California Critical Thinking Skills Test Research Articles

Predicting Physics Achievement of 11th - grade Students through Critical and Logical Thinking Skills

The purpose of this study was to measure the extent to which critical thinking skills and logical thinking skills predicted the achievement in physics of 11th - grade students in Gaza. To this end, (215) students participated in the study. California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT), were used as data collection tools in the study. Data were analyzed by multiple stepwise regression analysis. Results indicated that the students’ scores of probabilistic reasoning and proportional reasoning (as logical thinking skills), and inference (as critical thinking skill) were significant predictors of physics achievement scores, explaining (15.7%) of the variance of physics achievement scores. In addition, findings indicated that the best predictor was probabilistic reasoning, explaining (9.2 %) of the variance. The study recommended that a physics curriculum should involve thinking skills, which predict students’ achievement in physics.

Correlations Between Critical Thinking, Self-esteem, Educational Status, and Demographic Information of Medical Students: A Study from Southwestern Iran

Background: Critical thinking and individual characteristics are essential components of conscious decision-making and professional competence in medical students. The critical thinking abilities of medical students have a significant impact on their professional decision-making process. It may have direct and indirect consequences on the quality of medical care. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between self-esteem, demographic information, educational status, and critical thinking of medical students. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 medical students in 2019. Data were collected using California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Quantitative variables were expressed as the mean and standard deviation and frequency and percentage were used to describe the qualitative variables. Results: The results of the study revealed that 332 (87.4%) of the medical students who participated in the study had a negative inclination towards critical thinking, and 48 (12.6%) had an ambivalent inclination. The average self-esteem score of the students was 3.09 ± 3.35. Moreover, there was a positive and significant correlation between critical thinking scores and self-esteem in medical students (correlation coefficient = 0.848; P < 0.001). An increase in the grade level increased the critical thinking score of the students. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between overall scores of critical thinking with students' age, gender, marital status, and place of residence. Conclusions: In the current study, critical thinking scores of medical students were lower than average level and weak, and there was a direct and positive relationship between critical thinking and self-esteem. Given the importance of critical thinking abilities in the clinical decision-making process, university educators are expected to pay more attention to developing this skill in medical students.

Effects of a curriculum integrating critical thinking on medical students’ critical thinking ability in Iran: a quasi-experimental study.

PurposeImproving physicians’ critical thinking abilities could have meaningful impacts on various aspects of routine medical practice, such as choosing treatment plans, making an accurate diagnosis, and reducing medical errors. The present study aimed to measure the effects of a curriculum integrating critical thinking on medical students’ skills at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.MethodsA 1-group pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design was used to assess medical students’ critical thinking abilities as they progressed from the first week of medical school to middle of the third year of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Fifty-six participants completed the California Critical Thinking Skills Test twice from 2016 to 2019.ResultsMedical students were asked to complete the California Critical Thinking Skills Test the week before their first educational session. The post-test was conducted 6 weeks after the 2 and half-year program. Out of 91 medical students with a mean age of 20±2.8 years who initially participated in the study, 56 completed both the pre- and post-tests. The response rate of this study was 61.5%. The analysis subscale showed the largest change. Significant changes were found in the analysis (P=0.03), evaluation (P=0.04), and inductive reasoning (P<0.0001) subscales, but not in the inference (P=0.28), and deductive reasoning (P=0.42) subscales. There was no significant difference according to gender (P=0.77).ConclusionThe findings of this study show that a critical thinking program had a substantial effect on medical students’ analysis, inductive reasoning, and evaluation skills, but negligible effects on their inference and deductive reasoning scores.

A Pilot Study Investigating the Effect of the Supervision-Questioning-Feedback Model of Supervision on Stimulating Critical Thinking in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the supervision-questioning-feedback (SQF) model of supervision on critical thinking in graduate students studying speech-language pathology. The researchers hypothesized that students who were provided with the SQF model of supervision would score higher than students who received the non-SQF (NSQF) style of supervision on the selected critical thinking measures. Method Seventeen out of 24 first semester graduate students in speech-language pathology completing their on-site university-based clinical practicum experience consented to participate in the study. Of the 17 participating first semester students, 9 were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 SQF trained supervisors, and the other 8 were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 NSQF trained supervisors for the duration of 1 semester. Additionally, 3 out of 24 fourth semester graduate students completing their off-site externship experience and their supervisors consented to participate in the study. Four additional study participants served as independent SQF-trained raters charged with the task of analyzing video recorded student-supervisor conferences to determine whether the SQF model of supervision was being implemented. Prior to and at the conclusion of the clinical experience, all participating students completed two measures of critical thinking: (1) California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and (2) two Simucase® clinical simulations. At the conclusion of the clinical experience, seventeen out of 20 participating students (11/12 SQF students and 6/8 NSQF students) completed a post-survey rating their supervisory experience . Results For participating first semester students, there were no overall statistically significant differences between SQF and NSQF groups as measured by pre to post completion of (1) CCTST (p=.544) and (2) two Simucase® clinical simulations (p=.781). The 3 participating fourth semester students who received the SQF model of supervision also showed no statistically significant differences on pre to post completion of the (1) CCTST (p=.827) and (2) two Simucase® virtual cases (p=.879). Results from SQF ratings revealed variability in the implementation of the SQF model across supervisors with a moderate level of inter-rater agreement. Results from post surveys completed by students showed that students preferred the SQF model of supervision over the NSQF model (p=.044). Conclusion Results from this preliminary study indicated that the SQF model did not influence the overall outcomes on the selected critical thinking measures. Student preference for the SQF model may support existing evidence that learning clinicians want to be actively engaged in the supervisory process. There were several limitations to this study including the small sample size, variability in the implementation of the SQF model across supervisors, sensitivity of the selected critical thinking measures, and timing of post-intervention procedures. Further investigation of the effects of SQF on students’ critical thinking is warranted.

Innovative Pedagogical Strategies of Streaming, Just-in-Time Teaching, and Scaffolding: A Case Study of Using Videos to Add Business Analytics Instruction Across a Curriculum

Aim/Purpose: Business analytics is a cross-functional field that is important to implement for a college and has emerged as a critically important core component of the business curriculum. It is a difficult task due to scheduling concerns and limits to faculty and student resources. This paper describes the process of creating a central video repository to serve as a platform for just in time teaching and the impact on student learning outcomes. Background: Industry demand for employees with analytical knowledge, skills, and abilities requires additional analytical content throughout the college of business curriculum. This demand needs other content to be added to ensure that students have the prerequisite skills to complete assignments. Two pedagogical approaches to address this issue are Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and scaffolding, grounded in the Vygoskian concept of “Zone of Proximal Development. Methodology: This paper presents a case study that applies scaffolding and JiTT teaching to create a video repository to add business analytics instruction to a curriculum. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and Major Field Test (MFT) scores were analyzed to assess learning outcomes. Student and faculty comments were considered to inform the results of the review. Contribution: This paper demonstrates a practical application of scaffolding and JiTT theory by outlining the process of using a video library to provide valuable instructional resources that support meaningful learning, promote student academic achievement, and improve program flexibility. Findings: A centrally created library is a simple and inexpensive way to provide business analytics course content, augmenting standard content delivery. Assessment of learning scores showed an improvement, and a summary of lessons learned is provided to guide implications. Recommendations for Practitioners: Pedagogical implications of this research include the observation that producing a central library of instructor created videos and assignments can help address knowledge and skills gaps, augment the learning of business analytics content, and provide a valuable educational resource throughout the college of business curriculum. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper examines the use of scaffolding and JiTT theories. Additional examination of these theories may improve the understanding and limits of these concepts as higher education evolves due to the combination of market forces changing the execution of course delivery. Impact on Society: Universities are tasked with providing new and increasing skills to students while controlling the costs. A centrally created library of instructional videos provides a means of delivering meaningful content while controlling costs. Future Research: Future research may examine student success, including the immediate impact of videos and longitudinally using video repositories throughout the curriculum. Studies examining the approach across multiple institutions may help to evaluate the success of video repositories. Faculty acceptance of centrally created video libraries and assignments should be considered for the value of faculty recruiting and use in the classroom. The economic impact on both the university and students should be evaluated.

Teachers’ use of Bloom’s higher order questions in class to augment EFL learners’ listening comprehension and critical thinking ability

Abstract The current emphasis on questioning techniques has inspired many EFL teachers to explore the impact of applying different pedagogical teaching strategies on the enhancement of thinking skills. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the influence of using higher order questioning technique on the listening comprehension achievement and critical thinking ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To reach this end, 40 participants in 4 intact classes in Kish Air Language institute in Mashhad were selected and divided in two groups to be assigned into experimental and control group. The experimental group received higher order questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy classification for 12 sessions. A pretest and a posttest of English listening comprehension test of TOEFL (TOEFL PBT) and California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST) were administrated in both groups. 2 Independent sample t-tests were utilized to examine the data. Sample t-tests were run to compare the experimental and the control group means on the pretest and posttest of listening comprehension and critical thinking tests. The results surmised that there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores regarding listening comprehension and critical thinking in the experimental group. The results imply that using higher order questions as an instructional technique can enhance learners’ listening comprehension achievement and critical thinking ability.

The Critical Thinking Skills of Practicing Family Physicians: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Critical thinking (CT) skills are an important aspect of clinical reasoning and diagnosis. The goals of this study were to (1) examine levels of CT skills of practicing family physicians, (2) compare the CT skills of practicing family physicians to family medicine residents, and (3) identify individual variables and practice characteristics predictive of CT skills. . We used a population-based, cross-sectional design to compare practicing and resident family physicians and examine the predictors of CT skills in practicing family physicians. Sixty-two practicing family physicians were recruited across Canada. We used data from 59 family medicine residents at a single institution in Canada. We used the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) to measure CT skills. We analyzed data using descriptive and univariate analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple linear regression. CT skills were further examined in follow-up analysis using polynomial regression. Residents performed better than practicing physicians on nearly all aspects of CT (P&lt;.005). Age was the strongest predictor of CT skills in practicing physicians (P&lt;.005); CT skills declined with age as a quadratic function (P&lt;.005). As a group, practicing family physicians exhibited lower scores on the CCTST compared to family medicine residents. CT skills showed a decline with age, accelerating after approximately age 60 years. The results of the study have implications for continuing education and assessment of physicians' clinical skills. Further research is required to better understand what other predictors may be important for CT skills of practicing family physicians.

Behavioral Skills Outcome of Technical Education Students Engaged in Cooperative Learning

This study determined the behavioral skill outcome of technical education students engaged in cooperative learning. Specifically, the study sought to identify the effects of cooperative learning on technical education student’s communication skill, problemsolving skill and critical thinking skill. There were three research questions posed, and the analysis was driven by three null hypotheses tested at (P&lt;.05) level of significance. It has adopted a quasi-experimental design for the study and intact classes were assigned to treatment groups. The study's population was 41 students of Technical Education (TE), consisting of 41 year 3 students of Industrial Technical Education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which was the treatment group allocated to the teaching method of cooperative learning. The instrument used for data collection was the self-assessment inventory of communication skills (CSSAI), the inventory of problem-solving skills (PSSI), and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). Three technical education experts had subjected the instruments to face and content validation. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the study questions while Paired-sample t-test was used to answer the null hypotheses. Findings showed, among others, that there is a significant difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores taught by Automobile Lighting System students who use cooperative learning in terms of behavioral skill outcome. Among others, it was proposed that technical education teachers be encouraged to use the cooperative learning method in teaching automotive lightening program.

Critical thinking skills in intensive care and medical-surgical nurses and their explaining factors

Critical thinking affects patient safety in critical situations. Nurses, in particular, intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, need to develop their critical thinking skills. The present article seeks to compare the level of critical thinking in medical-surgical and ICU nurses and investigate the factors explaining it. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 medical-surgical and ICU nurses (60 per group). Data were collected using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and analyzed in SPSS-16 using independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and the regression analysis. The mean critical thinking score was 8.68 ± 2.84 in the ICU nurses and 9.12 ± 2.99 in the medical-surgical nurses. No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of the critical thinking score and the scores of its domains. The results of the regression analysis showed that demographic variables explain only 8% of the variations in critical thinking score, as only gender explains nurses' critical thinking score. The results revealed poor critical thinking scores in the nurses working in medical-surgical wards. Investigating the reasons for the poor scores obtained and using educational strategies such as PBL, conceptual map, participation in interdisciplinary rounds, the development of clinical guidelines and participation in continuing education conferences are recommended for developing critical thinking skills in nurses.

How Much Difference Can We Make? Assessing the Change in Students’ Critical Thinking in a Private Political Science Program in Egypt

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to determine the change in students’ levels of critical thinking (CT) through comparing the results of second- and fourth-year students. The study also investigates the factors that are statistically significant in explaining the change, if any, in students’ CT. In doing that, the study determines whether or not the use of assessment criteria that encourage CT influences or triggers any change in students’ CT. The study employs mixed methods, combining quantitative methods with qualitative ones. Quantitative data were collected using the California CT Skills Test in order to investigate the change in students’ levels of CT. Quantitative data were complemented with reflective judgment interviews, which were used to obtain more in-depth responses from the students. The study finds that the levels of students’ CT increased from 0 percent in year two to 18 percent in year four. The qualitative research revealed very good performance for fourth-year students in interpretation, evaluation, inference, self-regulation and recognition of their own biases. It also showed minimal reliance on religious texts in discussing gender equality. Variables such as school GPA, non-Egyptian high school degree, and independent learning were found statistically significant to higher levels of CT. Despite its pilot nature, this study provides some insight into the levels of CT in private political science programs in Egypt while investigating the most or least statistically significant variables. Identifying the most statistically significant variables informs researchers, practitioners, and education policy makers about what to prioritize for better CT among students.

Testing a diabetes keotacidosis simulation in critical care nursing: A randomized control trial

BackgroundIntegrating high fidelity simulation while teaching diabetes ketoacidosis would ensure a controlled therapeutic milieu for nursing students to practice. PurposeTo evaluate the effectiveness of simulation teaching intervention for diabetes ketoacidosis in critical care nursing for undergraduate students’ in a public university. MethodsA simple, two-arm (parallel) randomized controlled trial was conducted in a national public university. A total of 164 nursing students were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. The simulation group (N = 82) participated in the diabetes ketoacidosis high-fidelity simulation teaching intervention compared to the control group (N = 82) who were exposed to patient assignments on a clinical day on an acute medical unit. The primary outcomes were assessed using the Student Satisfaction and Self Confidence in Learning, Simulation Design Scale, Educational Practice Questionnaire, Critical Thinking Skills Tool and California Critical Thinking Skill Test from 2015 to 2016. ResultsThe students in the randomized control trial have had significantly higher scores on Student Satisfaction, and Self Confidence in Learning, Simulation Design, Educational Practice, Critical thinking skills and Critical Thinking Skill post-test mean scores. Younger age groups who had higher satisfaction had better self-confidence and a positive perception of the simulation design and education practice, which reflected better learning outcomes in the simulation group compared to the control group. ConclusionsThis study supports the use of high-fidelity simulation scenarios as a teaching-learning strategy that is useful for students to assess, plan, intervene and evaluate in emergencies like diabetes ketoacidosis.

MEASUREMENT OF GENERAL CRITICAL THINKING IN UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

ABSTRACT Objective: to compare the levels of general critical thinking and the skills or cognitive attributes involved, individually measured during the training of undergraduate nursing students, through a teaching intervention using Concept Maps. Method: an experimental, randomized, double-blind study with before and after design, conducted with 77 undergraduate nursing students. The research subjects were randomized to the control (38) and experiment (39) groups and both participated in a course on Advanced Life Support in Cardiology for a period of five weeks, when the intervention was the construction of four concept maps. Data collection took place through a sociodemographic questionnaire and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) before and after the course and after in order to measure critical thinking. Results: sociodemographic data confirmed that the groups had similar characteristics. After the intervention using the concept maps, the mean pre-and post-test general critical thinking averages were classified as moderate and showed no statistically significant difference. The t-test for paired samples showed a significantly increased Evaluation skill score (p-value of 0.022) in the posttest for the experiment group. Conclusion: the use of the teaching strategy with construction of the concept maps performed well in the promotion of General Critical Thinking and its abilities. Teaching strategies based on constructivist theories should be encouraged as they play a significant role in improving student learning and critical thinking.

Impact of Peer-Led Team Learning and the Science Writing and Workshop Template on the Critical Thinking Skills of First-Year Chemistry Students

The Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and the Science Writing and Workshop Template (SWWT) are two active learning instructional approaches which combine writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reflection, elements which have been associated with critical thinking development. In this study, we used a quasi-experimental pretest–post-test design to investigate the impact of the implementation of these two approaches on the critical thinking skills of first-year chemistry students, measured using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). The results indicate that implementation of the PLTL and the SWWT instructional strategies led to significantly higher gains in critical thinking.

Life Science Undergraduate Mentors in NE STEM 4U Significantly Outperform Their Peers in Critical Thinking Skills.

The development of critical thinking skills in recent college graduates is keenly requested by employers year after year. Moreover, improving these skills can help students to better question and analyze data. Consequently, we aimed to implement a training program that would add to the critical thinking skills of undergraduate students: Nebraska Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math 4U (NE STEM 4U). In this program, undergraduates provide outreach, mentoring, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to K–8 students. To determine the impacts of serving as an undergraduate mentor in this program on critical thinking, we compared undergraduate mentors (intervention group) with nonmentor STEM majors (nonintervention, matched group) using the valid and reliable California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) as a pre/post measurement. Importantly, before the intervention, both NE STEM 4U mentors and nonmentor undergraduates scored similarly overall on the CCTST. However, the posttest, carried out one academic year later, indicated significant gains in critical thinking by the NE STEM 4U mentors compared with the nonmentors. Specifically, the math-related skills of analysis, inference, and numeracy improved significantly in mentors compared with nonmentors.

The Relationship Between Critical Thinking, its Subscales and Academic Achievement of English Language Course: The Predictability of Educational Success Based on Critical Thinking

Among the factors influencing students’ educational performance of English language course, critical thinking is thought to be of crucial importance. Thus, the present study set out to explore the relationship between critical thinking, its subscales and English language achievement. Also, the predictability of English language proficiency based on critical thinking was investigated. The statistical population included all eleventh grade female students in district one of Zanjan city in the academic year of 2018-2019 with1400 people. The statistical sample was300 people based on Cochran’s formula. A multi-stage random sampling method was used to select the participants. The design of the study was ex-post facto design. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test, Form B was used to assess students’ critical thinking ability. The participants’ scores of English language course at the end of the first semester were considered as a criterion for their English language proficiency. The results of the correlation analyses revealed that critical thinking and its subscales correlated significantly with academic achievement (p=0.0). Also, based on regression tests, it was revealed that English language proficiency is predictable based on critical thinking. The findings of this study would be beneficial for students, teachers, schools and educational officials.

Educational intervention to improve critical thinking for undergraduate nursing students: A randomized clinical trial.

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Problem Based Learning (PBL) versus PBL associated with the Active Learning Model for Critical Thinking (ALMCT) to improve critical thinking (CT) in nursing students in an educational intervention on Basic Life Support (BLS). A two-arm randomized, single-blinded, parallel clinical trial was carried out with 108 Brazilian undergraduate nursing students who participated in a BLS course. PBL+ALMCT was used in the control group (CG), and PBL was used in the experimental group (EG). Pre- and post-tests were used to evaluate CT dispositions using the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI), and CT skills were evaluated using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). The results did not indicate significant differences between the CG and EG groups for total CCTDI and total CCTST scales and for most of their subscales. However, there was a significant difference in the EG when the mean scores on the pre- and post-test were compared on the CCTDI analyticity subscale (t=2073; p=0.043) and on the CCTST analysis subscale (t=2302; p=0.025). We strongly recommend further studies using PBL associated with ALMCT and randomized clinical trials that last more than one month.

Theoretical frameworks and instruments for evaluation of critical thinking in nursing and education.

To identify theoretical frameworks and instruments for the evaluation of critical thinking to base studies in nursing and education. Integrative review, with a selection of scientific articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, in the LILACS, SCIELO, IBECS, MEDLINE/PubMed and SCOPUS databases, using the descriptors "thought", "teaching" and "nursing" in Portuguese and English. The search resulted in 3,147 articles, and 23 papers published between 2010 and 2015 were selected. Fourteen (60.2%) studies used the Facione framework and eight (34.4%) resorted to different critical thinking assessment tools applied in nursing and education. Most studies used the Facione framework. Among the evaluation tools, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal stood out as the most common instruments; both focus on cognitive skills in critical thinking.

Research Trends and Features of Critical Thinking Studies in E-Learning Environments: A Review

This study investigates critical thinking (CT) studies in e-learning settings to provide a comprehensive analysis of CT studies. Research indexed in the Web of Science database which includes major peer-reviewed social sciences citation index journals in the e-learning field from January 2006 to November 2017 was searched for a systematic review and analysis. A total of 42 studies were selected and synthesized. The distribution of publishing years, geographical areas, education sectors, publications, disciplines, research methods, activities, CT measurement instruments, teaching instruction, the CT roles applied in the studies, and the experiment durations were reviewed. The results showed that most CT studies were conducted in nontraditional teaching environments using strategies such as online discussion or concept mapping; the most used quantitative method was the California critical thinking skills test (CCTST), whereas the most frequently adopted qualitative method was the practical inquiry model of cognitive presence (PIMCP). The common method to enhance students’ CT was online synchronous or asynchronous discussion, and the role that CT played in these studies was as a dependent variable for evaluating whether the designed e-learning instruction(s) can cultivate CT. This study concludes that with active learning instruction and experienced tutor facilitation, students’ CT could be enhanced in a variety of e-learning environments.

Development of critical thinking in health professions education: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

IntroductionWhile reports of critical thinking exist in the health professions literature, development of critical thinking across a broad range of health-professions students has not been systematically reviewed. MethodsIn this meta-analysis, multiple databases and journals were searched through February 2016 to identify longitudinal studies using standardized tests of critical thinking [California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT), and Defining Issues Test (DIT)] in any language. Two reviewers extracted information and collected information regarding primary author, publishing journal, health profession, critical thinking test, and time1/time2 means and standard deviations. Standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported using a random-effects model. ResultsFour hundred sixty-two studies were screened, and 79 studies (representing 6884 students) were included. Studies contained 37 CCTST, 22 DIT, and 20 HSRT. Health professions comprised nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine, dental hygiene, clinical laboratory sciences, and allied health. Cohen's kappa was strong (0.82) for inter-reviewer agreement. Both the CCTST (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.23–0.52) and DIT (SMD = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.18–0.39) demonstrated significant increases in total scores, but the HSRT (SMD = 0.03, 95%CI = −0.05–0.12) did not show improvement. Discussion/ConclusionsIn this meta-analysis, students from the majority of health professions consistently showed improvement in development of critical thinking. In this diverse population, only the CCTST and DIT appeared responsive to change.

Nurse educators' critical thinking: A mixed methods exploration

Nurse educator's critical thinking remains unexamined as a key factor in the development of students' critical thinking. ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to understand how nurse educators reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting while supervising students. DesignThis study uses a single-phase triangulation mixed methods design with multiple data gathering techniques. Participants/SettingsParticipants for this study are clinical nurse educators from a large Western Canadian baccalaureate nursing program who teach 2nd or 3rd year students in medical-surgical settings. MethodsParticipants for this study completed a demographic survey, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), participant observation in a clinical practice setting, and semi-structured interviews. ResultsThe results from the California Critical Thinking assessments (CCTST and CCTDI) show that participants are positively inclined and have a moderate to strong ability to think critically, similar to other studies. Participants find it difficult to describe how they reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting, yet all participants use role modeling and questioning to share their critical thinking with students. When the quantitative and qualitative results are compared, it is apparent that the confidence in reasoning subscale of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test is higher in those educators who more frequently demonstrate and voice engagement in reflective activities. Dispositions associated with critical thinking, as measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, are more easily observed compared to critical thinking skills. ConclusionsThis study is a beginning exploration of nurse educators' critical thinking-in-action. Our mixed methods approach uncovers a valuable approach to understanding the complexity of nurse educators' critical thinking. Further study is needed to uncover how nurse educators' can specifically enact their thinking abilities to support student learning in the clinical setting.