Center for Instructional
Innovation and Assessment
INNOVATIVE TEACHING SHOWCASE
2004
2005
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 Brian Burton's teaching strategies meet each of these student learning outcome goals.Critical Thinking
| Learning Outcomes | Definition | Course Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Accurately identifies and interprets evidence. | Students must identify important moral issues and affected stakeholders. |
| Alternative Consideration | Considers major alternative points of view. | Students must identify alternative courses of action. |
| Accurate Conclusions | Draws warranted, judicious, non-fallacious conclusions. | Students must show proper use of moral reasoning underlying decisions. |
| Justification | Justifies key results and procedures, and explains assumptions and reasons. | Students must explain why the selected alternative fits their moral perspective. |
Source: Adapted from the California Academic Press's Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric (HCTSR).
Writing
| Learning Outcomes | Definition | Course Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Rhetorical Knowledge | Focuses on a clear rhetorical purpose and responds appropriately to the needs of varied audiences and situations. | Students must identify important moral issues and affected stakeholders. |
| Alternative Consideration | Considers major alternative points of view. | Students must clearly articulate goals for the paper. |
| Critical Analysis | Develops, examines, situates, and communicates a reasoned perspective clearly to others. | Students must make their arguments clearly and concisely. |
| Composing Processes | Understands writing as a recursive process that involves drafting, re-thinking, editing, reconceptualizing. | Students have the opportunity to submit early drafts for comment. |
| Convention Knowledge | Uses appropriate conventions for documentation and for surface features such as syntax, grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. | Students must write well in conventional English. |
Source:
Adapted from Western Washington University's Learning Outcomes for Writing II.
ISSN: 2374-9415
Unless otherwise noted, the Innovative Teaching Showcase created by the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment at Western Washington University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.