Assessing University Students' Critical Online Reasoning and the Impact of Personal Characteristics

• In Event: Assessing University Students' Critical Online Reasoning and the Impact of Personal Characteristics

Abstract

Critical evaluation skills when using online information are considered key 21st century skills in research and education frameworks. Despite their importance, assessment of these skills in higher education is still an emerging field. We present a new developed theoretical-conceptual framework for Critical Online Reasoning (COR), situated in relation to prior approaches (e.g., 'web credibility', critical thinking'), along with an assessment framework and its preliminary validation. Based on our literature review and prior analyses, we classified COR into three facets: online information acquisition; critical information evaluation; reasoning based on evidence, argumentation, and synthesis. We modeled COR from a behavior, content, process, and development perspective, specifying scoring rubrics in an evidence-centered design. Validation results indicated the validity of the COR assessment.

Authors

• Olga Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Marie-Theres Nagel, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Dimitri Molerov, Humboldt University of Berlin

• Sebastian Brueckner, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Susanne Schmidt, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz