Critical thinking is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed. It is the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decision. When we think critically, we are evaluating the outcomes of our thought processes – how good a decision is or how well a problem is solved

https://www.asist.org/files/meetings/am16/proceedings/submissions/posters/12poster.pdf

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-state-of-critical-thinking-today/523

http://www.legitimationcodetheory.com/pdf/2015Szenes_et_al.pdf

http://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/CriticalThinkingReviewFINAL.pdf

tq firoz ahmad

An interesting perspective might be to look at new policies implemented across US campuses (at least in the US).  These policies enact all sorts of speech codes, provide "safe spaces" where people can be free from others they don't like to hear from, and can ban visitors from campus by threatening to protest.

It seems all of these are directly in opposition to the free exchange of ideas.  And a necessary corollary of that seems to be a reduction in real critical thinking.

As to a measure, I'm not sure, but there is some food for thought.

I can say from my recent research that critical thinking shows much promise, when using the asynchronous team debate with higher education students. Please the attached conference paper on the process and results. 

Best regards,

Debra

Conference Paper Debating: A Dynamic Teaching Strategy for Motivating Student...

See my latest book precisely on this topic (published in 2015): 

http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137378033

Thank you, Prof Martin

there appears to be an inverse relationship between the diminishing of critical thinking and rise of utilitarian, ahistorical thought in post secondary education, which  can be linked to market needs (creative and knowledge economies) permeating the walls of educational institutions and their classrooms according to the years of research I have been doing. Inter-institutional competition and privatization are key contributors to the hijacking of process focused learning. The overt move to diminish the need for fostering each learner's internal knowledge base is also a worrisome trend.  In addition, the emphasis on external and distributed intelligence (see Jenkins) is based on market needs and has little to do with sound pedagogy and democracy.

I was going to recommend the Palgrave handbook but see this has already been done. It is excellent and well worth the investment 

Hi, please take a look at the attached links ...

Best, Farshad

http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=807689

http://brain.edusoft.ro/index.php/brain/article/view/364

http://www.springer.com/series/6028

Thank you Farshad, Rosemary and Bob. Great to know you.

Dear Ms Shida! Based on the experience I have, it can be stated that the deregulation and privatization of the institutions in the university sector is one of the core reasons for the shift in critical thinking. Organizations such as business lobby associations outside the sector are allowed to interfere with the output of academic researchs and education. I do not say whether it is negative or positive influence as I am aware only the case of Finland where the development has been recorded as follows: 

Välimaa Jussi. et al. (2014). “University Mergers in Finland: Mediating Global Competition”, Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Vol. 2014, Issue 168: Available at Wiley Online Library:  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/he.20112/pdf

A book that sheds a light on the development with a view on innovation competition:

 Lahti, Arto. (2012). “Innovation competition in global markets and Schumpeter’s entrepreneur” LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken, Germany Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-competition-markets-Schumpeters-entrepreneur/dp/3848494205

Hope these sources are at least of some value for YOU

Hi,

look at the Assurance of Learning from AACSB - they have some serious rubrics as examples for critical and analytical thinking measurement...and some explanations as well.

Good luck,

Mirna

Critical thinking is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed. It is the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decision. When we think critically, we are evaluating the outcomes of our thought processes – how good a decision is or how well a problem is solved

https://www.asist.org/files/meetings/am16/proceedings/submissions/posters/12poster.pdf

Critical thinking has turned into a buzz word dominating the context of language teaching and learning in recent years. There is a consensus that critical thinking is necessary for the development of learning.As one of the influential paradigms of professionalism, teachers are advocated to maintain a classroom atmosphere where critical thinking is fully operationalized and the learners learn how to make the best use of problem posing strategies.In point of fact, critical thinking helps both teachers and learners place a high value on the kind of collaborative , enquiry-based work that involves experimenting with classroom practices working collaboratively in light of learner feedback and self-evaluation.Notably, classroom practices enriched by critical thinking can heighten a sense of moral purpose where the main focus is on the overriding importance of learners' needs. Qualitative instruments such as the questionnaire and interview can be used to gauge teach and learners' perception pf critical thinking. Good luck.

Critical thinking is the key component in higher education which is totally outcome based.majority of the learning outcomes in a modules are achieved by developing creativity, analysis skills and evaluations.These are promoted through different methodologies and is dependent on lecturer ability and competencies.Though difficult to quantify and measure it may be related to a few performance indicators.

My current doctoral dissertation is on the relationship between critical thinking skills and English as a Second Language learning. I have the same question concerning how we can measure it. I need a tool that has been used in the recent research.

Thanks

Dear Mr. Jabbar! Please let me argue that the better one can master English as a second language the better chances one has to reach the objectives of critical thinking. One way to practice the skills needed is to measure the cabability to engage with people and debating with them. This is a common tool used by teachers to enhance learning. Please see:

"The Debate as a Learning Tool" (2003): http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success/sl11.htm

"Debate: Innovative Teaching to Enhance Critical Thinking and Communication Skills in Healthcare Professionals" : http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1361&context=ijahsp

"TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING THROUGH DEBATES: AN EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION*" (1990): http://www.uncw.edu/assessment/documents/GREENANDKLUG1990.pdf

best regards Bulcsu Szekely

Dear Nurul:

I believe that the book below might shed some light as well on this highly controversial topic in the context of English teaching and learning as a second language.

Very truly yours,

Javier.

TITLE: A Critical Approach to Critical Thinking in TESOL

 ABSTRACT:

This article presents four more-or-less independent reasons why TESOL educators should be cautious about adopting critical thinking pedagogies in their classrooms: (a) Critical thinking may be more on the order of a non-overt social practice than a well-defined and teachable pedagogical set of behaviors; (b) critical thinking can be and has been criticized for its exclusive and reductive character; (c) teaching thinking to nonnative speakers may be fraught with cultural problems; and, (d) once having been taught, thinking skills do not appear to transfer effectively beyond their narrow contexts of instruction. A more recently developed model of cognitive instruction, cognitive apprenticeship, is then briefly discussed as a possible alternative to more traditional thinking skills pedagogies.

This thing we call “critical thinking” or “analysis” has strong cultural components. It is more than just a set of writing and thinking techniques—it is a voice, a stance, a relationship with texts and family members, friends, teachers, the media, even the history of one's country. This is why “critical analysis” is so hard for faculty members to talk about; because it is learned intuitively it is easy to recognize, like a face or a personality, but it is not so easily defined and is not at all simple to explain to someone who has been brought up differently. (Fox, 1994, p. 125)

 Author: Atkinson, D. (1997). A critical approach to critical thinking in TESOL. TESOL quarterly, 31(1), 71-94.

The publication Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (mentioned above) has a [long] paper of mine on this topic. Attached.

Article A Model of Critical Thinking in Higher Education

An interesting tool to assess and develop students' critical thinking

https://www.macat.com/critical-thinking-educators