Discipline-Specific Critical Thinking Curriculum with A Problem Solving Life Cycle Framework

Critical thinking is one of the core missions of higher education. It emphasizes self-reflection and critical examination. There are few proven methods to teach critical thinking effectively, and assessment of students' thinking skills often fell short. Most universities do not teach critical thinking in a cohesive and systematic fashion after the students enter a specific discipline, such as management or engineering. This paper proposes to design a discipline specific critical thinking curriculum by adopting a Problem Solving Life Cycle framework. Critical thinking skills are reinforced in every phase throughout the Life Cycle with documented deliverables and assessment criteria.