Use Of Critical Thinking Research Articles

The impact of assessment methods on the learning of nursing students

Assessment methods can influence the learning approaches of nursing students. Assessments designed to assess understanding rather than rote learning can contribute to a deep learning approach. Multiple-choice questions can be formulated at high cognitive levels for nursing assessments. This study aimed to examine the effect of high quality multiple-choice tests on the learning approaches of students enrolled in a mental health nursing course as measured by the revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F). Data were collected from 136 students in a higher diploma (HD) in nursing programme and 142 baccalaureate (BSN) nursing students. Two-step cluster analysis yielded three clusters represented by students who were predominantly deep, predominantly surface or intermediate in their orientation to learning. There was a general decrease in the deep learning score and an increase in the surface learning score of the students on the course, possibly related to the excessive workload in nursing studies. However, there was no direct association with multiple-choice assessment. The academic achievement of students correlated negatively with their surface learning approach. Students (n=31) in four focus group interviews believed that assessments constructed using scenario-based questions, simulated role-play situations and case studies could direct desired learning in order to facilitate their understanding of knowledge, their use of critical thinking, and their application of knowledge.

Using Critical Thinking in a Web-Based Public Budgeting Course

Although the use of Internet-based courses continues to grow in the field of public administration education, evidence about the use of critical thinking in Internet-based course discussion questions is still sparse. Studies suggest that many Internet-based courses fail to incorporate critical thinking into the discussion. This article examines use of critical thinking in an electronic Discussion Board in an internet-based course. The author finds that Discussion Questions, in conjunction with Case Assignments and examinations have the potential to provide a forum for developing critical thinking skills since students have more time to reflect on their response than they do in a regular classroom setting.

Nurses' Reported Thinking During Medication Administration

To document nurses' reported thinking processes during medication administration before and after implementation of point-of-care technology. Semistructured interviews and real-time tape recordings were used to document the thinking processes of 40 nurses practicing in inpatient care units in a large tertiary care teaching hospital in the northeastern US. Content analysis resulted in identification of 10 descriptive categories of nurses' thinking: communication, dose-time, checking, assessment, evaluation, teaching, side effects, work arounds, anticipating problem solving, and drug administration. Situations requiring judgment in dosage, timing, or selection of specific medications (e.g., pain management, titration of antihypertensives) provided the most explicit data about nurses' use of critical thinking and clinical judgment. A key element was nurses' constant professional vigilance to ensure that patients received their appropriate medications. Nurses' thinking processes extended beyond rules and procedures and were based on patient data and interdisciplinary professional knowledge to provide safe and effective care. Identification of thinking processes can help nurses to explain the professional expertise inherent in medication administration beyond the technical application of the "5 rights."

Assessment of Teachers’ Beliefs about Classroom Use of Critical-Thinking Activities

This article reports five studies in which a scale for assessing teachers’ beliefs about classroom use of critical-thinking (CT) activities was developed and its scores evaluated for reliability and validity. The Critical Thinking Belief Appraisal (CTBA) is based on a four-factor “advantage effect” model: the theoretical premise that teachers’ CT-related decision making is associated with their beliefs about the effectiveness of (a) high-CT activities for high-advantage learners, (b) high-CT activities for low-advantage learners, (c) low-CT activities for high-advantage learners, and (d) low-CT activities for low-advantage learners. Results indicated that the scale produced scores with high reliability; a stable factor structure; and satisfactory discriminant, construct, and predictive validity. The studies supported the theoretical and practical utility of the construct and measure of teachers’ beliefs about classroom use of CT activities.

Developmental Changes in Teachers' Beliefs About Critical-Thinking Activities.

Inservice, preservice, and prospective teachers and nonteacher controls (N = 408) participated in a cross-sectional study of the development of beliefs about use of critical-thinking (CT) activities with different learner populations. Teachers' self-selection of their careers was associated with strong support for high-CT activities for both high- and low-advantage learners. Preservice education was associated with reduced support for (a) high-CT activities for high-advantage learners and (b) low-CT activities for both learner populations. Inservice education and teaching experience were associated with slightly reduced support for high-CT activities for low-advantage learners. Preservice education seems a propitious time for promoting changes in CT-related beliefs. From the viewpoint of CT advocates, initiatives are needed to counter the apparent reductions in teachers' support for high-CT activities.

Targeting critical thinking within teacher education: The potential impact on society

Emphasizing critical thinking in teacher education could potentially increase society's effectiveness in addressing national and international problems. This linkage between teacher education and societal problem solving is predicated on three major possibilities: (a) Increased emphasis on critical thinking in teacher education will increase the emphasis on critical thinking in K‐12 education, (b) increased emphasis on critical thinking in K‐12 will lead to increased use of critical thinking within society, and (c) increased use of critical thinking among society's leaders and citizens will produce better problem solving at a societal level. The proposed linkage between teacher education and societal problem solving is anchored in three aspects of critical thinking: disposition toward critical thinking, cognitive skill in critical thinking, and information bases for critical thinking.

Links between Children’s Use of Critical Thinking and an Expert Teacher’s Teaching in Creative Dance

The purpose of this study was to describe how children’s use of critical thinking skills in their movement actions was inspired and elicited by an “expert” teacher’s task design, task presentation, and instructional strategies during children’s creative dance lessons. The data sources included videotaping 16 creative dance lessons and written anecdotal descriptions. The findings indicated that by presenting sequential open-ended tasks and learning cues and providing instructional scaffolding, the teachers helped the students generate divergent and original movement responses and refinement of dance quality and expression, which are critical thinking elements.

Twentieth–Century Furniture as Precedent: Creating a Dialogue between History and Design in Furniture Design Studio

Objective Within the accreditation standards of the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER), there is more emphasis on teaching individual knowledge categories than on course work that synthesizes and critically applies different knowledge types. This study explores a teaching method that helps students synthesize knowledge and use critical thinking when solving design problems. Research Design An undergraduate furniture design course provided a case study to examine how historically inspired projects improve students' abilities to critically apply various knowledge types to the design process. The course had 2 parts: a 6-week precedent project in which the students built a historic 20th-century furniture piece, using critical thinking to make connections between thinking, designing and making, and a 10-week design project in which the students applied new knowledge gained through this experience when designing and making their own furniture pieces. Analysis Students' design processes, their evaluations of the course, and comments by outside reviewers were used to qualitatively assess the project's effectiveness. Key Findings The analysis confirmed that the precedent project helped improve students' use of critical thinking when designing. Conclusion Although critical thinking plays an important role in the design process and scholars believe that this ability is a valuable competency for professionals, FIDER does not explicitly evaluate this area of instruction. Explicit evaluation of how interior design programs teach critical thinking as part of design problem solving could encourage educators to focus instruction on developing this valuable skill.

Stimulating adult development in the workplace through critical thinking

The workplace often requires the use of critical thinking which, in turn, may stimulate certain aspects of adult development. This article proposes several characteristics of critical thinking that may contribute to adult development as it occurs in the workplace. The concepts considered apply to managers and workers in a variety of situations.

Enhancing Critical-Thinking Skills

The enhancement of critical-thinking skills empowers students to participate in the building of healthy environments in a variety of settings. The authors describe the development and implementation of unique classroom strategies emphasizing the use of critical thinking by students, the forging of faculty-student partnerships in community health nursing, and the potential impact of these strategies on the expanding horizons of practice.

Case Study: Effect of the Critical Thinking Approaches to Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools of Bahrain

Summary An experimental study is described in which a comparison was made between groups of Bahraini secondary school teachers and students of English. The study considers benefits from approaches developed by the researcher, with a view to training the teachers on critical thinking approaches. The use of critical thinking produces significant gains in learning when compared with conventional teaching that does not use critical thinking approaches. These differences are also seen in the attainment of analysis and synthesis skills (higher order cognitive skills), for example, critical thinking such as case‐study. The significance of these results is discussed in terms of designing new techniques in learning and teaching processes, and of the students’ performance in the classroom.