ERIC Number: EJ1044442
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Dec
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-1629
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Available Date: N/A
Using Interactive Management to Facilitate a Student-Centred Conceptualisation of Critical Thinking: A Case Study
Dwyer, Christopher P.; Hogan, Michael J.; Harney, Owen M.; O'Reilly, John
Educational Technology Research and Development, v62 n6 p687-709 Dec 2014
Critical thinking (CT) is a metacognitive process, consisting of a number of sub-skills and dispositions, that, when used appropriately, increases the chances of producing a logical solution to a problem or a valid conclusion to an argument. CT has been identified as a fundamental learning objective of third-level education; however, students often report not being given the opportunity to adequately understand and cultivate CT skills. Though most CT interventions are designed based on academic or expert definitions of CT skills, students are rarely, if ever, asked to guide their instruction by describing their perspectives on what constitutes CT. The current case study investigated students' conceptualisations of what constitutes good CT using a collective intelligence methodology, interactive management. Interactive management (IM) is a computer-assisted process that allows a group to build a structural model describing relations between elements in a system. Though decades of research on group decision-making in educational and social psychology highlight the many limitations associated with group problem solving (e.g. as a result of an over-reliance on heuristics, cognitive biases and "groupthink"), a fundamental skill for making decisions and solving problems is the ability to collectively visualise the structure of a shared problem, and use this knowledge to design solutions and strategies for collective action. (detachment, listening, systematicity, recognising uncertainty, and self-questioning) and fourteen structural relationships among them. The ability to detach, listen and engage in conversation with Results of IM group work from the current case study revealed five core CT skills (clarity of expression, conversational skill, inference, evaluation, and explanation), five CT dispositions others, were seen as fundamental drivers of all other competencies in the system. Results are discussed in light of research and theory on CT and best practice for CT instruction.
Descriptors: Critical Thinking, Case Studies, Metacognition, Thinking Skills, Intervention, Concept Formation, Educational Technology, Models, Computer Assisted Design, Computer Uses in Education, Problem Solving, Cooperative Learning, Competence, Group Activities, Communication Skills, Inferences, Evaluation, Teacher Competencies, Interaction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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