Using AI for Critical Thinking Assessment: A Digital Humanities Education Experience

The advent of AI underscores the urgent need for educational institutions to cultivate a critical mindset among students. This involves honing their ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate information across various contexts, especially within the digital realm. Integrating art, literature, and writing into the curriculum, particularly when supported by technology, can significantly enhance critical thinking (CT) skills. Policymakers widely recognize CT as a cornerstone for individual and societal advancement. Even in the post-pandemic era, CT remains a paramount skill to be fostered at all levels of education and training. Building upon our previous research Poce A. et al. [3], which combined collaborative and creative writing with literary and artistic analysis, we aim to leverage AI and machine learning to automatically identify CT indicators within student-produced texts. This innovative approach will enable us to correlate the development of CT and reasoning with the creation of written work. The insights gained from this research have the potential to change university curriculum design and inform professional development programs dedicated to teaching and nurturing CT.