Critical Thinking. Creativity. Divergent Thinking. Problem-solving. All skills students need to develop as they complete their education and progress forward into their chosen career path. This truth seems to be highlighted further by the rise of AI bots, like ChatGPT, that emphasize the need to hone skills in higher cognition. 
The support for developing these skills is not new—both creativity and critical thinking have been included in lists of skills in demand for the 21st century since the 1980s. These are considered “higher-order thinking skills” that seem, for the moment, to be uniquely human, and require more complex cognition, higher processing of information, reflection, decision-making, and creative application of knowledge and skills to solve problems.
In higher education, while we are preparing our students to enter the workforce and be knowledgeable and active members of our citizenry, we should not discount providing opportunities to hone critical thinking skills throughout the curriculum, and not just in isolated areas. With any skill, divergent and creative thinking requires practice and feedback as they increase their self-efficacy and independent practice of the skills.
When designing activities for students that incorporate a higher cognitive load, consider the following questions:
Except for rare situations (like being on Jeopardy or in bar trivia), individuals are rarely asked to recall information using targeted questions. The real-world application of the knowledge will be within a context—often, in response to a problem or with a defined purpose.
When you have discerned the answer to this question, you can use that to design your activity—how can you replicate that situation, so students can practice the thought processes required? This could be as simple as reframing a question to include a scenario, or it could be as involved as creating a replica simulation.
By framing the questions within a context, you are adding the skills of analyzing available information and prioritizing the information that is useful to solving the problem—two complex thinking skills that move beyond recalling memorized facts.
An example of this reframing:
Initial Discussion Question: What is an important quality of an effective manager? Explain why this quality is important.
Prepping for Revision: How will my students use this knowledge?
Revision: Consider an example of a manager. This could be someone you have worked for in the past or present, or a fictionalized version (think Michael Scott from The Office). According to your reading in the text and the actions displayed by these managers, what are the most effective qualities of these managers? What qualities of these managers do you think need improvement or are ineffective?
What thinking is happening?
Students are now required to analyze the behavior of their chosen manager or a representation of a manager and evaluate whether that behavior aligns with the effective qualities defined in the text.
For more information, you can check out our Forward Thinking Teaching session: Authentic Assessments.
Open-ended questions that require an argument with support ultimately require students to think deeply about the knowledge they’ve learned and decide which best will apply. Just this action moves beyond recalling information and adds in some decision-making and logical thinking. These types of questions could also bring in a student’s judgment.
These can be simple—an in-person debate, a quick conversation, or could be involved—a full presentation or a writing assignment.
These may be sets of 2 questions—The initial multiple-answer question, and then a follow-up to explain thinking and reasoning.
An example of this reframing:
Initial Discussion Prompt: “What are the 4 principles of ethical marketing?”
Revision: “What is the most important and influential principle of ethical marketing? Why do you think so? What experiences have you had (either in this class or outside of it) to support your choice?”
Ultimately, the simplest way to increase the critical thinking required in your assignments is to increase metacognition. This can be accomplished by probing students to reflect on their answers (“How did you arrive at this answer?”) and the process in general (“What was the simplest/most difficult part of this assignment?”). You can check out our Forward Thinking Teaching session: Engaging Students in the Learning Process for practical ways to incorporate metacognition into your courses.
It is important to note, that before students can effectively practice these skills, they must have an environment where divergent thinking is embraced and supported. As an instructor, a stance of openness and curiosity, rather than a focus on correct or incorrect, is necessary for allowing students to explore the capabilities of their own minds. In a way, we will be modeling the thought processes required in our own instruction.
These points are just the beginning of how you can increase the cognitive load of your assignments for students. To continue the conversation, contact the CCIT Team and we would be happy to collaborate and brainstorm on your specific courses!🎉
#critical thinking #creativity #Authentic #21stCentury #AI #metacognition
Sources:
The Must-Have Skills in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: How AI’s Democratization Will Impact Workers. (2023). Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://kenaninstitute.unc.edu/commentary/the-must-have-skills-in-the-era-of-artificial-intelligence-how-ais-democratization-will-impact-workers/
Buckle, J. (2022). A Comprehensive Guide to 21st Century Skills. Panorama Education. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/comprehensive-guide-21st-century-skills
Murawski, L. M. (2014). Critical Thinking in the Classroom...and Beyond. Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 10(1), EJ1143316.
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