Improving Student Engagement Through Critical Thinking

1. Improving Student Engagement Through Critical Thinking 16th International Conference on the First-Year Experience July 7-10, 2003 Vancouver, British Columbia Dr. Joseph Burke, Director of Residence Life Jenny Hall-Jones, Assistant Director Residence Life Ohio University

2. Deterministic Thinking

3. Critical Thinking • Students who are critical thinkers question their underlying assumptions. • Students who think critically are more open to diversity. • Students who think critically imagine, wonder, discover and question. • Students who think critically are more engaged students. • Engaged students learn, and contribute to the learning of others.

4. Critical Thinking

5. Critical Thinking

6. Connections • Departmental Theme • First-Year Common Reading • Residential Learning Communities • Judicial Meetings and Sanctions • Supervisions/Programming • CATVision Movies (cable system) • Poster Campaign

7. Department Theme

8. First Year Common Reading • Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman • RLC, UC115, English 151, Chem 151 and others • Pre-College • Discussion Groups

9. Residential Learning Communities

10. RLC Course Syllabus Class Topic 1 (Sept. 8/9) Course Overview/Introduce theme 2 (Sept. 10/11) Profile of College Students/Einstein’s Dreams 3 (Sept. 15/16) Campus Resources 4 (Sept. 17/18) Theme 5 (Sept. 22/23) Learning 6 (Sept. 24/25) Learning and Thinking Through Writing 7 (Sept. 29/30) Theme 8 (Oct. 1/2) Communication 9 (Oct. 6/7) Time Management 10 (Oct. 8/9) Theme 11 (Oct. 13/14) Critical Thinking 12 (Oct. 15/16) Theme 13 (Oct. 20/21) Community Responsibility 14 (Oct. 22/23) Community Responsibility 15 (Oct. 27/28) Personal Values 16 (Oct. 29/30) Theme 17 (Nov. 3/4) Diversity 18 (Nov. 5/6) Diversity 19 (Nov. 10/13) Theme 20 (Nov. 12/17) Evaluations/CLA/Wrap-up

11. RLC Community Life Assessment Results RLC% First-Year % I am satisfied with the educational programs in my residence hall strongly agree/agree76 52 I have participated in floor section/hall activities and programs strongly agree/agree 64 57 The Resident Director (RD) is friendly and approachable strongly agree/agree89 67 The RD is responsive to my questions and concerns strongly agree/agree82 57

12. RLC Grade Point Average

13. Judicial Meetings and Sanctions • Critical Thinking philosophy in judicial meetings • Einstein’s Dreams Sanctions • Drinking Thinking

14. Drinking Thinking

15. Supervision and Programming • Weekly reports • Staff Meeting editorials • One on One conversations using the chart • Bulletin Boards • Porn/Beer and Pizza • “Box” – volunteer programming group

16. CATVision Movies • CATVision movies and discussion guides • The Paper Chase Think about the study group and how it is initially set up --- the conditions – and how the relationships change over time. Why do the relationships change? Have you experienced this change in your life with individuals here at college? What “paper” is Hart chasing? At times, do you feel like you are “chasing some paper” (a diploma) and perhaps missing the larger purpose of education?

17. Critical Thinking in Practice

18. Poster Campaign • Fall Quarter • Critical Thinking = question To Think Critically is to Question

19. Poster Campaign • Winter Quarter -- defining critical thinking

20. Poster Campaign • Winter Quarter -- defining critical thinking • Introduce “Think Outside the Flock”

21. Poster Campaign • Spring Quarter -- Think Outside the Flock

22. Poster Campaign • Spring Quarter – Alcohol Spoofs

23. Critical Thinking in Practice To Think Critically is to Question

24. Connections • Departmental Theme • First-Year Common Reading • Residential Learning Communities • Judicial Meetings and Sanctions • Supervisions/Programming • CATVision Movies (cable system) • Poster Campaign

25. Conclusions “Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.” On Liberty -John Stuart Mill