Refining the Art of Judgment Education: Evaluation of an Educational Case Study on Making Judgments About the Pros and Cons of COVID-19 Vaccination During the Pandemic

Abstract

We discussed the form of education that fosters rational judgment based on the selection and prioritization of a large amount of information. Specifically, we developed a lesson plan for fostering judgment skills focused on the theme of the pros and cons of COVID-19 vaccination for prevention. We sorted out the twelve requirements for classes from three perspectives: education for fostering judgment, risk education, and critical thinking education. Based on the extent to which the twelve requirements were reflected in the course design, the course was evaluated on two aspects: "A: education that promotes subjective judgment without scientific or logical errors" and "B: education to achieve desirable judgment through communication." As a result, it was evident from the questionnaire survey evaluation that B was sufficiently achieved. On the other hand, the effectiveness of A resulted in different outcomes between student questionnaire survey evaluations and instructor assessments of the reports. In other words, while the student survey indicated sufficient achievement, the instructor evaluation indicated that it was not sufficient. From this, it is inferred that some simplification is important at least as an educational practice in this university.