Critical thinking evaluation in reflective writing: Development and testing of Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Reflection)

Development and psychometric testing of the Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Preceptor/Mentor version)

The article describes the methodology of the development of critical thinking of the individual in the conditions of the university. The essence, the hierarchy of the categories "criticism", "critical thinking" are analyzed from the philosophical, psychological and pedagogical points of view. The levels of development of critical thinking of future teachers (initial level, intermediate level, high level) are characterized. The content of the methodology for the development of critical thinking of future teachers is offered on the model of the elective course program "Fundamentals of critical thinking" for students of 2-3 courses of higher education institutions. The content of the elective course, which we offer in the article, covers several topics. These are: "the content of normative legal acts related to the development of critical thinking of future teachers"; the philosophical Genesis of the concept of "critical thinking"; psychological and pedagogical features of the development of critical thinking; the main categories of the concept of critical thinking ("criticism", "thinking", etc.); the concept of D.D. Kluster's The methodological significance of the development of critical thinking of the individual; the principles of the development of critical thinking through reading and writing; critical thinking – a means of forming a methodological base; identification of critical thinking, special diagnostics". The methodology proposed in the article is intended for students and university teachers, including 15 hours of lectures, 30 hours of practical classes.

Critical thinking skills in midwifery practice: Development of a self-assessment tool for students

Well-developed critical thinking skills are essential for autonomous midwifery practice but strategies to develop these skills are often not made explicit in undergraduate education. There is a dearth of studies investigating the development of critical thinking in undergraduate midwifery students and no published tools that specifically measure critical thinking in relation to midwifery practice. This program of work aimed to evaluate and measure midwifery students’ critical thinking skills in preparation for autonomous midwifery practice. The thesis is presented as a series of published and unpublished works, comprising of six sequential and interlinked studies with five overarching aims. The methodology used in this body of work was a sequential mixed methods design, where the data and results from one study provided a basis and direction for the next study. Initially, a pilot study examined the effectiveness of an innovative assessment item involving root cause analysis on the development of critical thinking abilities of undergraduate midwifery students. Although the results indicated that this assessment item increased critical thinking skills, only participants’ perceptions were measured and there was no validated measure of critical thinking. There was also no baseline and post-intervention measure of critical thinking to demonstrate causal effects of the teaching intervention. In recognition of the need to use robust, reliable and valid tools to measure critical thinking, the second study involved a systematic review of the literature. This review aimed to identify an appropriate tool to measure critical thinking in midwifery. The review is presented in two publications on 1) the reliability and validity of tools used to measure critical thinking in nursing and midwifery undergraduate students; and 2) the efficacy of teaching methods used to improve critical thinking in nursing and midwifery undergraduate education. These systematic literature reviews found no measures specifically for midwifery and no tools that measured the application of critical thinking in midwifery practice. Conclusions of the reviews established the need to develop discipline specific instruments to explicitly measure the application of critical thinking in midwifery practice. Given the complexity of critical thinking in midwifery practice, a multimethod approach to the measurement of students’ critical thinking was chosen. The next three studies involved the development, piloting and testing of three tools designed to measure critical thinking in midwifery practice for undergraduate midwifery students. The tools were named the Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (CACTiM) - (Preceptor/Mentor, Student, and Reflection). Psychometric testing of the three tools during each pilot study provided preliminary evidence that all tools were reliable and valid measures of critical thinking skills in midwifery practice. The final study aimed to further establish the validity and reliability of the three CACTiM tools. A matched cohort of students (n = 55) was used. Positive correlations were found between the three scales and student characteristics, including Grade Point Average, year level and previous qualifications. Results also indicated good reliability and concurrent validity. Critical thinking skills are vital for safe and effective midwifery practice. Assessment of midwifery students’ critical thinking development throughout their degree program makes these skills explicit, and could guide teaching innovation to address identified deficits. Adopting a multimethod approach to the measurement of critical thinking in midwifery captures the complexity of critical thinking in midwifery practice, and provides students with useful and objective feedback from multiple sources. The use of reliable, valid and freely available tools promotes and facilitates ongoing research into the development of critical thinking in education and practice. It is therefore recommended that the three CACTiM tools are implemented routinely and used in the longitudinal measurement of students’ critical thinking development throughout midwifery education programs. The tools could also be used to measure critical thinking for midwifery graduates and midwives in practice. Further testing of these tools with a larger, more diverse student sample is recommended.

The article highlights the methodical aspects of using technology for the development of students' critical thinking in lessons as a means of modernizing the process of teaching geography in general secondary education institutions. Emphasis is placed on the importance of critical thinking to prevent threats and risks of the information society. The presence of critical thinking is defined as the main condition for countering attempts to manipulate consciousness, disinformation, information attacks and wars, which are not uncommon in the modern information space. The history of the emergence of technology for the development of critical thinking, the development of its conceptual foundations by US scientists is briefly analyzed, as well as the state of research on the problem in Ukraine is outlined. The essence, characteristic features and parameters of critical thinking, its meaning, as well as the features of a person who possesses critical thinking are revealed. It is noted that the development of students' critical thinking is a priority task of the modern education system, which is reflected in the State Standard of Basic Secondary Education in terms of key competencies and comprehensive skills. The main attention is paid to the methodology of applying various methods and techniques for the development of critical thinking in the process of teaching geography. It is emphasized that the method of development of critical thinking involves the formation of students' ability to analyze information, formulate conclusions, express their own position, present arguments, solve problems, and make decisions. The main stages of a geography lesson with the use of technology for the development of critical thinking are outlined: challenge, comprehension, reflection. The didactic possibilities of debates and discussions, problem tasks, interactive methods of discussing debatable issues and situational modeling in the process of developing students' critical thinking in geography lessons are considered. It was concluded that the application of technologies for the development of critical thinking in the process of teaching geography will allow students to better understand the essence of geographical phenomena and processes, learn geographical laws, understand the problems of the modern world and realize the practical significance of geographical knowledge.

Critical thinking equips a person with the competencies needed and develops the power of the mind extensively. The development of critical thinking is known as an essential goal in educational systems. However, the assessment of critical thinking is not an easy feat. This study validated the critical thinking skills test in mathematics for senior high school students based on a model of critical thinking skills and learning areas of the K to 12 Mathematics Curriculum. The instrument validation process to 902 respondents through cluster sampling from different senior high schools. With an initial 45 items on three dimensions of critical thinking, the test's final form consisted of only 30 items after the items were screened based on the validation process. The content validation was carried out through an expert examination of the items and a comparison of the test results developed with Cornell's critical thinking for criterion-related validity evidence (r = 0.299, p < 0.01). Construct validation by factor analysis, and results generated 13 factors accounting for 58.51% of the variance. These results indicated that the developed mathematics critical thinking test measured other than the specified critical thinking skills model used. The developed test may try to assess students' critical thinking in the context of mathematics. Furthermore, this may contribute to promoting teaching and assessment strategies gears towards the development of students' mathematical critical thinking.

Summary. The article is devoted to the consideration of ideological transformations of worldview knowledge, directly related to the functioning of the public imagination and the formation of both group and individual identity. The comprehension of socio-cultural dynamics related to the situation of post-truth and the implementation of guidelines, strategies, techniques, practices and methodologies of critical thinking in the field of education are also considered. The aim of the article is to consider the phenomenon of post-truth in the modern information field in relation to the concept of critical thinking and their explications in the social institution of education. The main attention is paid to the philosophical understanding of these phenomena in the context of philosophical and anthropological measurement of trends in the socio-communicative sphere of human existence. Methodological principles are the philosophy of information, the development of the paradigm of transhumanism, the search for modern world theory and practice, social philosophy. The article considers the essential preconditions and consequences for the humanitarian sphere in general and education in particular the current state of affairs with insufficient philosophical articulation of the concepts of post-truth and critical thinking. Scientific novelty. The article proves the ambivalent nature of the correlation between the phenomenon of post-truth and the concept of critical thinking on the occasion of the social institution of education and the sphere of social imagination. Conclusions. Critical thinking, based solely on skepticism, has been found to function as a precondition and a meaning-destroying element of post-truth as a theoretical construct and cognitive mechanism. The threat of dehumanization of the problem field of modern humanities outside the actualization of symbolic and axiological bases of human identity, which is relevant for both scientific discourse and education, is emphasized. Emphasis is placed on the need for a humanistic reinterpretation of critical human thinking, expressed in its social activity, identity acquisition and self-actualization.

Indicators of the quality, competitiveness of general education are the educational results of students recognized in the world, corresponding to functional literacy, which includes, among other things, critical thinking of students. The purpose of the paper is to develop a technique for the development of students' critical thinking Critical analysis of the text and its rationale, a description of its practical application in the educational practice of a general education institution. Research methods include methods of theoretical and empirical research. The paper proposes the technique Critical analysis of the text, represented by a new list of questions, the rationale for which is carried out on the basis of 4 laws of logic, the criteria for selecting the content of education, which provide the possibility to develop techniques for the development of critical thinking of students. An example of using the technique "Critical analysis of the text" at the lesson of Conversations about the important issues is also given. An analysis of the achievements of experimental work related to the use of techniques for the development of critical thinking of students in the educational process made it possible to establish an increment in the experience of critical thinking of students, which gave reason to consider the developed techniques effective. The scientific novelty of the study includes the method of "critical analysis of the text", represented by a new list of questions developed on the basis of the theories of critical thinking and logic. The theoretical significance of the study is related to the substantiation of the list of questions for the "Critical analysis of the text" technique, carried out on the basis of the argumentation theory, with the development of criteria for selecting the content of education, on the basis of which it is possible to design multi-level tasks for the development of students' critical thinking. The practical significance of the results of the study is shown in the given example of using the method "Critical analysis of the text" in educational practice, in particular at the lesson of "Sport and Politics" ("Talk about the important"). The Critical Analysis of the Text method developed in the study, which determines the development of critical thinking of students, enriches the theory of pedagogical design and opens up new opportunities for its further development.

This paper examines issues relating to the concept of critical thinking, how to develop critical thinking abilities in students using Individualistic and Cooperative Learning Strategies to achieve powerful and effective Social Studies teaching. The study adopted the pre-test control group quasiexperimental design. A sample of 180 Junior Secondary School Class two (JSSII) students drawn from three secondary schools in Ekiti/West, Ikere and Ido-Osi Local Government Areas of Ekiti State Nigeria were selected for the study using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected with the use of an instrument titled ‘Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT)’. The instrument was validated and had a reliability coefficient of 0.84. Two hypotheses were tested for the study and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance; Scheffe Post-Hoc Analysis were also applied. The results show that there is significant difference in the critical thinking and decision-making ability levels between the experimental and control groups, however, subjects exposed to cooperative learning strategy had the highest adjusted mean scores. The paper therefore, recommended that Social Studies teachers should employ the use of Cooperative learning strategy in their teaching to enhance the development of critical thinking and decision- making abilities in learners.

Critical thinking has been identified as a key requirement for safe and competent practice for Nurse Practitioners. It has been suggested that it is the foundation for the development of clinical reasoning, diagnostic reasoning, and clinical judgement. Poorly developed critical thinking is linked to negative patient outcomes, diagnostic error, cognitive bias, and poor information processing. There is little literature that studies the teaching and learning activities that can be used in the development of critical thinking in Nurse Practitioners. The aim of this rapid review was to identify teaching and learning activities that promote critical thinking in Nurse Practitioners. A rapid review was conducted to identify studies that examined different teaching and learning activities that promoted the development of critical thinking or any of its subthemes such as clinical reasoning, diagnostic reasoning or clinical judgement. Four databases were systematically searched: CINAHL, Medline, Embase and ERIC. The methodology used was guided by the Cochrane Rapid Review Methods Group. Eligible papers included peer-reviewed publications that evaluated the efficacy or effectiveness of teaching or learning strategies used for the development or promotion of critical thinking or its components. The included populations were faculty teaching in a Nurse Practitioner programme, Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Practitioner students or graduate level nursing students. The search yielded 6421 article titles and abstracts. Of these, 12 were included in the final rapid review. Teaching and learning activities were divided into three themes: classroom, simulation, and written. Classroom activities included problem-based learning, unfolding case scenarios, self-explanation, and Socratic inquiry. Simulation was in the form of high fidelity using standardised patients, computer-based programmes, escape rooms and virtual reality. Written activities included concept mapping, evolving case studies and illness scripts. Study participants noted that using a combination of teaching and learning activities had the greatest impact on their development of critical thinking. There is limited knowledge on the effects of teaching and learning strategies on the development of critical thinking in nurse practitioners. This review offers a perspective on strategies that were most impactful for student nurse practitioners in their development of the different aspects of critical thinking. Simulation activities were the most researched and using it in combination with other activities was preferred by study participants. No patient or public contribution as this is a literature review.

The development of critical thinking is an important step in achieving the goals of holistic education, not only through helping students gain knowledge but above all through ensuring that they think effectively. The aim of this article is to explore the concept of critical thinking and to discuss possibilities to develop students' critical thinking. This article presents results of an experiment that was carried out in Vilnius Pedagogical University and designed to develop students' critical thinking skills and to strengthen their motivation to think critically. We investigated how a critical thinking development programme influenced students' critical thinking skills and motivation. Our programme of critical thinking is based on the ideas of humanistic psychology and meaningful learning, and the main learning methods deployed were based on co-operative learning. Our critical thinking development course significantly influenced all the measured components of the students' critical thinking skills and some components of their motivation. We discuss the result, draws conclusions and suggest recommendations.

Critical and creative thinking skills are the core of 21st century skills that learners must have to face global challenges. The ability to interpret, analyze, evaluate, inference, explanation, self regulation, think fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration can shows the level of their critical and creative thinking ability. The research aims to develop e-portofolio for enchancing the critical and creative thinking ability of 8th level students at Junior High School by soil pollution and waste management education. The research used a one-group pretest-posttest experimental design. The validity of e-portfolios consists of construct and content validity. The practicality of e-portfolios was assessed based on student response questionnaires. The effectiveness of the e-portfolio was assessed through a test designed to measure their critical and creative thinking skills. After the e-portfolio trial, a test was conducted to enable the improvement of critical and creative thinking skills. This study used the Research and Development (R&amp;D) method with the ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) which is limited to three stages namely analysis, product design and development. The validity assessment used expert judgement. The design of e-portfolio learning media involves elements that are in accordance with the indicators of critical and creative thinking by providing feedback, self-assessment, peer assessment, self-reflection. The data generated in this study is the validity of e-portfolios to measure critical and creative thinking skills. Based on the profile analysis of critical and creative thinking skills of SMP Negeri 8 Purwosari students, it was found that there was an increase in the percentage of critical thinking skills of grade VIII students from 73.08% in the very low category (19 students) to 88.46% in the very high category (21 students). It was also found that the percentage of creative thinking ability of the largest VIII grade students was 69.23% in the very low category (18 students) to 46.15% in the very high category (12 students) after using e-portfolios. This research developed e-portfolios as an innovative instrument that not only measures critical or creative thinking ability separately, but also learns both critical and creative thinking ability . In its implementation, the e-portfolio is designed to integrate various learning components, such as problem-based assignments, case studies, experiments and self-reflection that are relevant to practising critical and creative thinking skills. Keywords: critical thinking ability, creative thinking ability, e-portfolio, pancasila student profile.

BackgroundWell-developed critical thinking skills are required to provide midwifery care that is safe, evidence-based, and woman-centred. A valid, reliable tool to measure is required the application of critical thinking in midwifery practice. The Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (CACTiM) has previously been psychometrically assessed using classical methods at a single site. This study aims to further evaluate the properties of CACTiM tools using Rasch analysis in a diverse group of midwifery students and preceptors. MethodsThe CACTiM tools were completed by undergraduate midwifery students studying at three Australian universities and their preceptors. Midwifery students’ critical thinking was evaluated separately through student self-assessment and preceptor assessment and then matched. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate the validity of the tools. ResultsRasch analysis confirmed both the preceptor and student CACTiM tools demonstrated good reliability and unidimensionality. The items can differentiate between students’ ability to apply critical thinking in midwifery practice. Person reliability and item reliability were above .92 for both scales indicating excellent reliability and internal consistency. Several improvements were identified to the tools, including enhanced wording to some items, and reduction to a 5-point Likert scale. Through analysis of lower-scoring items, midwifery programs can identify curricula enhancements.ConclusionThe CACTiM student and preceptor tools are valid and reliable measures of critical thinking in midwifery practice. The tools can assess students’ critical thinking abilities and identify areas for development for individuals and across student cohorts through curricula enhancements.

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of use of fact-checking technologies for the development of critical thinking of social media users in training conditions. The main approaches to defining the concept of critical thinking, as well as some modern models of critical thinking, are considered. One of the promising areas of development of critical thinking is the fact-checking skills’ acquisition A methodology for assessing the readiness to recognize fakes and the ability to identify fake information is proposed (on the example of reports about SARS-CoV-2). The leading manipulation techniques used in the mass media and social networks to spread fakes about vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 have been identified. A training program for the development of comprehensive fact-checking skills is presented, which involves checking the authenticity of photos/images, video content, and verbal content. To consolidate fact-checking skills, it is suggested to use a web quest. The proposed program for the development of civic competence has been successfully tested. According to the results of diagnostics, it has been proven that mastering fact-checking technologies improves the ability to recognize fakes about vaccination and SARS-CoV-2, increases the resistance of social media users to manipulative influences, and has a positive effect on the development of their critical thinking. Prospects for further research consist of the approbation of comprehensive training and educational programs aimed at the development of critical thinking, as well as the improvement of diagnostic tools for the level of critical thinking’s formation in representatives of different age groups.

The article analyzes the role of critical thinking in professional growth, proves that critical thinking is an integral part of the professional competencies of future computer science teachers, an important component of modern higher education. The definition of the concept of critical thinking is clarified and presented in the author's interpretation as a type of thinking and evaluation activity, which is manifested in special skills that are formed in the process of professional training, and which are necessary for the effective solution of professional problems. The study outlines the principles of development of critical thinking and identifies four stages of development of critical thinking of future computer science teachers. The author of the article emphasizes the observance of certain pedagogical conditions in the process of forming students' critical thinking: taking into account age, level of educational achievements, available life experience. It was found that the basis of critical thinking is such qualities of the mind as curiosity, flexibility, depth, discipline, organization of mental activity, critical thinking, which must be developed in the future specialist. Based on the analysis of scientific sources and practical developments, it is proved that critical thinking is the key to the productive professional activity of future teachers in ensuring compliance with the requirements for mandatory learning outcomes of students in the field of informatics, self-improvement, reflection.