• Assessing Change in Student Critical Thinking for Introduction to Sociology Classes

    Author(s):
    Michael L. Rickles, Rachel Zimmer Schneider, Suzanne R. Slusser, Dana Williams (see profile) , John F. Zipp
    Date:
    2013
    Subject(s):
    Education--Sociological aspects, Critical pedagogy, Sociology
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    critical thinking, Scholarship of teaching and learning, Sociology of education, Experimentation
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/1p3t-pz49
    Abstract:
    Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests to assess students’ critical thinking skills. Controlling for grade point average, cumulative credit hours completed, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, instructor, and initial levels of critical thinking, being in the experimental group had a statistically significant impact on critical thinking at the end of the semester. Thus, inclusion of writing assignments and classroom discussion designed to enhance creative thought processes for the experimental group helped students improve from one-dimensional thinking toward more multistructural analysis.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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