Student Evaluation Using an Intellectual Standards Rubric for Critical Thinking

Abstract

Development of critical thinking skills is an important outcome in education, though pedagogies to both promote and evaluate critical thinking present challenges and vary greatly. In this article, we describe the development and use of a formative and generalizable rubric that leverages the Paul-Elder model for critical thinking, and in particular, Intellectual Standards. When used consistently, this Intellectual Standards Rubric for Critical Thinking (ISRCT) provides regular and specific insight to students about strengths and weaknesses, related to critical thinking, that are reflected in their work. The ISRCT can also be used to assess multiple components of the same assignment, which allows instructors to measure critical thinking competency development in greater detail and provide this feedback to students. Though Public Health is the discipline and context for the development and application of this evaluation methodology, the ISRCT is adapted from an agnostic critical thinking framework and model, and thus, could be utilized for a variety of disciplines and diverse assignments.