Title: Features of an e-learning environment which promote critical and creative thinking: choice, feedback, anonymity, and assessment

Authors: Michał Jasieński

Addresses: Center for Innovatics, Nowy Sacz Business School – National-Louis University, ul. Zielona 27, 33-300 Nowy Sacz, Poland

Abstract: I discuss features that are important for creative and critical thinking which should be recreated in e-learning applications. Anonymity maximises chances for development of creativity and for objective and accurate assessment. I also describe a 'quadruple anonymity' system implemented at Nowy Sacz Business School - National-Louis University in Poland, the goal of which is to improve objectivity of thesis evaluation by referees. E-learning environment is ideal for implementing functionalities which make choice, feedback, and controlled anonymity easily available to the users to be effective, feedback should be appropriately timed, incremental, impartial, and impersonal. Evaluation of student or employee performance or of proposed ideas or solutions should rely on explicitly stated quantitative criteria, developed along well thought-through measurement scales and utilising proper descriptive statistics and visualisation methods. A description of the nominal group heuristic method is provided as an example of a heuristic method which relies on creativity, anonymity and unbiased evaluation.

Keywords: anonymity; assessment; choice; creativity; e-learning; evaluation; feedback; heuristics; innovation; methodology; nominal group; quantitative methods; trust; electronic learning; critical thinking; creative thinking; thesis evaluation; referees.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2014.063097

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2014 Vol.24 No.3/4, pp.237 - 251

Published online: 19 Jul 2014 *

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