scholarly journals Aligning best practices to develop targeted critical thinking skills and habits

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 48-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilea Eskildsen Heft ◽  
Lauren F V Scharff

This project evaluated the effectiveness of a course design within an upper-level biology course that incorporated what prior scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research has suggested to be best practices for developing critical thinking skills while also managing the grading load on the instructor. These efforts centered on the development of a clearly articulated subset of skills identified by the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT) as well as incorporated learning experiences designed to instill what we refer to as a “habit of critical investigation.” In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a single semester of an aligned course utilizing active learning and multiple opportunities for practice and feedback would: (a) increase the extent to which students agreed with the importance of questioning the credibility of claims across the semester, (b) increase the frequency at which students reported personally questioning the credibility of claims across the semester, (c) increase the number of students reporting investigation techniques consistent with critical investigation across the semester and (d) result in significantly greater student performance on the CAT questions that assessed the sub-skills practiced in the course when compared to the performance of a representative group of senior students at our institution. We observed substantial and significant gains in both the frequency at which students reported questioning claims and the degree to which their reported investigative actions were consistent with critical investigation. Furthermore, on the critical thinking sub-skills most aligned with what was practiced in the course, the experimental group significantly outperformed the comparison group.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Wender ◽  
Valerie J. D’Erman

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.


2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Rachel Abraham ◽  
Subramanya Upadhya ◽  
Sharmila Torke ◽  
K. Ramnarayan

Medicine is an applied science, interpreting evidence and applying it to real life by using clinical reasoning skills and experience. COPT (clinically oriented physiology teaching) was incorporated in physiology instruction aiming to relate the study of physiology to real-life problems, to generate enthusiasm and motivation for learning, and to demonstrate the vocational relevance of physiology among students by integrating clinical experience with teaching. COPT consisted of two elements: 1) critical-thinking questions (CTQ) and 2) clinical case studies. After a few topics were taught, CTQ and case studies were given as an assignment. Answers were discussed in the next class. Two exams, each of which contained CTQ and recall questions, were conducted, one before ( exam 1) and one after ( exam 2) the implementation of COPT. Analysis of student performance in the examinations revealed that the students did better in exam 2 ( P < 0.0001). Feedback from students indicated that this method was useful and challenging.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44
Author(s):  
Nurul Hidayati ◽  
Elly Yustina ◽  
Sri Hendra Suryani ◽  
Juli Eka Nugraheni

The success of a teaching process cannot be separated from the learning tools used, one of the requirements is that the learning tools must be valid. The success of a teaching process is measured by the extent to which students can master the subject matter presented by the teacher. A learning model is needed that can make it easier to develop critical thinking skills so that a truly valid learning tool is obtained to measure the potential and skills that exist in students. Among the learning models that emphasize the process of seeking and finding is the inquiry model. This study aims to prepare in measuring critical thinking skills of Madrasah Tsanawiyah students. The Learning Toolkit has been validated by 3 experts and will then be averaged to find the final score. The values obtained will be entered into the validation criteria table based on the validation criteria table and the results are that the tools made are very valid and can be used in the teaching and learning process because previously the tools made have been revised several times. Keywords: validity, learning tools, critical thinking skills AbstrakKeberhasilan suatu proses pengajaran tidak terlepas dari perangkat pembelajaran yang digunakan, salah satu persyaratan adalah perangkat pembelajaran harus valid. Keberhasilan suatu proses pengajaran diukur dari sejauh mana siswa dapat menguasai materi pelajaran yang disampaikan guru. Diperlukan suatu model pembelajaran yang dapat memudahkan dalam mengembangkan perangkat keterampilan berpikir kritis sehingga didapatkan suatu perangkat pembelajaran yang benar-benar valid untuk mengukur potensi dan keterampilan yang ada pada diri siswa. Diantara model pembelajaran yang menekankan kepada proses mencari dan menemukan adalah model inkuiri. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempersiapkan dalam mengukur keterampilan berpikir kritis siswa Madrasasah Tsanawiyah. Perangkat Pembelajaran sudah divalidasi oleh 3 orang ahli kemudian akan dirata-ratakan untuk mencari nilai akhir. Nilai yang didapat akan dimasukkan ke dalam tabel kriteria validasi diberdasarkan tabel kriteria validasi dan hasilnya perangkat yang dibuat termasuk sangat valid dan dapat digunakan dalam proses belajar mengajar karena sebelumnya perangkat yang dibuat sudah dilakukan beberapa kali revisi.  Kata kunci: kevalidan, perangkat pembelajaran, keterampilan berpikir kritis


Author(s):  
Paul Kawachi

A multimedia construct for learning based on the Theory of Transactional Distance has been developed consisting of four stages of decreasing transactional distance. This model has been applied in various teaching and learning contexts, on- and off-line, and its validation was investigated. Results confirmed in practice the four distinct sequential stages. Difficulties were discovered in navigating through the collaborative second and third stages, consistent with findings from related studies on acquiring critical thinking skills. Specific areas for attention were identified to promote learning using multimedia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Irfan Tosuncuoglu

Developing the ability to think critically is vital component of real, meaningful teaching and learning. Critical thinking helps us solve problems, make decisions and reach our goals. Thinking is not a passive but an active process. If students’ critical thinking skills are activated, for example while writing, very successful results can be attained. It can be said that critical thinking can be considered in two respects: to achieve a goal and to make a decision. As for teaching, there is very little evidence that students at universities acquire the skills of critical thinking in their learning and teaching activities. In accordance with its important place of in learning and teaching periods, it has been a concept recently highlighted in the field of EFL, like in many other fields of education such as mathematics, history and geography. The skill of critical thinking plays a great role and it has been accepted as an important step in every area of teaching and learning, particularly nowadays due to developments cognition and intelligence. So, in order to understand the awareness of the students for critical thinking, an experiment was performed in the fall of AY 2017-18, with 79 students in Karabuk University, Turkey. In this study, the significance of critical thinking and result of the experiments were discussed in detail, it also shed light on the students’ perceptions of it.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 4004-4006
Author(s):  
Jamil Abd Baser ◽  
Rasidayanty Saion ◽  
Siti Salwa Ab Manap ◽  
Azman Hasan ◽  
Abdul Rasid Abdul Razzaq

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison R. Phillips ◽  
Amber L. Robertson ◽  
Janet Batzli ◽  
Michelle Harris ◽  
Sarah Miller

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis have become common techniques used in undergraduate molecular and cell biology labs. Although students enjoy learning these techniques, they often cannot fully comprehend and analyze the outcomes of their experiments because of a disconnect between concepts taught in lecture and experiments done in lab. Here we report the development and implementation of novel exercises that integrate the biological concepts of DNA structure and replication with the techniques of PCR and gel electrophoresis. Learning goals were defined based on concepts taught throughout the cell biology lab course and learning objectives specific to the PCR and gel electrophoresis lab. Exercises developed to promote critical thinking and target the underlying concepts of PCR, primer design, gel analysis, and troubleshooting were incorporated into an existing lab unit based on the detection of genetically modified organisms. Evaluative assessments for each exercise were aligned with the learning goals and used to measure student learning achievements. Our analysis found that the exercises were effective in enhancing student understanding of these concepts as shown by student performance across all learning goals. The new materials were particularly helpful in acquiring relevant knowledge, fostering critical-thinking skills, and uncovering prevalent misconceptions.


Author(s):  
Masniladevi Masniladevi

Learning activities in primary schools are still dominated by teachers, consequently the students' critical thinking skills are low. The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation and improvement of students' critical thinking skills on the characteristics of wake up flat by using Contextual teaching and learning model. The results showed an improvement in the observation of students' critical thinking skills as well as aspects of teachers and students. The students' critical thinking ability in cycle I was 69 and increased in cycle II to 86. The result of observation of student aspect in cycle I was 76.75% with good qualification, and increased in cycle II to 92% with excellent qualification. It was concluded that, Contextual Teaching And Learning model can improve students' mathematical critical thinking ability.Keywords: critical thinking skills; Contextual Teaching And Learning model


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1.SP) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Ha Thi CAO

In the social model, in order to live and work in a complex and competitive environment of the 21st century, students must be well-equipped with such important skills and qualifications, of which creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills are very necessary for learners in the future. In this paper, the researcher aims to focus on teachers’ competency of instruction for developing higher-order thinking skills (creativity, critical thinking skills) through teaching and learning Mathematics in Vietnam.


The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Framework-based Teaching (FBT) approach improves the critical thinking skill among accounting students at tertiary education level. This qualitative study is conducted using the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) approach, where reflections from lecturers ‘experience in teaching and learning process are gathered. Data are collected from both accounting lecturers and students who implemented the FBT approach using the inquiry-based learning technique in the financial accounting course. Data are analysed using content analysis. The results from the study indicate that, based on lecturers’ reflection, students are pushed to think in depth in classes using the inquiry based learning of the FBT approach. This is supported by students’ feedback on their own critical thinking ability. Thus, the FBT approach improves the critical thinking skills among accounting students. The implication of this study is the practicability of the FBT approach in teaching financial accounting course at university level in encouraging critical thinking skills.


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