“The Dephi The Dephi ReportReport” Report

(subtitled: What I read this summer)

What is The Delphi The Delphi ReportReport? An overview of the skill and

dispositional dimensions of critical thinking

Fifteen recommendations pertaining to critical thinking instruction and assessment

Download the Executive Summary: http://www.insightassessment.com/dex.html

Who created The The Delphi ReportDelphi Report? 46 experts (mostly college

professors) from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, education and the social sciences contributed ideas

Peter Facione, currently Provost at Loyola University, compiled the report

Why “Delphi” (you)? On the notecard, write a few

phrases that come to mind when you hear “Delphi” or “Delphi Method”

Share ideas

How was The Delphi The Delphi ReportReport created (step 1)? The “Delphi Method” is a method of

structuring group communication to achieve consensus

Central investigator organizes an expert panel and presents the initial question

“How should college level critical thinking be defined so that college professors know which skills and dispositions to cultivate?”

How was The Delphi The Delphi ReportReport created (step 2)? Central investigator receives all

responses to the question Central investigator summarizes

responses and transmits them to the expert panel

Experts express agreement or disagreement with the summary

How was The Delphi The Delphi ReportReport created (step 3)? When consensus is near, central

investigator proposes this and asks if the experts agree

If not, points of disagreement are registered

All comments throughout the process are anonymous

Why Critical Thinking?

Teaching thinking is central to the idea of a liberal education

Philosopher John Dewey was one of the first educators to stress the centrality of reflective thinking

Reflective thinking, critical thinking, higher-order thinking - no consensus definition until the Delphi Report

Why is The Delphi The Delphi ReportReport important? First consensus definition of critical

thinking According to a California study,

89% of faculty said critical thinking was a primary objective but…

Only 19% could give a clear definition and…

Only 9% were teaching for critical thinking on a typical class day

What does The The Delphi ReportDelphi Report say? Critical thinking involves six major

cognitive skills Critical thinking requires certain

affective dispositions such as inquisitiveness, self-confidence and open-mindedness

Critical thinking can be assessed

Later today... Discuss critical thinking

assessment methods But first…

Lunch