Associate Editor's Note

Given the increasingly dynamic and changing environment today, college graduates need strong critical thinking abilities in order to make judgments or decisions about complex issues. Some college and university faculty members strive to promote critical thinking across learning experiences. Such a focus gives undergraduates multiple opportunities to reflect upon ambiguous issues and develop strongly supported conclusions. Lisa Tsui, in her article, Faculty Attitudes and the Development of Students' Critical Thinking, conducted four case studies at different colleges. She found that faculty initially need to believe that students are capable of strong reasoning, since a lack of this belief leads to few learning experiences geared towards higher-order thinking. At one college where faculty lacked confidence in their students' abilities, Tsui found that the majority of courses did not require students to use critical thinking abilities. In turn, undergraduates reported introductory courses to be particularly unchallenging. In addition, at this particular institution nearly half of each freshmen class withdraws from the college before graduation. By contrast at a similar type of college, the researcher found faculty predominately believed that they could improve their students' abilities. The courses and programs, developed by faculty at this college, incorporated numerous rigorous learning experiences that required students to demonstrate the ability to make reasoned judgments. When pedagogy was heavily emphasized at certain institutions, faculty members were more open to creativity and experimentation. Faculty successfully infuse critical thinking into their curriculum when these changes are fostered by collegial support and strong collaborations. This study contributes to our understanding of how faculty beliefs can directly impact upon course designs and expectations related to students' abilities to reach higher levels of reasoning.

Although faculty may build learning experiences where critical thinking is expected, it is also important to move beyond student perceptions of their abilities to determine if they are actually inclined to use such reasoning when faced with problems to solve or issues to evaluate. Carol Ann Giancarlo and Peter A. Facione in their article, A Look Across Four Years at the Disposition toward Critical Thinking, report research results from a sample of undergraduates who completed the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). This longitudinal study included a sample of college freshmen who were assessed during their orientation, followed by a second assessment during the senior year. Across all scales, the second assessment revealed increases in the CCTDI score. In addition, significant increases were found in truthseeking, self-confidence, and overall scores. Therefore, the evidence suggested that "critical thinking dispositions either sustained or increased in the four-year period of the undergraduate education at this university." These researchers also investigated whether relationships existed between critical thinking dispositions and gender, class-level, discipline area, and grade point average. Additional studies in these areas could provide both faculty and administrators with useful information and specific suggestions in regards to strengthening students' dispositions toward critical thinking.

While professors usually have good intentions when they design their general education courses, we often do not know how they communicate their expectations and assignments to students. Nor do we know whether they reinforce general education goals. Mary B. Eberly, Sarah Newton, and Robert A. Wiggins in their article, The Syllabus as a Tool for Student-Centered Learning, analyzed syllabi from nearly 90% of the general education courses at Oakland University. They found that most instructors included basic information such as their office hours, office location, and phone number. They also discovered that most faculty relied on textbooks and lecture. Active learning strategies were seldom part of the course format as revealed through the course syllabi. In addition, the majority of syllabi included a statement of grading policy, and faculty primarily used traditional assessments with very little use of authentic assessments such as oral presentations or performances. The researchers examined whether general education guidelines were reinforced in the syllabi and found that most faculty did not articulate methods of inquiry, nor did they address the issue of student responsibility for learning. Faculty were most...