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Concurrent Sessions I
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions II
9:40 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions III
10:50 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
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Lavina Myers
Associate Professor
University of Louisville – School of Dentistry
Louisville, Kentucky
Room: DA 101
An integral part of the dental hygiene curriculum is dental radiography. Within our program, dental hygiene students take five Radiology/Radiography courses. As the course director I have the unique opportunity to work with students from the time they are novice learners until they become licensed practitioners. Often students are overwhelmed with the content in dental radiology. In addition to the wealth of foundational knowledge they need to master, students must also be proficient in clinical acquisition and interpretation of dental radiographs. Using the instructional practice of scaffolding and questions outlined in the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework, students develop their critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills, and apply them directly to patient care.
This presentation will outline how I use the Paul-Elder model to promote critical thinking in dental radiology course and with direct patient care.
Sunshine Moss
Executive Director
Intersection Education
Gainesville, Florida
Room: DA 108
In this compelling presentation, Dr. Sunshine Moss of Intersection Education describes how The Foundation for Critical Thinking model has provided a common language for addressing complex educational problems in literacy intervention, teacher preparation, and educational improvement. She provides rich examples of how the model has been used to develop curriculum and programs, instruct children, cultivate teachers, and support families. Concepts are illustrated with samples of student and teacher work and curriculum developed by the presenter for use with other evidence-based intensive intervention tools for teaching adolescents with learning disabilities.
In an innovative series of intensive literacy intervention programs for children with oral and written learning disabilities, critical reasoning standards are explicitly and systematically taught and practiced to mastery to develop the metacognitive skills needed to become proficient readers, writers, and thinkers.
In teacher development, the critical thinking framework provides a precise language for describing the parts of thinking, which has played a vital role in developing teacher knowledge and ability to use precise language to guide student thinking during instruction, analyze student learning profiles, design interventions, evaluate their own effectiveness, and discuss complex educational problems with precision and clarity.
The elements and standards for reasoning assist parents with children with disabilities in organizing information and discussions about their children’s needs. The standards for reasoning are used to support them in thinking through difficult educational decisions and in shaping and directing vital discussions about their children’s needs with educators and specialists in the school and community.
Throughout all programming, the Intellectual traits are modeled and described to support children, educators, and families in their resolve to use critical thinking to address complex educational challenges.
Susannah Johnson
CEO
Individualized Realized
Honolulu, Hawaii
Room: DA 103
In consideration of global competencies and the UN's Sustainable Development goals as a lens, in this session we will look in brief at the 3+ lenses (OECD, Asia Society, Project Zero) - Investigate the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicate Ideas, and Take Action. We will then merge critical thinking and the aim of “global essential skills.” Key concepts and purposes:
Using questions from the Elements of Thought, Intellectual Standards, and Intellectual Traits, we will examine the above global competencies for shared concepts, especially diving into definitions. Moreover, with the above essential skills, we will comparatively consider how critical thinking practice feeds these global needs. We will also overlay these global competencies working primarily through the Intellectual Traits to set key questions for productive strategic thinking as we aim at a better now-and-future global citizenry.
Lauren McGuire
English Professor
Northwest Arkansas Community College
Bentonville, Arkansas
Room: DA 104
Cultivating critical thinking, intellectual growth, and lifelong learning opportunities that provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in life should be a fundamental goal of all educational institutions. In an effort to encourage students’ higher-order thinking skills and abilities, educators are beginning to include critical thinking curriculum in a variety of academic disciplines. Instructional strategies that advance critical thinking pedagogy on a consistent basis could positively impact the range and quality of student critical thinking skills’ performance.
Purposeful implementation of the Elements of Thought and Intellectual Standards, and of Socratic questioning, could strengthen students’ perceptions of critical thinking and of their own critical thinking abilities. Educators can cultivate Intellectual Traits by encouraging students to develop those skills necessary for clearly and logically evaluating the credibility and the reliability of rhetoric. Assuming that an argument can be any text – written, spoken, aural, or visual – that expresses a point of view, it is vitally important for educators to challenge students to consider new perspectives on topics they may feel they already understand, and to provide practice for analyzing the sorts of arguments they will encounter in their various courses. Implementing the Elements of Thought and Intellectual Standards, as well as Socratic questioning, through direct instruction in rhetorical analysis could encourage students to detect and evaluate the assumptions, ego-centrism, and socio-centrism in the rhetoric they are exposed to in literature, in the media, and in their own writing. Consistent application of Intellectual Standards provides students with the tools necessary for the acquisition of intellectual humility as they approach the complexities of life with clarity, accuracy, and precision; explore multiple perspectives of difficult problems; and learn to sympathetically acknowledge the viewpoints of others with breadth and clarity.
This session will focus primarily on designing instruction which integrates direct instruction in rhetorical analysis. Emphasis will be placed on incorporating Paul and Elder’s Intellectual Standards and the Elements of Thought. Participants will work in small groups and will be offered instructional methodologies which encourage the evaluation of expository and argumentative discourse, and which develop students’ critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.
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Nadine Ezzeddine
Senior Instructor
Dalhousie University School of Nursing
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Room: DA 107
In this presentation, I will highlight key milestones in my ongoing journey toward becoming a fair-minded critical thinker and the transformative impact I have experienced so far.
I began exploring critical thinking theories because I believed my students needed them. I grappled with several critical thinking frameworks – both general and discipline-specific (nursing, in my case) – until I found myself particularly drawn to the Paul & Elder Critical Thinking Framework. In this presentation, I will justify my choice of the Paul & Elder Critical Thinking Framework over other theories. I will also share my ongoing learning journey with the Foundation for Critical Thinking community and provide examples of the transformative impact this framework has had on both my personal and professional life.
Regarding personal impact, I will focus on how the framework's tools have helped me uncover my unconscious assumptions and biases, recognize when egocentrism impedes my reasoning, and actively question (and hopefully identify and address) such barriers. I will share examples of how these insights have transformed my decisions, actions, and, most importantly, my mental well-being.
From a professional perspective as a university instructor, I will discuss how applying this framework has transformed my course delivery. For example, I have incorporated the concept of "the logic of content" to enhance both my teaching approach and my students’ learning experience. I will also highlight the outcomes in terms of student learning, academic success, content retention, and the application of knowledge in various settings.
Drissia Ounnich
Instructor & Researcher
Moulay Ismail University - School of Arts and Humanities
Meknes, Morocco
Room: DA 108
Given the current shift in the Moroccan educational system towards valuing the teaching of transversal skills, critical thinking as a crucial competence has secured a prominent place in the English language teaching curriculum. The incorporation of the Paul & Elder critical thinking model in Moroccan EFL textbooks reflects a growing recognition that education in this faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes good language learners as well as fair-minded citizens. Thus, training students to think critically is expected to prepare them not only for the demands of the workforce but for the challenges of the 21st century as well. Therefore, the purpose of this session is to provide valuable insights into the practical application of the Paul & Elder framework in an EFL classroom by highlighting real-world challenges and effective adaptive strategies that enhance learning critical thinking in its strong sense so as to achieve intellectual virtues and moral integrity.
Danuta Furszpaniak
Lecturer
Adam Mickiewicz University
Poznań, Poland
Room: DA 104
A multimedia presentation with intellectual humor has complex content created on a way of reasoning in cooperation with the will and emotions. On the basis of experience gained during my academic course “Professional Presentations with Intentional Highbrow Humour,” I’ll show the logic of a presentation revealed by the Elements of Thought. Then I’ll progress to discussion of Intellectual Standards used by students and the development of Intellectual Virtues in connection with their work on presentations. Ethical issues related to the presenter’s and the receiver’s egocentrism and sociocentrism should lead to the point of how to be a fairminded presenter who achieves the aim of their job, and how to be a critical, unmanipulated receiver.
Paul Consalvi
Professor
University of Tokyo – Graduate School of Frontier Sciences
Tokyo, Japan
Room: DA 101
In today's complex and interconnected world, the value of cultivating critical thinking goes beyond personal or academic growth—it's fundamental to creating empowered citizens who can drive meaningful change in their communities and workplaces. This session explores how the Paul-Elder model of critical thinking serves as a powerful framework for developing "Critically Thinking Collaborators," individuals who are equipped not only to make sound decisions but to lead with integrity and empathy in diverse, team-oriented settings. Participants will examine how adopting Intellectual Traits like courage, perseverance, and humility can foster a collaborative culture that consistently generates innovative and ethical initiatives as part of bigger aspirational organizational goals. This session will invite leaders, educators, and organizational members to consider how embedding critical thinking across teams can result in the kind of deep, systemic improvements that resonate within and beyond the school and workplace, addressing both present needs and laying the foundation for future societal well-being.
David Campbell
Institutional Effectiveness Specialist
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, Kentucky
Lauren Pellegrino
Assistant Professor
Academic Program Coordinator, Business
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, Kentucky
Kaya Muller
Professor
Natural Sciences
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, Kentucky
Room: DA 103
As the starting point for nearly 50% of individuals seeking post-secondary education, community colleges have been the entry point for workforce and university transfer-intending students – many of whom are first-generation, underrepresented minorities, and low income – seeking to earn valuable credentials and develop high-demand competencies that will serve them across their education and career journeys.
For eight years, Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) has implemented the General Education Assessment (GEA) as part of its SACSCOC (accreditation) requirement. The GEA calls for a unique focus on course assignment, project design, and assessment using the American Association of Colleges & Universities’ (AAC&U) VALUE Rubric to evaluate 16 knowledge areas including intercultural competence, teamwork, quantitative literacy, and critical thinking – with a minimum evaluation of a single assignment/assessment in a single course.
While many faculty opt for more easily measurable components of the GEA (quantitative literacy, for example), we are finding that faculty are more intentionally choosing critical thinking as a point of focus, giving targeted attention to the development and measurement of assignments, projects, and assessments using the VALUE rubric. Our latest outcomes analysis shows improved student outcomes in the area of critical thinking among faculty using this tool, particularly among faculty who have been using it for several years. Given the increased interest in the critical-thinking component of the GEA among faculty, combined with more availability of professional development in critical thinking pedagogy and elevated confidence among faculty to do this work, we posit that faculty participation in a comprehensive analysis of critical thinking capacity-building through the GEA process will continue to increase. Yet, the issue of scaling this level of evaluation is tenuous as full-time, two-year faculty often have anywhere from 100-250 students per semester across 5-10 course sections.
During this interactive presentation, participants will hear from institutional research and effectiveness experts and faculty members about how JCTC has leveraged the GEA/SACSCOC component of critical thinking and the VALUE rubric to design, implement, and measure critical thinking skills development through the required constructs of students' explanations of issues, evidence-based positions, hypotheses, and implications. Faculty will share assignment and assessment techniques, review opportunities and challenges in using the VALUE rubric to guide and scale their efforts, and describe the lessons they have learned in iteratively fostering growth in critical thinking skills and applications among students.
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Sara Lynne Willett
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin – Stout
Menomonie, Wisconsin
Room: DA 103
Purpose: To provide examples of critical thinking in action and encourage reflection on how adopting Intellectual Traits (e.g., intellectual humility, intellectual courage, intellectual empathy, and intellectual perseverance) fosters personal development and potentially transforms the quality of life (fulfillment, self-actualization, relationships, etc.). This session demonstrates how one can begin the journey by focusing on one essential area of critical thinking, such as Intellectual Virtues, and then gradually and increasingly interrelating that area to other core critical thinking concepts, such as Intellectual Standards, the Elements of Reasoning, and the barriers to criticality. (This is an important example of the interrelatedness of the framework; it is virtually impossible to embody critical thinking without using the entire framework).
A personal example from my industry career will be provided, describing a transition from practicing “traditional” labor-management techniques in organized labor settings to modeling critical thinking in my own practice and encouraging critical thinking in others. These examples will be simple and straightforward, using elegant examples of practicing Intellectual Virtues, demonstrating how I moved from weak-sense critical thinking to strong-sense critical thinking on this journey, e.g., letting go of the need to “be right” (and using critical thinking in the weak sense) versus employing critical thinking’s full power for the benefit of self and others.
Edna Ross
University of Louisville
Professor of Psychology
Louisville, Kentucky
Room: DA 108
This Concurrent Session will illustrate a method by which participants can introduce critical thinking in an authentic and engaging way in an online class. The presenter will share how she uses a humorous video about her CV in an online senior psychology class as their first class assignment. The assignment requires students to use the Paulian critical thinking framework to ‘go around the wheel’ to identify the question at issue. Students rarely identify the real question at issue and focus on the superficial, emotional components of the situation instead. The presenter will share how to use this type of assignment to engage students in a real-world, relevant context to normalize using critical thinking in everyday situations.
Norman Minnick
Author
Senior Associate Faculty in English
Marian University
Indianapolis, Indiana
Room: DA 107
Encouraging students to think critically about poetry requires more than surface-level comprehension; it demands deep engagement with both explicit and implicit meanings. By analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting poetic texts, students develop essential critical thinking skills that extend beyond literature into other academic disciplines and real-world contexts. However, this level of engagement does not happen automatically – it requires intentional scaffolding, thoughtful questioning, and ample practice. One particularly effective yet often overlooked method for fostering this depth of analysis is through the memorization and recitation of poetry.
This session will provide practical strategies for using poetry as a tool for deep critical engagement. Drawing on my experience attending a critical thinking symposium with Stephen Brookfield at Indiana University, I will share an interactive method I developed: an arrow spinner board based on The Foundation for Critical Thinking’s “Elements of Thought” chart. Students use this tool to apply concepts such as purpose, interpretations and inferences, and implications and consequences to their writing, strengthening their compositions while deepening their understanding of their own thinking and learning processes.
Additionally, I will discuss insights from my essay “Awakening the Dionysian Nerve: Bringing Poems off the Page and into the Body,” originally published in Teachers & Writers Magazine (2012) and later included in Far Villages: Welcome Essays for Beginner Poets (Black Lawrence Press, 2020). In this essay, I explore how the act of memorizing and reciting poetry allows students to not only hear a poem but to experience it fully, deepening their appreciation and critical engagement.
By integrating questioning strategies, discussion-based inquiry, and embodied practices such as recitation, educators can transform poetry into a powerful tool for cultivating independent, creative, and critical thinkers.
David Johnson
Associate Professor
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Room: DA 104
This session or discussion will highlight specific pedagogies developed from the Paul-Elder Model for Critical Thinking to teach undergraduate public health students at the University of Louisville. Since their development over 10 years ago, these pedagogies have been featured in multiple peer-reviewed publications, won awards and recognition at both the national and institutional level, and to date have been a part of the training and development for thousands of undergraduate students at the University of Louisville. This session will empower participants to consider adopting similar approaches, as well as present and discuss student outcomes data (on Intellectual Trait development) from the most recent related manuscript.
Susannah Johnson
CEO
Individualized Realized
Honolulu, Hawaii
Room: DA 101
Reimagining how we approach the business of human development that is education requires a new recipe for evidence of learning. Examining research behind testing first, we will then work with our foundational critical thinking practices, and our imaginations, to design learning outcomes that are relevant, authentic, and connected to global competencies.
As we define our own concepts of learning outcomes, we will walk through questions for the Elements of Thought to ensure proper aims in “evidence of learning.” Furthermore, with innovative ideas, we will use the Elements of Thought, Intellectual Standards, and Intellectual Traits as criteria for evaluation of the new.
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