We seem to turn a blind eye to the quality of our educational processes and results. The busyness of daily routine and the seeming rightness of the familiar obscures the need to change. What makes Gardiner's article very credible and powerful are the myriad studies and associated data he presents. Critical thinking is a form of higher-order cognition that society requires and faculty esteem. We urge our students to think critically and give them activities we believe will help them to learn how.
Active involvement includes frequent student-faculty interaction, both in and outside of class.
For tens of thousands of students in a large national study, specific curricular design had little effect on most of 22 general education outcomes examined. The types or breadth of courses, specific courses available, or relative flexibility to choose among courses had little impact on these outcomes. On the other hand, a core curriculum had salutary effects on many developmental outcomes. One national study has revealed that only 35 percent of faculty strongly emphasize their institution's curricular goals. Only 12 percent utilize feedback from their earlier students, and 8 percent use the viewpoints of experts in instruction.