Critical and Creative Thinking
All UCORE-designated courses are required to advance Critical & Creative Thinking, totaling a minimum of 34 credit hours in UCORE-designated courses that include instruction and/or engagement with Critical Thinking and a minimum of three credit hours in UCORE-designated courses that include instruction and/or engagement with Creative Thinking (see the UCORE Curriculum Map (PDF) and UCORE Curriculum webpages). At the first-year level, the first-year experience course [ROOT] and foundational requirements are required to advance Critical Thinking. At the senior-level, the senior capstone experience course [CAPS] is required to advance Critical & Creative Thinking. Students also complete ways of knowing and diversity requirements, which advance Critical Thinking, during the UCORE curriculum (note: [ARTS] courses require students to demonstrate Critical Thinking and may require students to demonstrate Creative Thinking as appropriate to the course and discipline).
WSU Undergraduate Learning Goal: Graduates will use reason, evidence, and context to increase knowledge, to reason ethically, and to innovate in imaginative ways. Graduates may demonstrate critical and creative thinking by:
- Defining, analyzing, and solving problems.
- Integrating and synthesizing knowledge from multiple sources.
- Assessing the accuracy and validity of findings and conclusions.
- Examining how one thinks, reasons, and makes value judgments, including ethical and aesthetic judgments.
- Identifying diverse viewpoints, including different philosophical and cultural perspectives.
- Combining and synthesizing existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways.
- Thinking and working in imaginative ways characterized by innovation, divergent thinking, and risk-taking.
Current Evidence of Student Learning Related to Critical and Creative Thinking
Click on the headings for current evidence of student learning from assessments aligned with Critical and Creative Thinking in the context of the UCORE curriculum:
- Student Learning at the Senior-level: AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Assessment Reporting Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that 84% of students met or exceeded expectations at the graduating undergraduate level for Critical & Creative Thinking. Additionally, 82% of students met or exceeded expectations for Written Communication. In courses where faculty members found enough elements to evaluate student learning on […]
- Information Literacy, Integrative Learning, and Critical Thinking Achievement at the First-Year Level: AY 2020-21 Roots of Contemporary Issues [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2020-21 [ROOT] Final Papers Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that, on average, 78% of first-year students met or exceeded expectations at the first-year undergraduate level at the end of their UCORE first-year experience [ROOT] course on rubric outcomes related to Information Literacy. Additionally, 88% […]
- Student Learning at the First-year and Senior Level: 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Results As reported in the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), results from the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) indicate that most WSU seniors (87%) have considerable confidence in their ability to complete tasks requiring clear writing. In addition to Written Communication, results from the 2021 NSSE also provide indirect evidence of student […]