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 Professor Richards' History course
meets each of these student learning outcome goals.
Critical Thinking
| Learning Outcomes |
Definition |
Course Outcomes |
| Identification |
Accurately identifies and interprets
evidence. |
Students must think and research
like real historians. Whether writing a history term paper
or giving a presentation before the class on a particular
topic, students must resurrect the past through primary documents.
Their interpretation of the past must be based on high standards
of historical methodology. In part, this means retrieving
and analyzing documents that give an honest sampling and selection
of the many voices of the past before forming a credible thesis
for their topic. |
| Alternative Consideration |
Considers major alternative points
of view. |
Rediscovering the past demands
students to understand that the past, like the present, has
many perspectives. The past was a noisy place with contradictory
understandings of its meaning. All sides have to be taken
into account. To achieve this kind of critical thinking, for
example, I require students that write historical term papers
and class presentations to use pro and con primary documents
for their topics before they come up with a unifying thesis
regarding the past's meaning. |
| Accurate Conclusions |
Draws warranted, judicious, non-fallacious
conclusions. |
In history there is no such thing
as "accurate conclusions." History is interpretive.
At best, conclusions can be "warranted, judicious, and
non-fallacious." That means that students cannot give a
"mere opinion." Editorial opinion pieces are not allowed.
There should be no "I think" or "I feel"
statements. Instead, their interpretation must be based on a
considered analysis of past evidence. Although not entirely
achievable, the student must strive for historical objectivity
when viewing and drawing conclusions about the past. |
| Justification |
Justifies key results and procedures,
and explains assumptions and reasons. |
Students are required to read secondary
historical sources by experts on their topic. This way they
must test their assumptions and conclusions against those of
historians who have made a life-long study of the student's
topic. They are not expected to entirely reinvent the wheel.
A sampling of the "secondary literature" ensures that
the student understands the interpretive framework of their
topic. The student must then use primary document evidence to
"prove" (justify) his or her assumptions and conclusions.
Simply put, the student is held to the same high standard of
historical methodology, "proof," and critical thinking
that would be required of any professional historian of a given
topic. As with any historian, their interpretations must meet
the test of critical peer review. |
Source: Adapted from the California Academic Press's Holistic
Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric available at: http://www.calpress.com/rubric.html
|
