Undergraduate Research: A Pedagogical Experiment

1988 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 490-494
Author(s):  
Troy J. Ziegler ◽  
David M. Koch
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Research Students ◽  
Psychology Course

Students cooperatively conducted research experiments in an upper division cognitive psychology course in the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Department at the United States Air Force Academy. The pedagogical structure of the course was modified to emphasize teaching cadets how to think versus what to think through the process of conducting research. Students were expected to cooperate in pairs to design and conduct their research. Cooperative research projects were used in the attempt to develop critical thinking skills and intrinsic motivation to excel. This paper presents the authors' views on the rationale and perceived benefits of cooperative research projects in upper division courses to develop critical thinking skills and intrinsic motivation.

scholarly journals A brief history of pharmacy admissions in North America

2019 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 370-375
Author(s):  
Erin Davis ◽  
Richard Braha ◽  
Shannon McAlorum ◽  
Debbie Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Bachelor Of Science ◽  
Multiple Mini Interview

The move from a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, both in the United States and in Canada, has been accompanied by a general move towards increased prepharmacy admission requirements and longer pharmacy programs. Historically, the most thoroughly researched pharmacy admissions variables include grade point average (GPA), Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), interviews and critical thinking tests. Most programs now require a combination of academic (GPA ± PCAT) and nonacademic characteristics (e.g., interviews, volunteering, critical thinking tests, essays). This review focuses on GPA and the PCAT as academic admissions measures and the interview (both traditional and the multiple mini-interview) and critical thinking tests as nonacademic measures. There is evidence that prepharmacy GPA, the PCAT and admissions interviews are correlated with academic success in a pharmacy program. Repeating a prepharmacy course is a negative predictor of academic success. The multiple mini-interview and various critical thinking tests have been studied in pharmacy admissions, but the evidence to date does not support their use for predicting success. Several areas require further research, including finding an effective measure of reasoning and critical thinking skills. The relationship between admission test scores and clinical performance also requires further study, as academic achievement in pharmacy programs has been the main measure of success to date.

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.

scholarly journals Outcome Assessment of General Education 21st Century Competency Skills: Close the Loop Efforts in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhung Thi Tuyet Pham
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
General Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Quantitative Literacy ◽  
Comprehensive University ◽  
The University

Over the past several years, various stakeholders have continued to express concerns about the quality of U.S. higher education. Under the accountability and transparency pressures, institutions must provide evidence of student learning, especially the value of general education programs upon graduation. Therefore, a case study at a U.S. comprehensive university was conducted to assess five general education competency skills (written, oral, quantitative literacy, critical thinking and information literacy). To facilitate “close the loop” conversations with faculty and committees, in addition to descriptive analysis, the university disaggregated the assessment data in a non-traditional way by examining the relationship of student factors (race, year and college) and student learning. The researcher used ANCOVA and ANOVA to identify significant differences. Results indicated year and race were related to student outcomes, except for critical thinking skills. The researcher provided suggestions for use of the study’s findings to close the loop in the general education program.

scholarly journals ENGLISH STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON CRITICAL THINKING PEDAGOGICAL TECHNIQUES

JURNAL SMART ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
Desty Febria
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Pedagogical Techniques ◽  
Research Students ◽  
English Students ◽  
Pedagogical Methods

The purpose of the research was to discover students’ perceptions of critical thinking pedagogical techniques. The type of research was designed by using a survey that shared the link of online questionnaires to the participants. Based on the result of research, students agree if critical thinking skills should be taught during class and understood the pedagogical methods to develop a higher order of thinking skills. However, it needs more development in some techniques, and to see the implementation of this technique in their teaching practice.

scholarly journals Supporting Teacher Candidates' Development of Critical Thinking Skills Through Dialogue and Reflection

2021 ◽  
pp. 1445-1468
Author(s):  
Trevor Thomas Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Support Teacher

This chapter employs a dialogic, sociocultural perspective to describe ways teacher educators can support teacher candidates as they develop the critical thinking skills needed to make the transition from student to teacher in contemporary classrooms in the United States. Data from a longitudinal qualitative study are used to examine the utility of problem-posing seminars and subsequent reflection as tools that can help English teacher candidates embrace the tension they encounter as competing ideologies both complicate and nurture their efforts to enact a student-centered framework for teaching. Specifically, participants' reflections on their efforts to employ dialogic approaches to teaching are explored in the context of standardized curricula and classroom settings. Data suggest that making dialogue and reflection key facets of teacher education programs creates conditions for critical thinking and creativity to flourish.

Collaborative learning and critical thinking skills: Effects of a debate-based pedagogy

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Yvonne Malone ◽  
Tony Michael
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Adolescent Psychology ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Class Period

The authors added debates in two adolescent psychology classes in the southern region of the United States that were heretofore a lecture class. There were approximately 45 students in each of the classes, including both undergraduate and graduate students, and debate teams consisted of four to five members. Each debate was allotted one class period (80 minutes): 60 minutes of debate time with the last 20 minutes reserved for questions and discussion from the entire class. Students took a survey before and after the debates, rating themselves on critical thinking skills. Based on their ratings, there was significant perceived improvement after participating in debates. Last, the authors conclude with providing future considerations and tips to other educators for implementing debates within their course.   Keywords: Debates, collaborative learning, critical thinking, pedagogy, college students.    

scholarly journals Critical Thinking Exercises in the Classroom are Helpful but not Sufficient for Improving Critical Thinking Test Scores

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Heather L Coates
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Educational Testing Service

A Review of: Wallace, E. D., & Jefferson, R. N. (2013). Developing Critical Thinking Skills For Information Seeking Success. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(3): 246-255. Objective – To determine whether a series of workbook exercises contributed to improved critical thinking test scores. Design – Post-test design with a quasi-experimental control group. Setting – Military college in the United States of America. Subjects – 76 undergraduates enrolled in a required freshman orientation seminar. Methods – Approximately one third of the enrolled participants (n=26) were provided with a copy of the book Critical Thinking: Building the Basics. A subset of exercises was completed independently over three to four class sessions during the first three weeks of the semester. The control group (n=50) did not receive any critical skills thinking instruction. The iCritical Thinking Skills Test, an online exam provided by Educational Testing Service (ETS), was administered to both groups during a class session. The exam consists of 7 types of tasks: define, access, evaluate, manage, integrate, create, communicate, evaluated using 14 tasks based on real-world scenarios. Main Results – Approximately 20% (15) of all students passed the test, 9 from the intervention group and 6 from the control group. Significant differences were detected between the groups on the Integrate and Manage subtests. The range for individual subtests and total scores was wide. Scores for two of the seven subtests, Create and Evaluate, showed the greatest amount of variability; the Communicate subtest scores had the least. Conclusion – Limitations of the study include potential motivational differences between the groups. Students who completed workbook exercises appeared to be motivated to do well on the test, while those who did not seemed less motivated. The effectiveness of exercises in developing critical thinking skills in this study will persuade administrators to consider using such exercises in the classroom.

scholarly journals Supporting Teacher Candidates' Development of Critical Thinking Skills Through Dialogue and Reflection

2019 ◽  
pp. 211-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Thomas Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Support Teacher

This chapter employs a dialogic, sociocultural perspective to describe ways teacher educators can support teacher candidates as they develop the critical thinking skills needed to make the transition from student to teacher in contemporary classrooms in the United States. Data from a longitudinal qualitative study are used to examine the utility of problem-posing seminars and subsequent reflection as tools that can help English teacher candidates embrace the tension they encounter as competing ideologies both complicate and nurture their efforts to enact a student-centered framework for teaching. Specifically, participants' reflections on their efforts to employ dialogic approaches to teaching are explored in the context of standardized curricula and classroom settings. Data suggest that making dialogue and reflection key facets of teacher education programs creates conditions for critical thinking and creativity to flourish.

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