Center for Instructional
Innovation and Assessment
INNOVATIVE TEACHING SHOWCASE
2001
2002
Institutional Goals
Listed below are selected learning outcomes in the area of critical thinking that Western Washington University is actively integrating into its curriculum. Each learning outcome is listed with its definition, along with a description of how Mark dodd's teaching strategies meet each of these student learning outcome goals.Critical Thinking
| Learning Outcomes | Definition | Course Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Identifying Need | Recognizes when information is needed and formulates clear questions based on the information needed. | Once students have identified a topic area, they are encouraged to explore the Internet, see what's been done online in their area, and identify the tool that was used for implementing the online class. Students are also encouraged to work with each other in this process. While writing their research papers, students are encouraged to explore the research literature. |
| Search Strategies | Matches information needs to information resources and organizes an effective search strategy. | The instructor gave a demonstration of the online library resources available for effective searching, including ProQuest and ERIC. The instructor also demonstrated how to effectively use Internet search engines to retrieve information. |
| Effective Searching | Interprets citations and the internet equivalents and knows how to efficiently retrieve cited items. | Over the course of the quarter, students were required to list all sources used in their assignments, and worked collaboratively with each other to make their own searchs for information more effective. |
| Evaluating | Seeks various sources of evidence to provide support for a research question or conclusion. | Students work together to create their own rubric based on information to evaluate the effectiveness of their own site. |
Source: Adapted from the California Academic Press's Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric (HCTSR).
Source: Adapted from Western Washington University's Learning Outcomes for Writing II.
ISSN: 2374-9415
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