scholarly journals Learning through Writing: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Assignments

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 298-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamze Çavdar ◽  
Sue Doe
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Lower Division ◽  
Writing Assignment

AbstractTraditional writing assignments often fall short in addressing problems in college students' writing as too often these assignments fail to help students develop critical thinking skills and comprehension of course content. This article reports the use of a two-part (staged) writing assignment with postscript as a strategy for improving critical thinking in a lower-division political science course. We argue that through well-designed writing assignments, instructors can encourage students to reconsider concepts, critically evaluate assumptions, and undertake substantive revisions of their writing.

A Compass During the Storm: Offering Students Critical Rigor for Polarizing Times

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Wender ◽  
Valerie J. D’Erman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Objective ◽  
First Year

ABSTRACT Teaching and learning in higher education is occurring, unavoidably, within the broader civic context of today’s extraordinarily polarizing political times. We seek to help students situate themselves with respect to and, above all, thoughtfully assess others’ as well as their own perspectives on issues of profound contention, without contributing to exacerbated polarization ourselves. Specifically, we offer students in our first-year exploratory political science course a vital tool—critical rigor—for navigating but not being inundated by the storm. This article discusses our experiences in teaching the course titled, “The Worlds of Politics,” as we attempt to help students deeply engage in cognitive processes of critical thinking and analysis, without undue infringement from their own—and least of all our own—personal political biases. Our focal learning objective is the cultivation of critical-thinking skills that promote students’ drawing of distinctions between advocacy and analysis, as well as their discerning civic engagement.

Second Round Electronics: A Case for Critical Thinking

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 983-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Johnstone ◽  
Brandy Mackintosh ◽  
Fred Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Class Discussion ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Writing Assignment

ABSTRACT This instructional case requires students to provide advice to a client who is currently the sole owner of a for-profit company that reconditions and sells used electronics. The client is considering purchasing a similar company with the vision of expanding into the sales and service of emerging technologies. The target company's unaudited financial statements contain questionable accounting choices and judgments that appear to enable the company to meet external financial reporting constraints. In their role as financial advisers, students are expected to use critical thinking skills to identify and evaluate questionable choices in the target company's financial statements. This case is suitable for use in introductory and intermediate financial accounting as well as introductory auditing and assurance courses, and can be used as a context for in-class discussion, as a basis for exam questions, and/or as a writing assignment. Assessment rubrics and Teaching Notes accompany the case for use by instructors.

Writing About Dance

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy R. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Writing Assignment ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Brain

Master the art of writing about dance! And learn about dance at the same time. This comprehensive guide provides students with instructions for writing about dance in many different contexts. It brings together the many different kinds of writing that can be effectively used in a variety of dance classes from technique to appreciation. In addition, it offers strategies for improving critical thinking skills, and shows how writing and critical thinking are closely linked. Part I focuses on informal writing such as freewriting, with sample exercises and prompts. Part II outlines approaches to writing three different kinds of formal papers: critiques, essays and research papers. Writing about dance teaches on two levels. First, the writer is learning dance content as s/he writes. Engaging in the writing assignment causes the writer to take a look at an aspect of dance and to become a 'momentary expert'. Secondly, writing itself is a way of learning. Writing involves the brain in three kinds of interaction, that is, the intellectual act of critically thinking, the physical act of writing or typing, and the visual aspect of seeing the writing on the page. The critical thinking and contemplation involved in writing can deepen students understanding of dance technique, dance creativity, and dance as an art form. Students will use this book on their own, or teachers may make assignments from it. It teaches about dance writing, but also about the very basics of dance appreciation.

Thinking Like a Psychologist Introductory Psychology Writing Assignments

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-341
Author(s):  
Diane Keyser Wentworth ◽  
Lona Whitmarsh
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
General Psychology ◽  
Mental Processes ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Student Reactions ◽  
Psychology Course

Teaching the general psychology course provides instructors with the opportunity to invite students to explore the dynamics of behavior and mental processes through the lens of theory and research. Three innovative writing assignments were developed to teach students to think like a psychologist, operationalized as enhancing critical thinking, applying research concepts, and resisting plagiarism. The assignments were evaluated with two samples of general psychology students. In Sample 1, student reactions to the assignments were uniformly positive. In Sample 2, students were assessed directly on their critical thinking skills using a set of three scenarios. An increase in students’ ability to think critically was found. Therefore, these assignments were successful in helping develop our students’ ability to think like a psychologist.

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