Critical Thinking Resources

To learn more about helping students develop and apply critical thinking skills various online and campus resources are available. Online Resources may accessed by clicking on the links below and Campus Resources can be checked out from the Palm Beach Gardens campus PTLC, the Belle Glade library, and from the 3rd floor of the LLRC in Lake Worth. Contact the QEP Manager to borrow materials for Boca campus through inter-office mail or to suggest additional inventory. Resources available include:

 

Campus Resources

• Teaching at it's Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors by Linda Nilson (2010, Jossey-Bass)
• What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain (2004, Harvard University Press)
• Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher by Stephen D. Brookfield (1995, Jossey-Bass)
• Teaching for Critical Thinking by Stephen D. Brookfield (2012, Jossey-Bass)
• Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom by John C. Bean (2011, Jossey-Bass)
• 22 "Thinker's Guides" by Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Foundation for Critical Thinking

1.   Active and Cooperative Learning
2.   Analytic Thinking
3.   Art of Socratic Questioning
4.   Aspiring Thinker's Guide
5.   Critical & Creative Thinking
6.   Critical Thinking Competency Standards
7.   Critical Thinking Reading & Writing Test
8.   Critical Thinking, Concepts & Tools
9.   Engineering Reasoning
10.   Ethical Reasoning
11.   Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery
12.   How to Detect Media Bias & Propaganda
13.   How to Improve Student Learning
14.   How to Read a Paragraph
15.   How to Study & Learn
16.   How to Write a Paragraph
17.   Scientific Thinking
18.   Taking Charge of the Human Mind
19.   The Art of Asking Essential Questions
20.   A Critical Thinker's Guide to Educational Fads
21.   Thinker's Guide to Intellectual Standards
22.   Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms and Concepts

 

Instructor Resources

Assessment

Mass Media LibGuide & Sketchbook:  Librarian Alyse McKeal and Communications Professor Marcie Pachter created the MMC1000 LibGuide that replaces the course textbook with readings, PowerPoints, weblinks, RSS feeds and also includes a Sketchbook assignments that directly assess critical thinking.

Critical Thinking Drills Video:  Critical Thinking Drills are in-class assignments that challenge students to apply their understanding of research design and methodology to evaluate psychological claims. Students complete four separate Critical Thinking Drills over the semester. Filmed by Mikhail Howell & Dustan Drebing, MTIS and produced by Mikhail Howell.

Socrative Video: Critical Thinking Assessment Using the Socrative App:  Use student cellphones to your teaching advantage. The Socrative free app offers you a fun, real time method for assessing student learning. Click on the video above to watch how one PBSC faculty member applies the QEP learning outcomes through Socrative. Video Created by Megan Tomei-Jameson, PBSC Professor of Communications.

Palm Beach State College Critical Thinking Rubric:  Editable Word document. Currently used to measure critical thinking skills at PBSC during the General Education assessment cycle and by some faculty.

American Association of Colleges and Universities Assessment Resources

Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric:  Editable Word document. Posted with permission from Assessing Outcomes and Improving Achievement: Tips and Tools for Using Rubrics, edited by Terrel L. Rhodes. Copyright 2010 by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

 

Instruction

Research/Writing Pathway -  Word Version     PDF Version
Help your students develop the key threshold concepts needed to intelligently embark on course research papers and projects. Developed by Carrie Thompson (SLC Manager) & Connie Tuisku (Librarian)

Broward College QEP Virtual Museum
Take a tour of the newly created Broward College Critical Thinking Works. Peruse the panoply of critical thinking instruction projects in History, Physiology, Chemistry, English, Macroeconomics, Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology.

POLO for Teaching
Panther Online Learning Objects. POLO for Teaching is a collection of assessments, assignments, and explanations of teaching strategies created by Palm Beach State College faculty to share with colleagues.

PBSC Critical Thinking Lib Guide
Teaching resources for art, English, library research and information literacy, and psychology

Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Innovation
Article offered by the National Education Association. Ideas for instruction in K12, but higher grade level strategies may be adaptable for college level.

10 Steps to Better Student Engagement
Includes simple ideas that can be implemented immediately to cultivate a quality learning environment to promote learning

Pedagogies of Engagement: Classroom-Based Practices
Karl A. Smith, Department of Civil Engineering University of Minnesota, Sheri D. Sheppard, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, David W. Johnson, Department of Educational Psychology, and Roger T. Johnson, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota