CRITICAL THINKING

Estrella Mountain Community College has selected critical thinking and communication as areas in which students should receive "value added" teaching and learning in order to enhance these abilities during their college experience. Clearly an individual who possesses strong critical thinking skills is an asset to any organization . 

Maria Harper-Marinick of the Maricopa Community College District MCLI states that "critical thinking is a highly valued student outcome today not only in academic settings, especially in higher education, but in professional environments. Employers expect people who can think critically; teachers want students who can think critically; society needs citizens who can think critically.

Projects which include a critical thinking component are included in all courses that I teach--
examples can be viewed by clicking on the following Assessment Menu

Excellent sites dealing with critical thinking are:

• http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/forum/fall01/tl.html

• http://www.gre.ac.uk/~bj61/talessi/paper1.htm

• http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed348128.html

• http://www.nv.cc.va.us/assessment/Critical%20Thinking/Assessing%20Critical%20Thinking.htm

• http://www.criticalthinking.org/

• http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/critical.htm

The following text is also a valuable resource:

• New Directions for Community Colleges, Critical Thinking: Educational Imperative, No. 77, Vol. 77
  By Cynthia A. Barnes
  

• http://www.calpress.com/rubric.html (Critical Thinking Rubric)

• http://www.makeworksheets.com/ (Critical Thinking Rubric Maker)