As future educators, we are preparing students for a future that we do not yet know. Their ability to think critically will almost wholly determine whether they fail or succeed. In a recent study noted in the article Academically Adrift, it was found that 45% of college students did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning during their first two years and 36% fared similarly over four years. Another article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, points out that a significant percentage of adults living at or below the poverty line have college degrees. Lastly, experts now hypothesize that a ‘bad’ neighborhood does not necessarily lead to a failed public school, but rather that a failing public school drags its neighborhood down with it.

Given this, what does it mean to think critically and how could you model it in a General Capstone course and foster it with students?