Experiential / Reality-based Learning / September 11, 2014

Critical Thinking Night Sets Tone for New Smith Undergrads

Incoming undergraduates at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business got a taste of what’s looming in job and internship interviews during Critical Thinking Night, a new Welcome Week workshop added to meet employer demand.

“Your business savvy and ability to think on your feet will be tested,” Smith senior Lindsey Weilminster told the freshmen who packed into Frank Auditorium during back-to-back sessions on Sept. 8, 2014. An intern and soon-to-be full employee of Deloitte Consulting, Weilminster shared real-life examples of interview questions that Smith students have faced.

One interviewer said: “Describe the financial collapse leading to the economic recession and how would you have reacted as Fed Chairperson, and what would you have done to rejuvenate the financial markets in 2009?” Another employer challenged a Smith student to pitch to its board of directors an impactful teambuilding event on a $50 budget.

“These questions can seem daunting in a 20- to 30-minute interview or one-hour exam,” Weilminster told the freshmen. “But if you begin to challenge yourself now to analyze these kinds of scenarios at a high level, this becomes doable.”

The idea for Critical Thinking Night came from Rebecca Ratner, Smith marketing professor and assistant dean for academic affairs, after she attended a 2013 conference with marketing executives from the likes of Pfizer and General Mills.

Ratner said she cringed when she heard these leaders discuss the lack of critical thinking skills among today’s business undergraduates. But she also saw an opportunity to differentiate Smith. When she returned to campus, she began designing the workshop with input from Smith upperclassmen, deans and corporate partners.

“Recruiters tell me, ‘We can find a lot people with knowledge of business terms, but we need people who can think critically and determine the high-priority information, and who can communicate clearly and think through a problem in a systematic way,’” Ratner said.

During the 90-minute sessions, she drilled the freshmen on the fundamentals of critical thinking and shared a case analysis of her own recent work that helped simplify and mainstream the iconic U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition guide from “MyPyramid” to “MyPlate” with the slogan: “Fill up half your plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal.”

She described using a critical thinking framework of three traits — curiosity, perseverance and integrity — and six standards:

  • Clarity: Can others understand your point?
  • Precision:  Is it specific enough?
  • Relevance: Do your points connect?
  • Accuracy: Is the point true?
  • Depth: Do you grasp the complexity of the topic?
  • Breadth: Do you cover all the viewpoints?

Teams of students subsequently developed MyPlate-like slogans representing solutions to assigned scenarios. They also heard insights from Capital One Senior Vice President of Retail Bank Sales and Service Strategy Alper Yilmaz, a 2001 Smith MBA graduate.

“Being able to cut through the noise and identify the right problems to solve is among the characteristics I look for in candidates that I interview,” he said. “Getting to the bottom-line, root cause of such problems is critical to the business place.”

Victor Mullins, Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Program, said Critical Thinking Night complements the school’s broader commitment to helping Smith undergraduates become respectful, innovative, intellectual, influential and global.

“The workshop demonstrated our freshmen embracing the discipline of critical thinking,” Mullins said. “They're beginning to appreciate rigorous and evidence-based decision making.”

Mullins also praised the innovation of Ratner and the critical thinking faculty champions, which included Charles Olson, Roxanne Lefkoff, Pam Armstrong, Phil Evers, Stephanie Eckerd, Myeong-Gu Seo, Sarah Kroncke, Hugh Turner and Sandra Loughlin. “Special thanks also to the Dean's Student Advisory Board for assisting Dean Ratner with this new initiative,” he said. “They did a lot.”

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About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.

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