – How might you rephrase the questions to improve clarity or controversy?

Important Concepts What important concepts must students understand to answer the questions for this lesson? (i.e., Cult of True Womanhood, patriarchy, feme covert, etc.) – How well did students define and use the concepts in the discussion?

Interpretation How will students challenge assumptions, consider alternative interpretations, and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the various interpretations? – How well did students challenge themselves and each other to consider alternative interpretations?

Collaboration What contributions will each group member make to the unit? – How well did you and your group members collaborate and resolve problems in designing and implementing this unit?

Metacognitive What value do you see in this assignment for yourself? For the students you taught? How would you restructure the assignment to achieve better results in the future?

Improvements Purpose of teaching experience & need for reflection Opportunities to work together outside class Students’ discomfort grading and editing each others’ work Too many objectives