TITLE Critical Thinking in the Basic Course: Are We Meeting the

This paper addresses issues of implementing critical thinking in the basic communication course. A new paradigm of critical thinking, which includes a dualistic approach of teaching both the logical and creative skills, must be considered in communication classes in order to meet the needs of the core communication curriculum and mission. As a starting point to assessing both of these skills, a pretest of the logical side of critical thinking was conducted with 222 Creighton University undergraduate students who completed the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment Test. One-way analyses of variance found only statistical significance between United States (domestic) and international students such that international students scored lower than the domestic students. Descriptive differences among sex and class standing are also discussed. Overall, it is argued that communication instructors need to take more of a dualistic approach in facilitating logical and creative thinking skills to meet the needs of all students. Contains 30 references and a table of data. (Author/RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document