Critical and Creative Thinking
Core Curriculum Competency
Critical and Creative Thinking
Students analyze human experiences, cultural expressions, or creativity.
Current Status
The 2024-2025 assessment is complete and provides an institutional baseline. Reporting occurred during 2025-2026. The next planning year is 2026-2027, followed by data collection in 2027-2028.
Assessment Rubric
The revised rubric examines students’ application of discipline-specific knowledge or skills; incorporation of appropriate and relevant examples, evidence, contexts, or experiences; and examination of the implications of their ideas for understanding human experiences, choices, cultural expressions, or creativity.
Download the Critical and Creative Thinking Rubric, 2026 Revision (PDF)
2024-2025 Results
The results established a useful baseline. The principal improvement priority is reducing the number of artifacts rated No Evidence by strengthening alignment among assignments, rubric criteria, and the student learning outcome.
Planned Actions
- Provide faculty support for designing rubric-aligned assignments.
- Develop sample prompts and exemplar assignments.
- Support common signature assignment frameworks in multi-section courses.
- Review and revise the rubric using assessor feedback.
- Strengthen assessor preparation, norming, and calibration.
- Improve communication among faculty, assessors, and Core Curriculum leadership.
Download the 2024-2025 CCT Assessment Report (PDF)
Assessment Committee
- Sam Arnold, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
- Weiwei Liu, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
- William Meier, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
- Timothy Sandoval, AddRan College of Liberal Arts
- Cathryn van Kessel, College of Education
Questions?
Contact Dr. Theresa Gaul, Director of the TCU Core Curriculum, at t.gaul@tcu.edu.