Using Critical Thinking to Foster
Student Learning and Community Engagement
Presentation for School of Nursing Faculty
April 18, 2008

Welcome
Dr. Ermalynn Kiehl
Associate Dean for Undergraduate
Academic Affairs

Where we’ve come from:
October 9, 2007
Creating an atmosphere of belonging & Improving our image
Quality Undergraduates
A.
Curriculum redesign:
1.
Foundations/Therapeutic nursing
2.
3.
interventions course
Research course since on a research extensive university
Pathophysiology placement as prerequisite for the upper division

B. Admission and Progression:
1.
Raise GPA to 3.0 for admission
2.
Progression GPA
3.
Failure remediation
4.
Scholarship and financial advising
5. Review prerequisites for RN-BSN / eliminate barriers
6.
Articulation of RN-BSN students with community college
Faculty Development: Match faculty skills to placement
Timeframe: 1 semester to 1 year
Undergraduate Retreat for November, 2007

Undergraduate Faculty Retreat
November 9, 2007
 Agree that we would
 review and revise the current curriculum in a way that faculty and students will be able to understand and articulate.
 establish admission, progression, and graduation standards
 Review SON Vision, Mission & Philosophy and establish structure (a shared vision)
 Collect & analyze data
 Create a Plan of Action which included recommendation to put forward to UAAC and Faculty Organization
 Develop a timeline for implementation

Identified our customers
Students
Nurse
Preceptors
Health care
Providers
University
Admin
SON
SON
Faculty
Admin
Staff
Community
Partners
Potential
Employers &
Educators of
Students

Implement monthly Undergraduate Faculty meetings in place of BSN Coordinator meetings to be more inclusionary and give all undergraduate faculty a voice.

By November 15th
• We had reviewed the AACN Essentials
• Discussed the I2A critical thinking requirements for the future
• Determined the importance of the
Signature Partnerships
• Identified the direction we wanted to go and agreed to formulate a plan of action

• Course objectives would be broader and less in number. Faculty could develop student learning objectives for each of their 14 weeks
• All course activities would relate to a course objective and students would be made aware of the connection
• Develop a Skills Booklet & Competency
Checklist

By December
• Our vision for the curriculum was becoming clearer
• We began identifying actual courses
• We identified course responsibilities and teams

By January
• We had enough structure to obtain
Dan Mahony’s approval for
 an extension of course approval forms
 to begin in the fall 2008
• We had momentum, motivation, and desire to bring about change

By February
• We had full faculty approval
• We had all CIF’s submitted
• We had new course numbers
• We had approval from the Department of Pharmacology to reassume responsibility for our own pharmacology course

By the end of February we had an Implementation Plan

Curriculum 2008

By March
• We had enough student support to implement our pharmacology course with the pathology course during the summer of 2008 instead of waiting until fall.
• We determined the added benefit of providing this new nursing focused course for those currently in pharmacology
• We determined that we needed a really big room for all those students asking to audit the course

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

Ideas to Action Leadership Team
• Dale Billingsley , Professor and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs
• Gale Rhodes , Assistant University Provost &
Director, Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning
• Marianne Hutti , Associate Director, Delphi
Center for Teaching and Learning

Ideas to Action Task Group
• I2A
Task Group
• I2A
Facilitators
– Dr. Mary Beth Coty
– Mrs. Patricia Martin

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.

I 2A 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 http://louisville.edu/ideastoaction/files/finalreport.pdf

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
I2A Thematic Priority: Community Engagement

Central Messages about
I2A
• Prompted by Undergraduate Program Accreditation (SACS)
• Enhancement of critical thinking and student engagement
• Speed School as exemplar
• Renewed focus on community engagement
• Assessment process under development
• Some programs in place; more being developed
U of L Strategic Plan 2020: http://louisville.edu/provost/fromtheprovostitems/stratplan0308.html

Critical Thinking Exercise
Working in groups of 2-3, you will need a flip chart and a marker to:
1) On the first large sheet of paper, discuss and decide together how you will answer the following: “Critical thinking is ________(fill in the blank with 1-4 words)”
2) On the same sheet below your answer, fill in:
“I see or hear critical thinking when my students are_____(fill in the blank by completing this sentence)”
3) On a second large sheet of paper, discuss and decide together how you will answer the following: “Critical thinking is not_____(fill in the blank with 1-4 words)”
4) On the same sheet below your answer fill in:
“When my students are not thinking critically, I notice_________(fill in the blank)”
When you are done, put the first sheet on the wall on one side of the room and put the other sheet on the opposite wall.

Critical Thinking Definition adopted for
I
2A
Understanding
Concepts
Appreciation
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process that results in a guide to belief and action.
(From: Scriven and Paul, 2003)
Decisions
Synthesize
Application

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
(Richard Paul and Linda Elder, the Foundation for Critical Thinking: http://www.criticalthinking.org/)

Paul-Elder
Critical Thinking Model
must be applied to
in order to develop
which will produce a well-cultivated

Intellectual Standards
CLARITY
Could you elaborate?
Could you illustrate what you mean?
Could you give me an example?
ACCURACY
How could we check on that?
How could we find out if that is true?
How could we verify or test that?
PRECISION
Could you be more specific?
Could you give me more details?
Could you be more exact?
RELEVANCE
How does that relate to the problem?
How does that bear on the question?
How does that help us with the issue?
DEPTH
What factors make this difficult?
What are some of the complexities of this question?
What are some of the difficulties we need to deal with?
BREADTH
Do we need to look at this from another perspective?
Do we need to consider another point of view?
Do we need to look at this in other ways?
LOGIC
Does all of this make sense together?
Does your first paragraph fit in with your last one?
Does what you say follow from the evidence?
SIGNIFICANCE
Is this the most important problem to consider?
Is this the central idea to focus on?
Which of these facts are most important?
FAIRNESS
Is my thinking justifiable in context?
Am I taking into account the thinking of others?
Is my purpose fair given the situation?
Am I using my concepts in keeping with educated usage, or am I distorting them to get what I want?
COMPLETENESS
How complete are the facts related to the issue?
How complete is the description?
Is the description of each perspective complete?
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 8-10

Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 3-6

• Intellectual Humility • Intellectual Integrity
• Intellectual Courage
• Intellectual Empathy
• Intellectual
Perseverance
• Intellectual
Autonomy
• Confidence in
Reason
• Fairmindedness
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 13-15

Pulling it all together
How can the model help us sharpen our thinking about …
• crafting our curriculum?
• articulating course goals?
• describing student learning objectives?
• assessing and measuring student abilities?
• making explicit the thinking and performance goals for students in very specific, measurable ways?

Nursing 473-Vicki Burns
Question from a Synthesis Paper Assignment:
In an 8-10 page paper, describe in depth an intervention you performed for a selected population within a community setting over the course of the semester. Describe in detail the assessment process that led you to choose this specific intervention for the population in question. How was the nursing process utilized? What nursing diagnoses formed the conceptual foundation for the intervention? What sources were used to establish the background and compile the evidence upon which the intervention was based?
What criteria were used to establish evaluation guidelines for the intervention? In conclusion, describe precisely how you believe your work could contribute to the state of the science regarding the specific population in question.

Nursing 473-Vicki Burns
Question from a Synthesis Paper Assignment:
In an 8-10 page paper, describe in depth an intervention you performed for a selected population within a community setting over the course of the semester. Describe in detail the assessment process that led you to choose this specific intervention for the population in question. How was the nursing process utilized? What nursing diagnoses formed the conceptual foundation for the intervention? What sources were used to establish the background and compile the evidence upon which the intervention was based?
What criteria were used to establish evaluation guidelines for the intervention? In conclusion, describe precisely how you believe your work could contribute to the state of the science regarding the specific population in question.
(This trait correlates with the ability to reconstruct accurately the viewpoints and reasoning of others and to reason from premises, assumptions, and ideas other than our own. . . (p. 14).

Nursing 364-Pat Martin
FUNDAMENTAL & POWERFUL DISCIPLIANRY CONCEPTS:
1.The nursing process is the gateway to promoting the psychosocial & physical well-being of clients
2. Safe & effective application of nursing skills improves client outcomes
Course Goal:
Course Objectives Student Learning Objectives Student Learning Activity Assessment
#3 Utilize the nursing process accurately to select, implement, and evaluate nursing interventions.
Identify and perform therapeutic nursing interventions with precision
& accuracy that are relevant to promote quality patient care
Clinical Care Plans 1. Submits care plans that: a. are logical for the pts condition. b. demonstrate a nursing diagnosis in PES format that is relevant, clear, & accurate.
c. correctly & accurately identifies appropriate nursing interventions
Clinical practice 2. Implements patient care from the nursing care plan that is relevant and safe for the patient and reflects fairness in nursing care delivery.
3. Participates in pre/post

Nursing 361--Pat Martin
Revised Clinical Evaluation:
Objective 2- Demonstrate professional behavior in the community
Demonstrates Intellectual Integrity
Appearance is neat, clean, and professional at all times during clinical
Dresses appropriately for clinical situations (meetings, interviews with administrators, etc)
Utilizes time effectively and efficiently during clinical hours.
Demonstrates ethical behavior, including the ability to maintain client and community-level confidentiality.
Submits completed assignments by appropriate due date
Arrives on time for clinical and is present throughout the assigned clinical time
Responds professionally to guidance from clinical instructor.
Adheres to the policies as published in the School of Nursing and U of L handbooks
Demonstrates actions and behaviors that act in the best interest of the client and others in the community setting.
Displays behavior in the clinical setting that is not judgmental, discriminatory, or inflammatory.
Collaborates with clients and others in the community setting to provide quality care
Maintains confidentiality in the clinical setting
Displays behaviors that protect the health and safety of clients in the community setting
Accepts constructive criticism from clinical faculty member

Nursing 361-Pat Martin
Revised Clinical Evaluation:
Objective 2- Demonstrate professional behavior in the community
Demonstrates Intellectual Perseverance
Actively participates in the clinical experience and is responsive to the needs of peers and community members
Routinely evaluates clinical practice for quality and effectiveness of interventions
Serves as an advocate for clients in the community setting
Actively shares knowledge and information with peers and members in the community to advance the practice of community health nursing
Identifies strengths and weaknesses and sets personal goals accordingly

Nursing 470-Pat Martin
From your work setting, select a copy of any type of discharge instructions. Use the
SMOG readability formula to determine the reading level. Discuss your findings.
Are there any words/phrases you think the lay public may have trouble understanding? What does this mean for nursing?
From your work setting, select a copy of any type of discharge instructions. Use the
SMOG readability formula to determine the reading level. To formulate your response for this activity, consider the following:
1. The readability level of the discharge instructions.
2. The main purpose of this activity is…? What factors can you identify that are relevant and significant when considering the purpose of discharge instructions?
3. What main inferences/conclusions can you identify from your results?
4. Considering the results you obtained, what complexities or difficulties can you identify?
5. Do you have a vested interest in your finding?

Nursing 470-Pat Martin
From your work setting, select a copy of any type of discharge instructions. Use the
SMOG readability formula to determine the reading level. Discuss your findings.
Are there any words/phrases you think the lay public may have trouble understanding? What does this mean for nursing?
From your work setting, select a copy of any type of discharge instructions. Use the
SMOG readability formula to determine the reading level. To formulate your response for this activity, consider the following:
1. The readability level of the discharge instructions.
2. The main purpose of this activity is…? What factors can you identify that are relevant and significant when considering the purpose of discharge instructions?
3. What main inferences/conclusions can you identify from your results?
(logic)
4. Considering the results you obtained, what complexities or difficulties can you identify? (depth)
5. Do you have a vested interest in your finding? (fairness)
Intellectual Standards = blue Elements of Thought = red

I2A Next Steps for the
School of Nursing
Dr. Ermalynn Kiehl
Associate Dean for Undergraduate
Academic Affairs

So where are we now…
• We are ready to begin the detailed planning for our courses
• We are ready to apply the University’s Ideas to
Action plan for integrating a critical thinking model into our courses
• We are ready to put into action our unified plan for the 2008 Curriculum with the intention of becoming the premier undergraduate program in Kentucky

Goals
• By the end of May we will have the course syllabi for fall
2008 complete
• By the end of August we will have the course syllabi for spring 2009 complete
• By the end of October we will have the course syllabi for summer 2009 complete
• By the end of January we will have the course syllabi for fall
2009 complete
• By the end of May we will have the course syllabi for spring
2010 complete
• By the spring of 2010 we will be graduating our first graduates of our new curriculum

I2A
Resources & Next Steps:
08-09 Programs & Services
• I2A
Faculty Learning Community (Fall 08)
• I2A
Instructional Grants (Fall 08)
• I2A
Website w/ resources (Summer 08)
• I2A
Delphi Specialist in Culminating Experiences
• I2A
Campus Collaborations (SPI, Civic
Engagement, Student Affairs)

For more information

Feedback
Let us know through your
I2A facilitators:
1. What was helpful about this session?
2. What questions were raised from this session?
3. What do you think are the next steps for you and/or the unit?