Ideas to Action (I2A)
Using Critical Thinking to Foster
Student Learning and Community Engagement
Presentation for Speed School Faculty
April 22, 2008
Introductions
• I2A Team
Dr. Patty Payette Dr. Cathy Bays Dr. Edna Ross
Executive Director
Delphi Specialist
for Assessment
Delphi Specialist
for Critical Thinking
Hannah Anthony, Program Assistant Senior
Patty
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.
Patty
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
Patty
real-world issues the parts to the
& problems
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
Patty
Central Messages about I2A
• Prompted by Undergraduate Program Accreditation
• Enhancement of critical thinking, 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:
Patty
http://louisville.edu/provost/fromtheprovostitems/stratplan0308.html
Critical Thinking Definition
adopted for I2A
Critical thinking is
the intellectually disciplined process
that results in
a guide to belief and action.
Understanding
Concepts
Appreciation
Edna
Decisions
Synthesize
Application
(From: Scriven and Paul, 2003)
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
Edna
(Richard Paul and Linda Elder, the Foundation for Critical Thinking:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/)
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
Cathy
Critical Thinker
Intellectual Standards
CLARITY
ACCURACY
PRECISION
RELEVANCE
DEPTH
BREADTH
Cathy
LOGIC
SIGNIFICANCE
FAIRNESS
COMPLETENESS
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 8-10
Cathy
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 3-6
The Intellectual Traits
• Intellectual Humility • Intellectual Integrity
• Intellectual Courage • Intellectual
Perseverance
• Intellectual Empathy
• Confidence in
• Intellectual
Reason
Autonomy
• Fairmindedness
Cathy
Miniature Guide, 2008, p. 13-15
Telling Speed Students…
ENGR 100: Intro to Engineering
• Critical thinking is using logic
logicto
todecide
decidewhat
whatto
to
believe based on accurate
accurate and
andobjective
objective
evidence.
evidence.
• Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly
clearlyand
and
rationally.
rationally.
• Critical thinking is the process of
conceptualizing,
conceptualizing, applying,
applying,analyzing,
analyzing,
synthesizing, and/or evaluating information
informationasas
a guide to belief and action.
Intellectual Standards = blue
Pat
Elements of Thought = red
Can you think critically?
You take a metal tape and place it around the
circumference of a basketball. Then, you add one
inch to the length of the tape.
Your friend places a similar metal tape around the
world at the Equator. Then, your friend adds one inch
to the length of that tape.
If the gap between the basketball and the tape is
equal all around the circumference of the ball, and the
gap between the earth and the tape also is equal all
around the circumference of the earth, how much
larger is the gap around the ball than the gap around
the earth? Assume the earth is a perfect sphere.
Pat
Trial of Critical Thinking
The story
• New road construction
• House condemned, purchased by state
• House sold at auction, moved
• Blasting for new road
• Damage to house
Joe
Trial of Critical Thinking
• Did blasting nearby cause the damage
shown in the following photographs?
• What reasons can you provide for your
answer to the previous question
(evidence)?
Joe
Joe
Joe
Joe
Trial of Critical Thinking
• Can you figure out what happened?
Inferences
• Did blasting nearby cause the damage
shown in the following photographs?
Assumptions & Consequences
• What reasons can you provide for your
answer to the previous question
(evidence)?
Concepts & Information
Joe
Elements of Thought = red
Significance: Now & Beyond
• Critical thinking involves “higher
level” thinking essential to
engineers.
• It often requires us to think
“outside the box.”
• Engineering careers require critical
thinking, at all levels.
• We can learn to think critically.
Pat
How is critical thinking connected to
engineering?
Critical thinking is the core of
engineering. Without critical thinking,
engineering is not possible. If critical
thinking is not present, whatever is
occurring, it is not engineering.
Pat
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
CEE 452: The New Foundation Engineering
• Haven’t been explicit about critical thinking…
• Decided to use tests of individual preparation
[incentive] and team-based tests [to foster
peer teaching/learning].
• Used time constraint to allow me to follow-up.
• Goal was to increase critical thinking.
Joe
First, a test of preparation…
• Closed book, closed notes.
• Individual test, for 5-10 minutes.
• Are you prepared to work with your peers?
• Test counts 20 % of grade for that class session.
Intellectual Traits: Intellectual Autonomy &
Intellectual Integrity
Joe
TYPICAL QUESTIONS FOR TEST OF
PREPARATION
How would you identify a “collapsible” soil by using laboratory tests?
What standards would you apply?
Information
When an increment of load is applied to a doubly-drained soil sample in a
standard consolidation test in the laboratory, where is the gradient that
causes water to flow out of the sample highest? Where is the gradient
lowest? Explain.
Inferences, concepts
If sand drains are installed in a clay layer under a dam, and the average
drainage distance is reduced to one-tenth of the original drainage distance,
by what factor is the time for any given degree of consolidation changed?
Is the time longer or shorter? Show your work to explain your answer.
Implications, consequences
Joe
Elements of Thought = red
Then, a team-based test…
•
•
•
•
Open book, open notes.
Groups of 6-7 students.
Members of groups changed.
Test counts 80 % of grade for that
class session.
• Bonus for group that finished first.
Joe
TYPICAL QUESTIONS—GROUP TESTS
What is the meaning of the term impedance when it is used to
describe a pile? Why is impedance important?
Why do load tests on piles driven into some types of ground
show ultimate load capacities very different from the capacity
inferred from use of the wave equation and data obtained during
pile driving?
What errors in evaluation of soils as foundation materials can
occur in using plate load tests? What are the sources of these
errors?
Intellectual Standards: Relevance, depth, breadth, accuracy,
precision Elements of Thought: information, concepts
Joe
Group Tests
Designed to foster critical thinking
Questions did not have obvious answers.
Students were puzzled, at first.
Then, “vigorous debates” occurred.
Groups learned quickly that consensus
answers were best.
Intellectual Traits: Fairmindness, confidence in reason,
intellectual humility, intellectual perseverance
Joe
Evaluation of New CEE 452?
I could explain remaining puzzles.
Grades: 25% to 85% on prep tests, 60% to
74% on team-based tests. Combined
grades: 54% to 79%, vs 68.6% on tests
over same material in former years.
4178 prep tests 5076 team tests
More coverage:50,50 questions and much
more thorough testing this way.
Joe
Jerry Evans & I2A
• Motivation for Joining I2A Task Group.
• Participation in Pilot Program
– Choice of IE 643: Analysis for Decision
Making.
– Change of Syllabus.
– Review of Paper Assignment.
– Formative Feedback example.
Jerry
Additions to IE 643 Syllabus
Thought hard about what I wanted the students to get out of this class, instead of just
listing topics to be covered. Front page of syllabus contained the following:
Course Objectives:
Analysis for Decision Making, an elective course for advanced undergraduate
students and graduate students in Industrial Engineering and Decision Sciences,
covers the various methodologies associated with the sub-field of Operations
Research called Decision Analysis. Upon completion of the course, students should
be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Provide structure for ill-structured problems.
Identify/determine appropriate sets of decision makers, objectives, attributes, and
alternative decisions for a given decision problem.
Develop an appropriate criterion model for a given decision situation.
Evaluate whether a decision tree, an influence diagram, a general simulation model, or
some other evaluation methodology is appropriate for use in a given decision situation.
Construct an appropriate evaluation model for a given decision situation.
Construct an appropriate criterion model for a given decision situation.
Use appropriate decision analysis and simulation software packages for given decision
situations.
Understand various applications of Decision Analysis in Engineering, Business, &
Health Care.
Jerry
IE 643: Paper Review
Assignment
Find, read and summarize an article from the literature involving an
application of decision analysis. In developing your summary, try to
“reason through” the process that the author(s) went through in doing a
good decision analysis. As a part of your summary, provide the following:
– The central problem addressed by this decision situation.
– How the central problem was related to auxiliary problems.
– Who the decision makers and stakeholders were for this
problem.
– What types of attributes were employed in the system that
was developed.
– What type of evaluation model was employed (and why).
– Whether the system was employed to make a single
decision or was used for ongoing decisions.
– How the study resulted in an improvement in the problem
situation.
Jerry
IE 643: Formative Feedback
(Mid-semester Evaluation)
We have discussed several methodologies relative to the area of decision analysis thus far this semester. We will be devoting additional
class time to some of these methodologies, as well as covering new methodologies. I would appreciate your opinions on how
important/relevant these methodologies are to the general area of decision analysis, and also how well you think that you understand these
areas. Answer the questions using the following scales (feel free to provide non-integer answers (e.g., 2.5)).
Importance:
Very Important (4), Moderately Important (3), Slightly Important (2), Of Little/No Importance (1)
Level of Understanding Gained Thus Far:
High (4), Moderate (3), Slight (2), Little/No (1)
Problem Structuring Methods/Procedures
Why-What’s Stopping Procedure
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Vision and Mission Statements
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Objectives hierarchies/networks
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Attributes (characteristics of a valid set)
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Quality-Adjusted Life Years Attribute
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Bayes’ Theorem, probability calculations
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Decision Trees
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Influence Diagrams
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Value of Information
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
DPL Software Package
Importance:
Level of Understanding:
Modeling/Analysis Methods/Procedures
Jerry
IE 643 Pilot Program
Final Thoughts
• Critical thinking involves “thinking about
thinking”. Two of the main things that I
have gotten out of this is that I now think
very hard about the way I think about
things, and I try to convey this to the
students. More importantly, I’m trying
harder to think about the way that the
students think about things.
Jerry
I2A Resources & Next Steps:
08-09 Programs & Services
• I2A Faculty Learning Community (Fall 08)
• I2A Instructional Grants (Spring 2008)
• I2A Website w/ resources (Jan 08)
• I2A Delphi Specialist in Culminating Experiences
• I2A Campus Collaborations (SPI, Civic
Engagement, Student Affairs)
Patty
For more information
Please visit:
http://louisville.edu/ideastoaction
Patty