Model for Developing and Assessing Critical Thinking Skills in an Undergraduate Civil Engineering Program

Abstract

This paper presents a model for developing and assessing critical thinking in an undergraduate program. The 21st Century Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a framework for creating classroom materials that fosters the development and advancement of critical thinking skills. Furthermore, the paper presents an instrument for assessing students’ critical thinking progression and development. The proposed strategy is based on a specifically developed process where students are guided to progress from a lower to a higher level of cognitive thinking level during four years of undergraduate study. Placement of course activities in a specially designed sequence, as well as the use of specifically designed critical thinking instructions and assessment process to achieve desired learning outcomes are vital to deliver an effective critical thinking program. The proposed model for advancement and assessment of critical thinking presented in this paper can be used by other programs that plan to implement effective strategy for critical thinking. An example of the Civil Engineering undergraduate program at the United States Coast Guard Academy is presented to illustrate this effective strategy.