Cornell Module Builds Critical Thinking in AI Era

""One of the reasons we developed the module, which grew out of a faculty survey, was to see whether faculty are actually teaching critical thinking. Many of us include it in our learning objectives, but when you look closely at courses, it's often not taught explicitly.""

""That's especially relevant in the age of AI, when we're asking whether critical thinking is being replaced-or is necessary to evaluate these tools. If students don't know when they're using those skills, it's hard for them to answer those questions.""

Cornell University created an online module to improve critical thinking skills among students, piloted in 2022 across six introductory courses. The 75-minute asynchronous module provides a shared language and framework for critical thinking, helping instructors integrate these skills into their curriculum. Approximately 7,000 students have completed the module, which emerged from a faculty survey indicating that 83 percent of first-year students lacked adequate critical thinking skills. The module emphasizes specific skills necessary for evaluating information and reasoning, particularly relevant in the context of artificial intelligence.

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