Critical Thinking Rubric
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Howard College students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by
1. Asking vital questions. Definition: Creating and using vital questions. The student will
 Address the facts, concepts or themes of a subject.
 Identify biases and illogical assumptions in thinking.
 Clearly and logically pose a hypothesis for a study or the solution to a problem.
 Reflect or uncover diverse view points.
 Reflect the difference between relevant and irrelevant data.
2. Collecting and measuring relevant information. Definition: Gathering and interpreting relevant information. The
student will
 Select data not based entirely on their own personal views.
 Identify sources of relevant data.
 Identify authors’ biases and how that impacts their work.
 Identify their own biases in the selection and use of information.
 Correctly categorize data according to its significance, relevance, and importance to the study.
 Prioritize information and utilize that data which impacts their study most directly.
 Identify salient arguments.
3. Arriving at well reasoned conclusions. Definition: Conducting an investigation and arriving at conclusions
based on the unbiased results of the study and organizing that information for presentation. The student will
 Distinguish between reasonable and unreasonable results.
 Draw conclusions or create solutions based on evidence and logical thinking.
 Draw conclusions or create solutions which may challenge existing thinking but are well thought out and reasoned.
4. Considering alternative systems of thought. Definition: Considering the impact of different points of view on
research. The student will
 Identify examples of point of view or bias in sources.
 Examine the source to determine if it is reliable.
 Distinguish between factual and belief based statements.
 Consult balanced resources.
 Synthesize material to create knowledge new to the student or to the field of study.
5. Communicating effectively with others. Definition: Identifying and developing a product to efficiently
communicate the findings of the study or the solution to a problem. The student will
 Present findings in a clear, coherent fashion.
 Present written material in standard format meeting accepted grammatical and stylistic rules.
 Use a variety of presentation methods.
 Base the results of the investigation or solution of the problem on sound reasoning.
Skillful
Critical
Thinking
Emergent
Critical
Critical
Thinking Not
Thinking Demonstrated