Dr. Armitage found ACT II helpful in forcing him to articulate for his students specific attributes that constitute critical thinking. For his assignments, which were all critical analysis or research papers, students had to derive their own topics that fit the goal of the assignment. The difficulty was in maintaining very clear and universal grading expectations for an assignment that might be completed in many different ways. The ACT II grading rubrics helped with this difficulty: they gave students tangible expectations for their work that transcended the variety of materials they choose to write about.

Dr. Armitage created a "base rubric" that outlined the fundamental critical thinking goals that students should achieve. He then modified the base rubric to meet the particular demands of specific topics. Students received only the modified versions of the base rubric. Dr. Armitage used his rubric to assess students’ final assignment in AMS 101. He found that that the quality of work was improved and that students were more likely to come to his office to ask questions. Dr. Armitage also felt that using the rubric helped him to standardize his grading of the papers. Dr. Armitage has since used similar grading rubrics for his other courses, including HST 250, HST 397, and other sections of AMS 101.

Assignments

Book Review Assignment

Myth Assignment

Term Paper Assignment

Rubric

Base Rubric

Book Review Rubric

Myth Rubric

Term Paper Rubric