greensmg: Measuring critical thinking (CT) skills in EFL writing classes

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Measuring critical thinking (CT) skills in EFL writing classes

Measuring critical thinking (CT) skills in EFL writing classes is a fascinating and valuable endeavor—especially because writing is not just about language accuracy but also idea development, argumentation, and evaluation.

Here’s how you can measure critical thinking skills in your EFL writing class:

🧠 1. Define What You Mean by Critical Thinking

In EFL writing, CT typically includes:

Analyzing information and arguments
Synthesizing ideas from different sources
Evaluating evidence and claims
Justifying opinions with logical reasoning
Reflecting on assumptions and perspectives

Choose a CT framework to guide your measurement, such as:

Bloom’s Taxonomy (Higher-order thinking)
Paul & Elder’s Critical Thinking Framework
Facione’s Delphi Report (1990) – defines CT as including analysis, inference, evaluation, etc.

📄 2. Use Rubrics to Assess CT in Student Writing

Rubrics are the most direct way to measure CT within writing performance.

✅ Example: Analytic Rubric for CT in Writing

Here are some rubric dimensions:

Category	Indicators
Argument/Thesis Clarity	Clear, debatable thesis with critical stance
Evidence and Support	Use of relevant, credible evidence; appropriate citation
Reasoning and Logic	Coherence, logical progression, cause-effect relationships
Evaluation & Reflection	Identifies assumptions, evaluates opposing views
Synthesis	Connects ideas from different sources or perspectives

🔎 Score on a scale (e.g., 1–5) for each. You can align these with Bloom's taxonomy or Facione’s skills.

📊 3. Use a Critical Thinking Questionnaire (Indirect Measure)

You can also measure students’ perceptions of their CT skills or disposition toward CT.

✅ Sample Tools:

a. Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS)

Measures willingness to think critically (e.g., open-mindedness, skepticism)

b. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA)

Measures inference, deduction, interpretation, evaluation (more for general CT, not writing-specific)

c. Self-Reported CT in Writing Questionnaire

You can design one with Likert-scale items like:

“I evaluate the credibility of sources before using them in my writing.”
“I try to include multiple viewpoints in my essays.”
“I revise my writing to improve my reasoning and argument.”

✍️ 4. Qualitative Approaches

Use writing prompts or reflections to elicit critical thinking, such as:

“Choose a controversial topic and argue for one side. Address at least one counterargument.”
“Reflect on how your opinion changed after reading multiple sources on a topic.”

You can then analyze the writing using coding frameworks for CT (e.g., content analysis based on Facione’s categories).

🔁 5. Combine Methods (Mixed Approach)

Method	Purpose
Rubric-based scoring	Measures actual CT performance in writing
Questionnaire	Measures perception or disposition
Reflection/Interviews	Explores awareness and process of CT

This gives a more complete picture of students' CT skills in writing.

✅ Final Tip

If you're doing research or assessment:

Use inter-rater reliability for rubric scoring
Align writing tasks clearly with CT outcomes (e.g., problem-solving, debate, inquiry)
Make CT criteria explicit to students to improve their performance