In the age of artificial intelligence, researchers at Cornell University have created an online module aimed at helping students build one of the most enduring—and often misunderstood—skills in higher education: critical thinking.
Cornell has tested an interactive, 75-minute module in six introductory-level courses starting in 2022. It provides students with a shared language and foundational framework for critical thinking, while helping educators at all levels connect those skills to their course content. Today, it is still used in most classrooms, with nearly 7,000 students having completed it.
Mark Sarvary, director of biology teaching laboratories in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, helped lead the module and has continued to use it in his courses ever since.
“One of the reasons we developed this module, which came out of intelligence research, was to see if intelligence teaches critical thinking,” said Sarvary. “Many of us include it in our learning objectives, but if you look closely at the curriculum, it’s rarely taught clearly.”
In this study, Sarvary noted, faculty teaching first-year courses found that approximately 83 percent of students did not have sufficient critical thinking skills. The module divides critical thinking into specific skills, including accessing relevant information, evaluating different ideas, considering evidence that challenges a way of thinking, and accepting ambiguity or uncertainty.
“That’s especially important in the age of AI, when we ask whether critical thinking is being replaced—or whether it’s necessary to test these tools,” he added. “If students don’t know when to use those skills, it’s difficult for them to answer those questions.”
Christina Schmidt, director of curriculum development and instructional support at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and co-coordinator of the module, said that these types of skills can be developed, but if they are not taught intentionally, it can be difficult for students to recognize them.
“One of the obstacles in teaching critical thinking is having a clear definition, so that was one of the things we aimed to address with the module,” Schmidt said. “You don’t have to tick all these boxes for it to count as critical thinking, but these are all elements of it—especially if we want them to work in different fields.”
“The inherent need for a short, concise definition of critical thinking doesn’t work as well as being able to identify these different skills and contexts,” he added.
The need for such skills is evident in recent times Within Higher Ed A Student Voice survey of more than 1,000 two- and four-year students nationally, found that nearly 35 percent of respondents said they are looking for roles that emphasize special people skills and want to better understand how AI is being used in their field. Similarly, a study of human resources, learning and technology executives in global companies by the Learning Society at Stanford University found that AI technology is “changing the demand for human skills, and reshaping work and employees just as it is changing jobs.”
“One of the real challenges is helping students connect those dots,” Schmidt said. “They often can’t see patterns or transfer critical thinking skills between different situations, which is what we ultimately want them to be able to do.”
How the module works: In addition to the skills involved in critical thinking, the module revealed important conditions for critical thinkers, such as the willingness to admit and correct errors in one’s own thinking, recognizing gaps in one’s knowledge, comforting by saying “I don’t know,” and curiosity to seek lost knowledge.
Schmidt said a questionnaire given before and after the module highlights its effectiveness. Before completing it, students with little or no experience in critical thinking reported low self-confidence in areas such as explaining concepts and understanding their role in academic success. After that, their confidence increased significantly.
“One of the things we looked for was for students to describe what they thought critical thinking was like choosing three words,” Schmidt said. “Before the module, many of their answers were focused, generic concepts like ‘brains,’ ‘intelligence’ and ‘toughness.’ Eventually, words like ‘curiosity’ became more popular, along with concepts like perception and bias.”
“That marked a huge shift from thinking of critical thinking as an innate ability to seeing it as something that can be developed, tested and practiced in the classroom,” he added.
Why this is important: Sarvary called the module a “win-win” for students and faculty.
“This module is beneficial and intellectual because it is independent and easy to use in studies,” said Sarvary. “Helping students understand and evaluate the effects of AI is just the cherry on top.”
Schmidt highlighted its broader importance to higher education in the AI era.
“We’re at a critical juncture where AI is effectively forcing higher ed to explore the unique value we provide,” Schmidt said. “The module starts a conversation and gives students a basic language to distinguish between what is done and what people are smart about.”
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