This study assesses the effectiveness of critical thinking drills (CTDs), a repetitious classroom activity designed to improve methodological and statistical thinking in relation to psychological claims embedded in popular press articles. In each of four separate CTDs, students critically analyzed a brief article reporting a recent psychological study by answering a set of 10 critical thinking questions in relation to it. Student responses were subsequently self-scored through an instructor-led discussion session. Results showed that the average CTD score increased linearly between the first and final assessment. These results suggest that critical thinking in relation to scientific claims found in secondary source material can be successfully taught and quantitatively assessed.
AbramiP. C.BernardR. M.BorokhovskiE.WademA.SurkesM. A.TamimR.ZhangD. (2008). Instructional interventions affecting critical thinking skills and dispositions: A stage 1 metaanalysis. Review of Educational Research, 78, 1102–1134. doi:10.3102/0034654308326084
2.
AdamA.MansonT. (2014). Using a pseudoscience activity to teach critical thinking, Teaching of Psychology, 41, 130–134. doi:10.1177/0098628314530343
3.
ArumR.RoksaJ. (2010). Academically adrift. Limited learning in college classrooms. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
4.
BensleyD. A.CroweD. S.BernhardtP.BucknerC.AllmanA. L. (2010). Teaching and assessing critical thinking skills for argument analysis in psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 37, 91–96. doi:10.1080/00986281003626656
5.
BlessingS. B.BlessingJ. S. (2010). PsychBusters: A means of fostering critical thinking in the introductory course. Teaching of Psychology, 37, 178–182. doi:10.1080/00986283.2010.488540
6.
BloomB. S.EngelhartM. D.FurstE. J.HillW. H.KrathwohlD. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York, NY: David McKay.
7.
ChanceP. (1986). Thinking in the classroom: A review of programs. New York, NY: Instructors College Press.
8.
European Higher Education Area. (2011). The official Bologna Process website 2010-2012. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ehea.info/
9.
FalchikovN.BoudD. (1989). Student self-assessment in higher education: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 59, 395–430. doi:10.3102/00346543059004395
10.
GlaserM. (1941). An experiment in the development of critical thinking. New York, NY: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
HalpernD. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53, 449–455. doi:10.1037/ 0003-066X.53.4.449
13.
HuberC. R.KuncelN. R. (2015). Does college teach critical thinking? A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86, 1–38. doi: 10.3102/0034654315605917
14.
KingA. (1994). Roads to empowerment: Teaching and learning critical thinking through questioning. In HalpernD. (Ed.), Changing college classrooms: New teaching and learning strategies for an increasingly complex world (pp. 13–38). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
15.
KingA. (1995). Designing the instructional process to enhance critical thinking across the curriculum. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 13–17. doi:10.1207/s15328023top2201_5
16.
KuK. Y. L. (2009). Assessing students’ critical thinking performance: Urging for measurements using multi-response format. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2, 70–76. doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2009.02.001
17.
LehmanD. R.NisbettR. E. (1990). A longitudinal study of the effects of undergraduate training on reasoning. Developmental Psychology, 26, 431–442. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.26.6.952
18.
McLeanC. P.MillerN. A. (2010). Changes in critical thinking skills following a course on science and pseudoscience: A quasiexperimental study. Teaching of Psychology, 37, 85–90. doi:10.1080/00986281003626714
19.
OrtizC. M. A. (2007). Does philosophy improve critical thinking skills?Unpublished master’s thesis, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
20.
PascarellaE. T.TerenziniP. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
21.
PascarellaE. T.TerenziniP. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
22.
PaulR.NosichR. (1992). A model for the national assessment of higher order thinking. In RichardW. Paul (Ed.), Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World, Second Edition (pp. 78–123). Santa Rosa, CA: The Foundation for Critical Thinking.
23.
PenningrothS. L.DespainL. H.GrayM. J. (2007). A course designed to improve psychological critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 34, 153–157. doi:10.1080/00986280701498509
24.
SadlerP. M.GoodE. (2006). The impact of self-and peer-grading on student learning, Educational Assessment, 11, 1–31.
25.
StarkE. (2012). Enhancing and assessing critical thinking in a psychological research methods course. Teaching of Psychology, 39, 107–112. doi:10.1177/0098628312437725
26.
SumnerP.Vivian-GriffithsS.BoivinJ.WilliamsA.VenetisC. A.DaviesA.…ChambersC. D. (2014). The association between exaggeration in health related science news and academic press releases: Retrospective observational study. British Medical Journal, 349. doi:10.1136/bmj.g7015
27.
WestR.MontgomeryK. (1998). Developing critical thinking through the study of paranormal phenomena. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 275–278. doi:10.1080/00986289809709714
28.
WilliamsR. L. (1999). Operational definitions and assessment of higher-order cognitive constructs. Educational Psychology Review, 11, 411–427. doi:10.1023/A:1022065517997
