Best practices for teaching and assessing critical thinking in information literacy online learning objects

Abstract

Critical thinking is widely considered an essential outcome of higher education, and academic librarians may have a significant role to play in its promotion. Librarians often deliver information literacy instruction to students through online learning objects, like tutorials. If librarians value critical thinking as a component of their teaching, it is important that these tools solicit critical thinking in their users. This study uses a thorough literature review to develop a set of best practices for teaching and assessing critical thinking through online learning objects. Those best practices inform a rubric that can be used to evaluate how much an information literacy online learning object is following best practices for teaching and assessing critical thinking.