Use of a Test of Logical Thinking With First-Year Physical Therapy Students: Classroom Performance Prediction, At-Risk Student Identification, and Change in Logical Thinking Ability

Abstract

Knowledge of physical therapy students' ability to think logically would be potentially useful information for admissions committees, academic and clinical instructors, and those responsible for enrichment programs. The purposes of this study were to determine whether first-year physical therapy students' performance on a test of logical thinking is correlated with basic science course grades or with performance on the Graduate Record Examination and to identify whether there was an improvement in their logical thinking ability after the first year in an entry-level master's degree program. The sample consisted of 80 first-year students whose logical thinking was measured by a previously validated test that was administered twice, initially before the first semester and then again 9 months later. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients, and the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. Findings indicated that preentry logical thinking test scores were not correlated with student performance in basic science courses and were weakly correlated with Graduate Record Examination performance. However, there was a significant improvement in logical thinking test scores (P<.001) after the first year of study. Logical thinking ability may be of help in learning basic science material; however, other skills and strategies appear to work equally well. The noticeable increase in students' logical thinking ability after the first year of professional study indicates that further study of various factors contributing to this cognitive change, including the impact of various instructional methods, is warranted.