Defining, Implementing, and Assessing Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines
Keywords:
critical thinking, higher education, faculty learning communitiesAbstract
Critical thinking (CT) is widely viewed as an essential skill for college students. Nevertheless, the use of CT skills in the classroom often varies across disciplines. This article summarizes perceptions of CT, including various definitions and constructs as well as barriers to its implementation in higher education. Faculty members from various disciplines participated in a faculty learning community on CT tasked with generating a consensus definition to be adopted by the university. Eight of the faculty members reflect on their experiences implementing CT instruction or assessment in their courses. They conclude by providing recommendations from these reflections.
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