Intending to Teach Critical Thinking

Concept maps: a strategy to teach and evaluate critical thinking.

The purpose of this article is to describe a study that implemented concept maps as a methodology to teach and evaluate critical thinking. Students in six senior clinical groups were taught to use concept maps. Students created three concept maps over the course of the semester. Data analysis demonstrated a group mean score of 40.38 on the first concept map and 135.55 on the final concept map, ...

Using Argument Diagramming Software to Teach Critical Thinking Skills

There is substantial evidence from many domains that visual representations aid various forms of cognition. We aimed to determine whether visual representations of argument structure enhanced the acquisition and development of critical thinking skills within the context of an introductory philosophy course. We found a significant effect of the use of argument diagrams, and this effect was stabl...

Why I teach the controversy: using creationism to teach critical thinking

Creationism and intelligent design are terms used to describe supernatural explanations for the origin of life, and the diversity of species on this planet. Many scientists have argued that the science classroom is no place for discussion of creationism. When I began teaching I did not teach creationism, as I focused instead on my areas of expertise. Over time it became clear that students had ...

Critical Thinking about 'critical Thinking'

Research Quest: Six Design Boxes and Six Iterations towards a Game to Teach Critical Thinking

Research Quest: Dino Lab is designed to encourage the acquisition of higher-order critical thinking skills of middle school students. In order to arrive at the design for the game, the team conducted several participatory design sessions utilizing the Design Box methodology. In doing so, the team was able to gather data and elevator pitches from the end user (students), stakeholders (teachers),...