Credo Offers Librarians a New Tool for Expanding Instruction Around Critical Thinking

Credo will now offer a Critical Thinking Expansion Pack to broaden the instructional reach provided by its highly-acclaimed InfoLit Modules. At a time when employers and faculty alike list critical thinking and other foundational skills as the most important outcome of a college education, this additional content will allow librarians to expand their role in contributing to retention, GPA levels, graduation rates, and employability.

Credo has earned glowing reviews for its InfoLit Modules, which engage students with ready-made videos, tutorials, and quizzes on a user-friendly platform. Interest in information literacy surged recently with public focus on fake news and biased media, and critical thinking is regarded as another area in which institutions of higher education need to cultivate strong student learning outcomes. While colleges and universities of all stripes often list critical thinking as an essential skill for their students, few put in place consistent strategies for its instruction.

The CT Expansion Pack, now available for subscription, covers four foundational skills that will benefit students throughout their academic and professional careers. Critical thinking, communication/visual literacy, logic & reasoning, and culture & citizenship all feature prominently in discussions about the most essential 21st century skills, and are considered highly sought-after by employers.

Built upon the same easy-to-use platform as the InfoLit Modules, the CT Expansion Pack can be added and customized in a variety of ways to best meet the specific needs of any particular institution. Librarians have found several ways to take advantage of the InfoLit Modules’ instructional content, from flipping classes, to embedding lessons in learning management systems and web pages, to LibGuides. These new 36 high-quality videos and quizzes on critical thinking will widen the scope of what librarians are able to teach, saving them the valuable time it takes to create instructional materials from scratch.

“The role of academic libraries is changing,” said Ian Singer, General Manager of Credo, “and librarians are embracing the opportunity to share their deep knowledge about critical thinking with students who desperately need it for their research. The best part comes with knowing that these skills stay with students long after they hand in their final research paper. The ability to think critically will open up possibilities in their careers and personal lives.”

Not only do the Modules simplify instruction, the Credo Insights platform allows librarians to assess student progress in a consistent and scalable way. As more accrediting bodies emphasize critical thinking in their standards, the assessment and reporting capabilities of this technology will make it easy for librarians to demonstrate their value to their institution.