Browsing by Subject "Critical thinking"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Critical thinking: assessing the relationship with academic achievement and demographic factors
    (2014-05) Vierra, Robyn Wakalua
    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between critical thinking skills and academic performance, and to determine the degree to which demographic characteristics moderate the relationship. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test Middle School Series (CCTST-M series) was administered to assess critical thinking skill levels of students. Academic performance was measured by teacher assigned grades in core subject areas and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test. The demographic factors - gender, tenure at Shanghai American School (SAS), and Culture (native language serving as a proxy for culture data) - were self reported and crosschecked with student records. Data was collected from 297 eighth grade students at Shanghai American School, a high performing American international school located in Shanghai, China. One-Way ANOVA and Stepwise models were used to examine the relationship between each of the factors and critical thinking. Results showed that grades and MAP test scores were significant predictor variables for critical thinking skills, indicating a strong relationship between critical thinking skills and academic achievement. Gender and tenure at SAS did not yield significant results, and do not moderate the relationship with critical thinking skills. Initial analysis also found culture to be an insignificant variable, except when math performance was factored out, Confucian students scored lower than non-Confucian students in critical thinking. This variance suggests a discipline specificity of critical thinking within some cultures, while also supporting the idea of culturally specific conceptualizations of critical thinking. Additional analysis also identified a relationship between academic achievement and gender and culture. Females receive higher grades and score higher in the language usage portion of the MAP test. In the mathematics portion of the MAP test, males score higher than females and Confucian students score higher than non-Confucian students. Results indicate that academic achievement is closely tied with critical thinking and that some variation exists across cultures. Additional research is suggested to further study why these variations, along with differences in academic achievement, exist.
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    Utilization of School Forests in Minnesota
    (2012) Krause, Sharon L
    Multiple learning theories suggest outdoor education and environmental education are effective teaching tools for a variety of learners. They have been found to be especially effective when students are given the opportunity to do experiential work in an outdoor setting, strengthening students’ overall knowledge and critical thinking skills (Peacock, 2006). One resource for outdoor and environmental education is a school forest. Using schools which participate in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources School Forests Program, this study used survey research to investigate the use and rationale for using school forests by elementary teachers. This study identified positive motivational factors as well as barriers which make it difficult for teachers to utilize school forests more often. The results indicate school forests are underutilized and also offer some suggestions for ways to alleviate the barriers that keep teachers from using them more often.
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    Why do I think the way I do? Troubling the concept of critical thinking in pharmacy classrooms
    (2014-03) de Freitas, Erika Lourenço
    The pedagogical processes through which students are supposed to become more reflective are important for preparing critical thinkers in the healthcare field. The dynamics of knowledge production and acquisition is placing increasing demand on the ability to analyze information and integrate diverse sources of knowledge in solving complex problems. The concept of critical thinking has become paramount in the process of educating healthcare professionals in the practice of direct patient care. To date, however, there has been little engagement by institutions about what critical thinking means for the health care industry or how it can be effectively incorporated into educational curricula. Critical ethnography was the methodology chosen to help me understand how pedagogical practices influence students' development of critical thinking skills. I used participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews to examine how students, faculty and curriculum stakeholders navigate this subject at the College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota. Two semesters of fieldwork suggested that there is a subtle discrepancy between students' and faculty's perspectives when it comes to teaching and learning critical thinking skills in the classroom. The disconnection between teaching approaches and evaluation was pointed out as a factor that hindered critical thinking. Case studies, small group discussions and `experiential learning' were emphasized as pedagogical approaches that foster critical thinking learning, but there are factors associated with the classroom setting that may prevent them to fully achieve their goal. The knowledge that emerged from this study will allow educators to design learning activities to more effectively develop these essential skills in our future caregivers.