1. Ideas to Action (I2A) Presentation for
Using Critical Thinking to Foster
Student Learning and Community Engagement
Presentation for
Psychological & Brain Sciences Faculty
April 28, 2008

2. Hannah Anthony, Program Assistant Senior
Introductions
I2A Team
Dr. Patty Payette Dr. Cathy Bays Dr. Edna Ross
Executive Director Delphi Specialist Delphi Specialist for Assessment for Critical Thinking
Hannah Anthony, Program Assistant Senior

3. Ideas to Action Implementation
Ideas to Action (I2A): Using Critical Thinking to Foster Student Learning and Community Engagement is our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), and we need to show measurable progress to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) by April 2012.
I2A was formulated by input from students, faculty, and the community. It was determined that a greater focus on fostering critical thinking students would be a benefit not only to our students but to the community as a whole. Employers are increasingly interested in employees who are well-cultivated critical thinkers.

4. I2A and “Connecting the Dots”
“Our extensive consultation with all University constituencies yielded a surprisingly strong and clear call for education focused on the skills and knowledge needed to deal with real-world issues and problems, an education in which students can see the importance of the parts (the courses) to the whole (their education as citizens and workers).” [QEP Report, 2007]
skills and knowledge
real-world issues & problems
the parts to the whole

5. I2A: What are the components?
Sharpen our existing focus on building critical thinking skills in the general education program…
…..continuing through undergraduate major courses with an emphasis on applying and refining those skills…
…resulting in a culminating experience, such as a senior thesis, research, service learning project, internship, or capstone project that fosters engagement
Examples of Speed School Culminating Experiences: Capstones, Internships, Co-ops, K-12 School programs
Emphasize not all courses and all faculty.
I2A Thematic Priority: Community Engagement

6. Central Messages about I2A
Prompted by Undergraduate Program Accreditation
Enhancement of critical thinking, student engagement
Psychological & Brain Sciences Department an exemplar
Renewed focus on community engagement
Assessment process under development
Some programs in place; more being developed
Enhancement of our efforts to promote critical thinking
Speed School as a leader of promoting critical thinking in the curriculum
U of L Strategic Plan
U of L Strategic Plan 2020:

7. the intellectually disciplined process a guide to belief and action.
Critical Thinking Definition
adopted for I2A
Critical thinking is
the intellectually disciplined process
that results in
a guide to belief and action.
(From: Scriven and Paul, 2003)

8. A Well-Cultivated Critical Thinker:
Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely
Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively
Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards
Thinks open mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as needs be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences
Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems
This is what we are trying to get all students to do across all disciplines
(Richard Paul and Linda Elder, the Foundation for Critical Thinking:

9. Intellectual Traits Critical Thinker
Richard Paul-Linda Elder Critical Thinking Model
Intellectual Standards
must be applied to
The Elements of Thought
in order to develop
Intellectual Traits
which will produce a well-cultivated
Critical Thinker

10. Intellectual Standards
CLARITY ACCURACY PRECISION RELEVANCE DEPTH BREADTH
LOGIC SIGNIFICANCE FAIRNESS COMPLETENESS
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 8-10

11. Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 3-6

12. The Intellectual Traits
Intellectual Humility
Intellectual Courage
Intellectual Empathy
Intellectual Autonomy
Intellectual Integrity
Intellectual Perseverance
Confidence in Reason
Fairmindedness
Miniature Guide, 2008, p

13. Paul Elder Critical Thinking Model Pilot Program
The specific components of the Paul-Elder model of critical thinking were used to adapt an existing assignment or to create or revise a new assignment in which one outcome is to foster a specific critical thinking skill(s).

14. Paul Elder Model Pilot Program Participants
William A Brantley--Communications
Karen Chandler--English
Julia Dietrich--English
Stuart Esrock--Communications
Gerald Evans--Engineering
Karen Gray--Humanities
William Hoston—Physics
Rich Lewine--Psychology
Mary Makris—Modern Languages
Carol S O'Neal—College of Education and Human Development
Edna Ross--Psychology
Robert S Urekew--Philosophy

15. BEFORE Psych 201 Assignment: 1. INTRODUCTION
What basic question is the Experimenter trying to answer? What is the general problem area?
2. METHODS
a) What or who were the experimental subjects?
What task did they perform, or what test(s) did they take, or what characteristic(s) were measured?
What was the design of the study? Was it experimental or correlational?
If experimental: Were there different groups of subjects or were the same subjects exposed to different treatments at different times, or both? What independent variable or variables were manipulated? What dependent variable or variables were measured?
If correlational: How many variables were measured, and what were they?
3. RESULTS
What were the results? Did groups differ in performance, or did subjects' performance differ under as a result of treatment? If correlational, what were the relationships found among the variables measured?
4. DISCUSSION
What are the implications of the study? What questions remain for further research? This is the section to summarize the contribution of the study to research in the area of the study focus.
BEFORE

16. AFTER Psych 201 Assignment
1. What is the main purpose of this article? (State as accurately as possible the author’s purpose for writing the article or for doing the research.) 2. What is (are) the important question(s) the author of this article is trying to address? (Figure out the key question(s) in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article about the research that was conducted.) 3. What kind of study was done? (Case study, survey, etc.) 3a. Justify your answer as to why it is what you say it is. 3b. What are the independent and dependent variables? 3c. Who are the subjects? 4. What facts, data, evidence or experiences does the author use to address the important question of the article? 5. What are the main inferences/conclusions in this article? (Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article) 6. Do the author’s conclusions follow from the data/evidence presented? Why or why not? 7a. What are the implications if we take the author’s line of reasoning seriously? (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author's line of reasoning seriously?) 7b. What are the implications if we fail to take the author’s line of reasoning seriously? (What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author's reasoning?)
AFTER

17. Psych 201 Assignment
Instead of summarizing, we are now asking students to critically analyze. 17

18. Some reactions from Pilot Program Participants
“Being involved [in this program] reinvigorated my teaching.”
“Very helpful to hear other [instructors] talk about their experiences teaching critical thinking.”
“I’m becoming a better teacher because of [this program].”
“I spend more time thinking about how the students think and I also spend more time explaining to students why I do things in a certain way.”

19. New Program Coming for Fall ‘08
Faculty Learning Community
on Critical Thinking
A community of faculty members
Cross-disciplinary ongoing dialogue, structured activities & reflection
Sustained and scholarly support for instructional design and assessment principles
Use of the Paul-Elder critical thinking model

20. What are the goals/objectives?
To increase and enhance faculty engagement in I2A
To increase and enhance faculty expertise and application of the Paul-Elder critical thinking model in a specific course
To create a library of faculty and student artifacts related to I2A implementation
To increase faculty collaboration across disciplines
To develop a cohort of FLC graduates who can serve as I2A advocates after completing the program
To nourish scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and its application to I2A and student learning.

21. Who is eligible?
Any part-time, term, tenure track, or tenured faculty member who will be teaching during Fall 2008 may be nominated.
The I2A FLC can include faculty members with and without prior experience with I2A and/or the Paul Elder critical thinking model.

22. Please visit: http://louisville.edu/ideastoaction
For more information
Please visit: