The Meredith College PRISM Experience seeks to improve students’ critical thinking skills throughout their four-years at Meredith. A discipline-focused freshmen seminar, followed by infusing critical thinking tools and strategies into existing courses and experiences, will provide multiple opportunities for reflection, intellectual engagement and action.

Thinking about …
Starting fall semester 2010, freshmen entering Meredith College may participate in one of several discipline-based seminars. Students will begin to develop essential critical thinking skills within a course that encourages them to think about a specific topic or issue. Students will also reflect on their own thinking and assess their development. The freshmen seminar provides a foundation of critical thinking skills.

Thinking within …
As students move into mid- or upper-level courses in their major, they will expand their critical thinking skills within their chosen discipline. Students will learn to apply critical thinking skills in unique ways that are specific to their field of interest. Departments will identify certain courses that represent a “mid-level” application of critical thinking within the discipline. Through these upper-division courses and capstone experiences, students will develop more independent inquiry, scholarship and expression of creative thought.

Thinking beyond …
Since students learn inside and outside the classroom, they will be encouraged to apply critical thinking skills in different aspects of their lives. A series of lecture discussions and experiential components to courses will provide opportunities for intellectual engagement, while leadership and student development programs will assist students in reflecting on their learning and turning learning into action. In this way, students will think beyond the classroom, and eventually beyond their Meredith College experience.