Fall 2011 Learning Week Session
I.
Welcome
II.
Assessment of Learning Website
III.
GEA Results
IV.
CAT Results
V.
Assessment Activities
VI.
Questions
http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/AL
 Revised
 Future
Assessment Report form
Revisions
 Total Remodel Underway
 Featured Assessment Projects
Please let us explain . . .
Year
2006-2007
Number of Sections
Assessed
308
2007-2008
256
2008-2009
157
2009-2010
148
2010-2011
257
Purpose  Assess PVCC’s core learning outcome:
critical thinking
 Supplement PVCC rubrics with a nationally
normed assessment of critical thinking
Rationale –
 Aligned with PVCC’s core learning outcome
 NSF Supported and Funded
http://www.tntech.edu/cat/home
Critical Thinking at PVCC 
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Critical Thinking is exhibited by the
ability to:
respond to material by distinguishing
between facts and opinions,
judgments and inferences, inductive
and deductive arguments, and the
objective and subjective;
generate questions, construct and
recognize the structure of arguments,
and adequately support arguments;
define, analyze, and devise solutions
for problems and issues;
collect, organize, classify, correlate,
analyze and present materials and
data;
integrate information and identify
relationships; and
evaluate information, materials, and
numerical and/or graphical data by
drawing inferences, arriving at
reasonable and informed conclusions,
applying understanding and
knowledge to new and different
problems, developing rational and
reasonable interpretations,
suspending beliefs and remaining
open to new information, methods,
cultural systems, values and beliefs
and by assimilating information.
Skill Areas Assessed by the CAT Evaluating Information and Other Points of
View
 Separating factual information from
inferences.
 Interpreting numerical relationships in
graphs.
 Understanding the limitations of
correlation data.
 Evaluating evidence and identifying
inappropriate conclusions.
Creative Thinking
 Identifying alternative interpretations for
data or observations.
 Identifying new information that might
support or contradict a hypothesis.
 Explaining how new information can change
a problem.
Learning & Problem Solving
 Separating relevant from irrelevant
information.
 Integrating information to solve problems.
 Learning and applying new information.
 Using mathematical skills to solve realworld problems.
Communication
 Communicating ideas effectively.
 Comparison
to National Norms
 Pre/Post-test
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Pre-test: Students with no General Education
courses at PVCC; Cohort: All CPD150 Students
Post-test: Students with 8 or more PVCC General
Education courses; Cohort: Students selected
from upper level General Education classes in
Physics, Calculus, Communications, & English
 Future
Longitudinal Study
Critical Think Tank/CAT Scorers

Doug Berry

Marianne Botos

Tom Butler

Julie Carpenter

Marilyn Cristiano

Casey Durandet

Jim Forsman

Mike Hamm

Felicia Ramirez

Elaine Weintraub
For additional CAT info: http://www.tntech.edu/cat
 Assessment

Project Report Forms
Write and report
 Critical
Thinking
Critical thinkers think about thinking critically! Say that 10 times out loud!

Mapping of Critical Thinking Abilities
 Questions?