How do we create a SACS QEP competency for critical thinking?

Here are some suggestions from the Insight Assessment researchers for addressing SACS Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1, College-Level General Education Competencies. 

Planning a QEP that will bring lifelong value to your students and energize your campus community: Growth in students’ critical thinking skills and habits of mind.

Key considerations:

Identify a goal that has clear value: Whether students are training for careers in science, the arts, humanities, or training into one of the professions, they must be adept at problem identification and analysis and have the skills and attributes to make well justified decisions.

 Get to the heart of the issue: Start with a clear definition of the goal (APA Delphi Consensus definition of Critical Thinking, endorsed by the Penn State University survey of educators, government agencies and businesses).

 Establish collaborative effort: Invite all members of the campus community to describe how they currently contribute to achieving this learning goal in their students. 

 Identify a focus for enhancement that will fit to your campus culture: Build on and advance through dedicated support one or more of the current efforts to build critical thinking OR develop a new focus for critical thinking based on well established approaches to practice critical thinking in established courses, campus life projects, internships, community action, or other educational structures. 

 Fit the measurement plan to your campus resource base: Whether yours is a residential or online college or university, assessment of your students’ critical thinking can be accomplished efficiently and cost effectively with valid and reliable measures designed for your student group.

 Outlining a realistic goal: Whether you plan to study one small group of students as they move through your program or instead plan to move your graduating groups to higher performance against a national norm benchmark, reachable incremental goals will be the expected outcome of your campus focus on critical thinking.

Bring timely feedback on assessment results to your campus: Maintaining an energized effort toward the enhancement plan requires the delivery of easily interpretable results to all those involved in the effort.  Evidence of your progress can be available to you within minutes of completing you testing when your assessment plan includes the online administration of one of the California Critical Thinking Tests.  

To see a sample SAC QEP Critical Thinking Competencies for General Education prepared by Insight Assessment.