Course Design for "Critical Thinking" in the Freshman Curriculum and Associated Assessment Strategies for Actively Engaged Learners

In this study, the course design and development for a freshman course to nurture students' critical thinking skills in the curriculum in social constructive paradigm, that is, a Problem-Based Learning model in teams were examined. Due to its nature, assessment strategies associated with team-based active learning model were also discussed. It is proposed, in the course of discussion, that the traditional evaluation conducted by instructors may not be suitable for the assessment of active learning. Rather, assessment strategies with rubrics have been proved to be optimal for such educational paradigms, which directly involve the main stakeholders of learning, namely, the learners.