Workshop - Assessing and developing critical thinking skills

Steps for Better Thinking, provides a useful conceptual framework for developmental learning as well as providing appropriate curricular strategies for helping students’ transition from one stage to the next. Conceptually, students require the foundational skills or knowledge base necessary in order to successfully transition from one developmental level to the next. Further, this foundational knowledge or “scaffolding” is required for all levels. Although conceptually simple enough to understand, intellectual development requires a systematic and purposeful approach to achieve the greatest developmental gains. In this workshop, participants will (1) clarify desired critical thinking outcomes, (2) discover how cognitive development affects critical thinking performance, (3) use cognitive patterns to assess critical thinking skills demonstrated in student essays, (4) use assessment results to identify student learning opportunities, and (5) take home tools for their own implementation. Index Terms – cognitive development, Steps for Better Thinking, workshop