Evaluating Critical Thinking in Class and Online: Comparison of the Newman Method and the Facione Rubric

Many schools across the nation are working to include online learning as a fundamental part of the collection of teaching strategies. In 2000, approximately 98% of the public schools in the United States were connected to the Internet (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001) and were working to expand their students' communication options from the classroom to a variety of online discourse opportunities with peers, community members, and content experts (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Wegerif, 1998). This action-research pilot study was designed to answer three questions: Which of two methods, the Newman or the Facione, most reliably assesses students' critical thinking during in-class and online discussion? How do the methods compare in consistency of use? How do the methods compare in ease of use?.