Critical Evaluation Toolkit

Approaches to assessing critical thinking

Many of the descriptions in the section of this Toolkit on 'How to develop students' skills in critical evaluation,' can be readily adapted for assessment.

Some additional ideas are:

The Critical Practice Audit (used in nursing and teaching)

The term 'critical practice' refers "to any work people do that involves analysing situations, reflecting on past experience, making judgements and decisions, and taking actions, all without the benefit of a standard protocol or uniform response that takes care of each and every problem they encounter."

Ask students to write brief descriptions of an incident in the recent past including details of what happened. Then ask them to:

• List assumptions and whether they were accurate and valid;
• What assumptions were challenged by the incident and how was the accuracy of those assumptions checked? and
• What different perspectives could be taken on the incident seen through other eyes and what other responses could have been made to the incident.

Critical debate

Frame an issue as a debate motion. Then ask:

• for volunteers for and against the motion, then appoint volunteers to the group they didn't choose;
• participants to write a reflective paper after the debate listing the assumptions that were clarified or confirmed in the debate, assumptions that were challenged, and new perspectives gained on the issue.

Adapted from: Brookfield, S. (1997). In A. Rose and M. Leahy (eds.). Assessing Adult Learning in Diverse Settings: Current Issues and Approaches. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 7-9.