Critical Thinking Definitions

We were fortunate to hold another successful Course Design Studio. One idea, which frequently arises is on the concept of critical thinking. So, I would like to share actually two articles: One by Bahr (2010) entitled, "Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking in Higher Education" reiterates that critical thinking is neither clearly nor commonly understood, particularly in regard to higher order thinking. The key finding is that academics and students share substantively similar definitions and understandings of critical thinking.

The second, 2016 paper by Nicholas and Raider-Roth discusses a "A Hopeful Pedagogy to Critical Thinking". The authors found answers to (a) how faculty defined critical thinking (CT) in disciplinary and nondisciplinary contexts; (b) a misalignment between faculty and institutional approaches to CT; (c) a disconnect between faculty and their own approaches to CT, and (d) logistical and curricular issues within general education programs that placed constraints on the ability of faculty to adequately focus on CT.