The million dollar question which I don’t have a definite answer to (disclaimer)! What I do have are some thoughts on measuring!
Can Critical Thinking be Measured?
There has been a long-standing debate on if critical thinking can be measured. What I always try to remember when I am talking about critical thinking with educators and students is the context. We operate in the academic sphere so this means that for the most part, there are rules that apply that constrict our creative freedoms (not entirely but think assessments, rubrics etc). In an academic context, we create our own measures for critical thinking. These vary person-to-person, subject-to-subject, and also within a subject (eek)!
How can we be objective?
The simple answer is – we can’t. We can aim to be and we can put measures in place to help us e.g. internal moderation of assessments, pre-marking examples, and encourage discussions of student work amongst colleagues but we truly cannot be entirely objective.
I am not saying this is a bad thing. In fact, I think having the subjective element means that our human side comes out to play and we need more of that in a classroom. The openess and honesty about what we expect to see from a criticality perspective can help. We can also judge the authenticity of a piece of work the more we are open. I saw a piece of student work a few weeks back and I looked at it alongside the assessment rubric. The student had put a lot of effort into the design and presentation of the submission and I could see the growth from the earlier stage of the project to the end. I was reviewing assessments for a course so I had no ties or personal interests in the students’ development, but feelings of empathy were there in that even though there was a departure from following the norm of how I would have expected the assignment to look, she had carefully considered other elements. I did, however, spend some time looking over the student’s critical writing and there were elements where I felt she could have expanded on her arguments. I spoke to the subject tutor about this and she had been more lenient. If our bias crosses over into favouritism or being more lenient because the student really tried all year but this did not quite come through in the submission, then perhaps we have to question our approach.
How can I use the Assessment Rubric/Grid more Effectively?
As an educator, you are likely familiar with the grid or table with a set of criteria to measure the students’ assessment performance. If you think about the section explaining to what standard a student has been critical it’s usually filled with a broad description and often difficult to decipher.
Clarity, Clarity, and Clarity!
Informal assessments of critical thinking become crucial in scenarios like these, where we engage with students in discussions about their everyday critical thinking practices. Exploring how they apply critical thinking when choosing which TV show to watch or deciding on a phone brand may seem trivial and disconnected from their academic pursuits. However, it provides insight into their decision-making processes and highlights the evolution of their critical thinking abilities.
Beyond subject-specific contexts, institutions offer visual models to support critical thinking steps. While these models initiate dialogue and create a level playing field, they can be limiting, especially in addressing subject-specific criticality.
Measuring critical thinking is typically motivated by assessment. In content-heavy curricula, planning for multiple types of assessment can be cumbersome (especially in smaller teams). Short, observable activities with immediate feedback can be valuable in such situations. Both educators and students benefit from knowing how they’re progressing.
What can you, as an educator action?
- Devise a standardised measuring tool with clear parameters and accompanying explanations.
- Plan dedicated critical thinking sessions in every course (I also deliver bespoke workshops – contact me if you would like to know more/book)
- Clearly explaining the importance of critical thinking measurement to students.
If you found this blog post interesting and want to explore more about measuring critical thinking, check out Series 1, Ep.3 of my podcast, Talking CriticalEd.
Click the button below to stay updated when I release a blog post!
