Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the multi-year, critical thinking initiative at the University of Louisville called Ideas to Action, or i2a. This article discusses the rationale for the selection of the Paul-Elder critical thinking framework to guide the implementation and assessment of the project across curricular and co-curricular campus arenas. The co-authors used the research of Richard Paul to inform various facets of their project and worked with others on campus to create critical thinking learning communities, and to provide customized instructional consultations, in order to help faculty and staff choose and adopt methodologies that foster students’ explicit development of critical thinking skills. The article discusses three examples of scholarship and innovative programs that resulted from professional staff members’ integration of the critical thinking framework into their work with students.