Assessing Critical Thinking Carole L. Hamilton

How Can We Read How Students Think?• Critical thinking is specific to each discipline.• Critical thinking consists of habits, beliefs, understandings, thought

processes that make one a historian, scientist, mathematician, literature expert, environmentalist, biologist, etc.

• It takes skill and inference to ‘read’ students minds and assess not what they know, but how they think.

• It requires paying careful attention to their logic, and assessing the significance and fit of their theories about what they learn.

• The teacher must learn to identify the methods of cognition (inference, comparison, pattern recognition, considering implications, etc.)

We Must Look under the Hood

What Can We Assess?• Contributions to class discussions• Essays and short answers on tests• Diagrams and drawings• Comments in dialogues with teacher• Participation in group work

What Critical Thinking Skills Do We Look for?

• Making inferences• Considering consequences and implications• Making fruitful comparisons• Expressing logical reasoning• Applying suitable analogies and metaphors• Synthesizing competing ideas• Asking probing questions• Amplifying other students’ contributions• Critiquing ideas tactfully and helpfully• Bringing in the larger context• Expressing the larger truths behind the topic

Let’s Analyze a Group Discussion

In the next slide, you can watch a group of students working on a diagram to explain their theory of how beauty operates in American culture. It’s 2 minutes long. See if you can identify any critical thinking going on. (It’s a real class, so please ignore the noisy background and yawning!)

Modeling Session on Beauty in America

Which Critical Thinking Skills Did You Hear Critical Thinking Moves?

Such as:

• Making inferences• Considering consequences and implications• Making fruitful comparisons• Expressing logical reasoning• Applying suitable analogies and metaphors• Synthesizing competing ideas• Asking probing questions• Amplifying other students’ contributions• Critiquing ideas tactfully and helpfully• Bringing in the larger context• Expressing the larger truths• Applying theory

Student Discussion of the Diagram Showing How Beauty Operates in American Culture

Student comments:• “We can incorporate the advertising and media.”• “Fashion…takes over beauty.” • “Beauty overpowers life.” Amplifying other students’ ideas• “Fashion takes over life.” Synthesis of previous two comments• “Fashion defines beauty and overpowers life, and defines

social status, which defines wealth.” Further synthesis, logical reasoning

• “It’s not just the wealthy that fall into this trap. In fact, the less wealthy are more likely because they’ve made themselves believe that…” Fruitful comparison, inference, tactful critique

How Can We Assess Critical Thinking in a Diagram?

Look for the same traits!

This is a Diagram that Portrays One Student Group’s theory about The Great Gatsby

In the image:An elegant woman stands in front of a wall of houses, with a bag of money sitting on the ground nearby; gold has fallen out of the bag and no one seems interested in it. Behind the wall, are a sad man, a broken heart, and two puzzle pieces that don’t fit together.

The text reads:“Fitzgerald believes that society, in an attempt to create the American Dream, merely created a facade of frivolity, lavishness, and happiness, behind which they hide their inadequacies and sorrow.”

The wall is a facade, and its impenetrability indicates that no reconciliation will occur. The diagram is thoughtful, evocative, and elegant—an image that all of the other students comprehended easily. As students and the teacher asked the group questions about the details of the diagram and theory, these students had a firm grasp on the hopeless poverty of the American Dream, which lures people into chasing it, but does not reward them with the happiness they expect.The diagram is thoughtful, evocative, and elegant—an image that all of the other students comprehended easily. It’s A work. A less sophisticated idea and diagram, or a group that cannot fully explain their reasoning would represent a less successful example of critical thinking about the novel.

Assessing Critical Thinking in Class Discussions

• We look for the same skills as for group discussions.• But in class discussions, we can work on their metacognition—

awareness of their own thinking process.• Use the Harkness discussion method and take notes on what

students say, as well as the cognitive moves they make. • We can ask, who made an inference today? Who supplied logical

reasoning for another students claim or idea? Who made a useful comparison, or supplied a fitting analogy? Asking this kind of question helps to train students to push their thinking a bit more.

• And it helps the teacher • become more comfortable • and confident about • assessing thinking.

Sample of a class discussion and my notesStudent A: Daisy cries when she sees Gatsby’s shirts because she realizes what she has missed out on in life.

My note: D knows she missed out on life. unsubstantiated claim

Student B: She cries because she realizes that Gatsby is a true romantic.

My note: G is true romantic. inference

Student C: I think Daisy cries because she realizes that a life with Gatsby would have been more romantic than the one she has with Tom, who would never buy such gorgeous shirts. She has come face-to-face with what is wrong with her marriage: it lacks romance.

My note: life more romantic with G. Tom wd not buy such shirts. inference, logical reasoning

Student D: Why doesn’t Daisy just leave Tom? He has affairs, and she doesn’t love him—she loves Gatsby.

My note: why not leave Tom? He has affairs; she doesn’t love him. inference (that she won’t leave) implications.

Student E: Gatsby and Tom are two completely different people. Unlike Gatsby, Tom doesn’t have any romantic illusions. He makes money, and he spends it. He does not pine over girls he did not marry. Whereas Tom seems fully (if boringly) integrated in his world, Gatsby seems to float above it, staring longingly at a green dock light and fantasizing about a life he cannot have. He’s just a dreamer.

My note: G is dreamer, Tom make money and spends it. Applies romanticism, comparison of Tom vs Gatsby.

Student E’s comment takes the class closer to considering what the author wants the reader to understand about the pursuit of wealth in America. Some will draw the ideas together in a synthesis that can become the thesis for an essay.

Teaching Metacognition about Critical Thinking

Since students learn better through examples than by being told, we can interrupt the flow on the class discussion (maybe once or twice in the period) to ask,

o What inferences were made? o Who provided reasoning for inferences? o Who asked questions that opened up new lines of thinking? o What comparisons helped others to reach a deeper understanding? o Who was able to synthesis different threads of thought? Etc.

Display a poster listing critical thinking moves.

Students will quickly realize that critical thinking is important to you, and that it is ‘visible’ to all. For the teacher, listening carefully and taking notes on each student’s contribution hones her ability to make informed assessments of the students’ critical thinking skills.

Note: We do not interrupt the class to help them reach better conclusions! Even if they leave class having missed important ideas, it is more important that they reach them than that we try to hand the ideas to them. What they create is what they store in their minds and remember.

What about online discussions? We can assess them as we do in-class discussions,

and make them more valuable to students.• Make the discussion board a space for the students, not to check on them.• Have them work together in groups in the online discussion space to develop a theory.• Give each group a different topic.• Fight the urge to articulate their ideas better for them.• Don’t seed their discussion with your ideas.• We already have good critical thinking skills, so don’t rob them of their opportunity to practice and improve theirs, through practice.• Privately contact students who are not putting in enough effort to thought.• The students will note the sea change in your philosophy, • the fact that this not busy work but designed for their benefit.

Assessing Critical Thinking in Essays

We assess the same moves in essays as we do in discussions, but for essays, our questions will either compel students to think critically, or allow them to avoid it.

Avoid fuzzy questions!

The right question sets students up for success. We’ll examine a history question.

What was the significance of the Battle of Antietam?

Student Essay Response:Even though the three-day Battle of Antietam was a draw, it was a significant event in the Civil War. In one day of September 1862, more than 22,000 soldiers died, making it the bloodiest day in American military history. General Robert E. Lee, after a few successful battles with the Union Army, marched boldly into Maryland, Union territory, in order to threaten Washington DC. But a union soldier found a copy of his field orders (wrapped around three cigars) and notified Union General George McClellan, who had been sitting tight, fearing (incorrectly) that he was outnumbered. His army actually outnumbered Lee’s by two-to-one. With the information about Lee’s plans, McClellan, who was notorious for delaying too long before entering a battle, uncharacteristically took the initiative and for a time pushed back the Confederate forces…[ the student goes on to tell that no land was lost or won, but that Lee’s retreat allowed Lincoln to publish a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.]

This student clearly remembers a lot of information about the battle. The question asks, what is significant about the Battle of Antietam. Did he answer it? Note that in the last two sentences, he says “the battle is significant in that…” He remembers the goal and he fulfills it. But is this a strong essay? The student went into storytelling mode in order to fit significant events into his narrative. A more analytical response would not move through the material consecutively, but rather move from one significant factor to the next. The answer demonstrates the student’s familiarity with the battle and the generals, and it mentions the deplorable loss of life. However, these are simply facts, basically a matter of information recall.

But we can hardly fault the student. He has responded adequately to the prompt, and probably deserves an A.

However, if it is critical thinking skills we want to measure, both the question and answer fail the task. The prompt did not elicit critical thinking skill, so the student was able to get away with information recall.

We need to design questions that elicit the kind of thinking we seek.

A better question, a better answerIn what way was the Battle of Antietam a turning point in the American Civil War?

Student Essay Response:The three-day Battle of Antietam represented a turning point in four important ways: there were serious consequences for both generals, the outcome affected the psychological viewpoint of both the Union and the Confederacy, and the result of the battle influenced decisions at the national level, and even international level.

It was a gruesome battle, with over 22,000 soldiers killed on one day. Although neither side technically won or lost, both generals experienced a personal negative turning point because of it. Gen. Robert E Lee initiated the battle with the momentum of having recently won three important battles over the Union Army. He boldly decided to engage them on their own territory, in Maryland. But despite his his brilliant military strategy on the field, he ultimately retreated in shame, losing credibility in the South. In a different way and for different reasons, General George McClellan also experienced a tragic turn. His flaw of avoiding risk through delay once again cost the Union the chance to win definitively…[ the student goes on to explain the section, national, and international implications.]

Not: What are some of the hardships caused by environmental damage?But: What are the three most important steps the US can take to reduce environmental damage?

Not: How does the tone/diction/figurative language, etc. contribute to the text?But: How does the /diction/figurative language change the dynamic of the text?

Not: Why does character x act as he/she does?But: What cultural norms of the times does this character adhere to and which does the character reject?

Not: What are the strengths and weaknesses of idea/proposal/interpretation x ?But: Which of the ideas/proposals/interpretations has the most merit and the least disadvantages, and why?

Now you can practice some critical thinking of your own.

What is the common denominator in the improved questions?

We must design questions that elicit the level of critical thinking we want.

The improved questions cause the student to consider the context of the question, which should lead to a more organized and insightful response, as long as the student has done plenty of critical thinking on the topic.

What to Look For? Improved thinking as evidenced by more:

• Insightfulness of observations • Identifying patterns and anomalies• Eagerness to ponder competing theories• Engagement with students whose ideas differ• Ability to build on other students’ ideas• Ability to synthesize opposing views• Willingness to take intellectual risks• Sophistication in verbal, written, and visual

expression

As a bonus, you should also see Growing independence and self-direction

as evidenced by:• Fewer questions for teacher• Fewer attempts to hide behind the work of others • Less neediness in and out of class• More openness to ambiguity• More confident expression of ideas • More curiosity about and • enthusiasm for the topic and course

ABOUT ME CAROLE HAMILTON

• I’m a retired English teacher who has researched extensively in how students learn and how best to teach to how they learn. I hope you enjoy my presentations. Look for my new book on how new insights from cognitive science can improve how we teach.

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