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An Analysis of Critical Thinking in STEM Classes
Ted Watson
Stevenson University
Abstract
This
study is an analysis of critical thinking skills in 9th grade science and
recommendations for improvement regarding enthusiasm and skills in critical
thinking. Thirty students’ tests regarding STEM-themed knowledge, using a
mixture of selected response and open-ended questions, allowed for analysis of
Critical Thinking skills. A formative
assessment was administered to students to gain insight in the topic of
critical thinking. A description of critical thinking questions was included
with the assessment to bring clarity to the subject in question. The results of
both the test results and the formative assessment show no strong opinions
either for or against critical thinking problems. Upon analysis, recommendations
have been made to implement a section of curriculum devoted to critical
thinking and analysis skills to encourage use and enthusiasm for real-life
scenarios in the classroom.
Introduction
Critical thinking can be defined as using intellect to synthesize
and extrapolate into a concepts that are of “a higher order and abstract
nature.” (Shaw 2014). Critical thinking in the classroom removes the single
correct answer and demands that students use their knowledge to create a
solution on their own that best suits a scenario. Dr. John Barell writes that
it is a 21st century skill, because problems that arise in everyday
life and in careers hardly ever have a single, concrete answer (2010). By
teaching students to look for an answer in an unconventional manner, teachers
are preparing students to be creative and effective when a challenge arises. It
is a life skill as much as an academic one. Students can do this by raising
questions, gathering information, analyzing their research and then communicating
that research to others (Scott, 2008). This can be related to the scientific
process, but also applied to producing factual reports and solutions.
During my last three years of teaching, there has been
one stand-out problem that I have encountered over and over again: lack of
critical thinking. When I present a class with open-ended questions, more often
than not I am met with groans and blank stares, regardless of what grade it is.
The students get flustered and say things like "Why can't there just be
one answer?" or "Can't you just tell me what it is?" They
continue a downward spiral when I explain to them that there is no single
answer, and that it is a matter of research and opinion.
Problem solving in open-ended situations is something
that my 9th and 11th graders often face as new things in
my class. An example of this is a recent project I gave my seniors. The
scenario was as follows:
You have been contacted
by a lawyer from northwest Vermont stating that a long-lost relative has willed
you their dairy farm. Regardless of your desire to keep the farm, the lawyer
has stated that there is a dangerously eutrophic pond
on the property. The pond is at risk of flooding and running into Lake
Champlain via a nearby river, and will be subject to enormous fines and
penalties if it does. Your task is the following: using the chart below,
develop a plan to contain, clean up and prevent future eutrophication to avoid
penalties. You may use your text and research methods of clean up and testing
for lake health.
This was a
"group quiz" where the students were asked to work in pairs to use
their knowledge of our last unit on pollution and pollution management to come
up with a strategy to fix their farm. After the students had read the
directions, the blank stares and push-back started with statements like
"but this wasn't in the book!" and "I can't find anything online that can help with this
assignment!"
Research question:
What is students’ level of enthusiasm for critical thinking and how can that
enthusiasm increase in the classroom and in work?
Variables
Measured: The study will also analyze student’s scores in the
critical thinking (open-ended and ill-defined problems on the test) as a gauge
of critical thinking skills in the 9th grade science class. The study will also
analyze student’s enthusiasm for critical thinking problems, as gathered from a
Likert scale self-assessment.
Controls:
Interviews
and self-assessment questionnaire with the instructor(s) to gauge the amount of
open-ended questions and critical thinking skills that are promoted in class.
Analysis of the exact same test in two different classes (same 9th grade
science course taught by 2 different teachers).
No
control group will be used.
Sample
size: 30 students
Data
Collection
Thirty
(30) tests were collected from two different classes. The test was a summative
assessment focused on lab design in the “Doing Science” section of a 9th
grade Introduction to STEM course. It contained mostly short answer questions
with a few multiple response in the middle of the test. The short answer were
ordered in a manner that asked for a single answer for the first question, and
ended with open questions at the end of the section, asking students to
extrapolate on the information they had learned previously.
The open-ended questions were
analyzed for accuracy in the students’ ability to correctly answer what was
asked of them. Out of a percentage scale, it was found that the average score
was a 9/15, or a 60%.
Immediately
following the test, students were asked to fill out this self-assessment:
Directions:
Place a check mark in the box that best describes YOUR opinion. There is no
right or wrong answer, so please answer truthfully!
Strongly
Disagree
|
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Strongly Agree
|
|
1. I enjoy
questions that do not have a single, concrete answer
|
||||
2. I feel
frustrated when I encounter a question on a test that I have not seen in my
book or in class
|
||||
3. I feel
challenged by questions that do not have a single correct answer
|
||||
4. I find an
open-ended question helpful when they have related questions preceding it
|
Figure 1. Self-Assessment given to the
students after their test.
Results
and Discussion:
The data was answered as follows:
Strongly
Disagree
|
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Strongly Agree
|
|
Question 1
|
4
|
18
|
7
|
1
|
Question 2
|
2
|
4
|
9
|
15
|
Question 3
|
0
|
0
|
19
|
11
|
Question 4
|
2
|
9
|
11
|
8
|
Through the
responses to the self-assessment, it is clear that a majority of the students
do not enjoy open-ended questions. Common responses when asked why were: “I
just want to study a definition and write it down” and “it makes me think too
much during the test”. Interviews with the instructors indicated that there is
not curriculum in place to promote or explain why it is important to use
critical thinking in the classroom, on tests, or while learning the required
concepts.
Figure 2. Bar graph
depicting responses to the self-assessment
There are a few different reasons that could explain the
outcome of this data. First, I realize that at this age,
cognitive development can differ from student to student, which means that
some students will have to work very hard to take an abstract scenario on paper
and apply concepts from earlier in the week to solve an issue. This is
especially true of 9th graders. The next issue that could be
conflicting with this type of question could be a lack in practice in this type
of question. Second, it became very apparent from the interviews with the two
teachers that there has been almost no preparation in regards to answering
critical thinking problems, be it in formal instruction or graded assignments.
Suggestions for
Improvement
There
are a number of solutions that stem from the data and information collected.
First, it is important to implement a lesson or lessons devoted to instructing
students on how to solve critical thinking problems. Possible methods for
instruction can be carried out by providing a flowchart (Barell, 2010) or
framework (Scott, 2008) to guide students through the somewhat daunting idea of
addressing an open-ended question. Along with this, the same Likert scale assessment
given previously to the Introduction to STEM class could be issued by the
teacher to re-assess the class in order to gauge possible changes in the
students’ attitudes towards critical thinking. In a model based off of SUNY Binghamton,
feedback from the self-assessments could be analyzed by the department and
assignments can be adjusted to prepare students more effectively for critical
thinking scenarios using a flowchart to efficiently go through steps for
improvement (McKitrick and Barnes, 2012). Also possible is a project for the
students to work on where they address a current issue in today’s world that
can be solved using concepts learned in their STEM class. Ideally, students can pick their own subjects
to ensure enthusiasm for the project (Barell 2010).
Conclusion
Critical thinking is an essential
part of success in modern society. However, students are disheartened by the
amount of work involved in successfully answering critical thinking problems. My
survey found that students are not very successful, nor enthusiastic about the
concept of open-ended, critical thinking problems in the classroom. To counteract
this lack of enthusiasm, it is important to formally teach these students the
both the proper way and importance of answering critical thinking problems so
that they are prepared for real-world scenarios and their future careers.
References
Anonymous and Anonymous (per interview request),
personal communication. March 3, 2016
Barrel,
J. (2010). Problem-based learning: The foundation for 21s century
skills. In Bellanca, J. & Brandt, R. (Eds.), 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn.
Bloomingon, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Mckitrick,
S.A. & Barnes., S.M. (2012). Assessment of Critical Thinking: An
Evolutionary Approach. Journal
of Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness, 2(1), 1–29. http://doi.org/10.5325/jasseinsteffe.2.1.0001
Scott, S. (2008). Perceptions of
Students' Learning Critical Thinking through Debate in a Technology Classroom:
A Case Study. The Journal of Technology Studies, 34(1), 39–44. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43604224
Shaw, R. D. (2014). How Critical Is
Critical Thinking? Music Educators Journal, 101(2), 65-70 DOI:
10.1177/0027432114544376
Ted I find your topic interesting and I really think that you make a great point about students critical thinking skills. I also noticed with many of my former students that they did not engage when I asked them questions that made them think. Though you seemed to focus on written questions, do you think the same would be true if you gave students open ended question which asked them to build something? I just wonder if giving students a hands on task to answer a critical thinking question would help them engage? It is just something that reading your paper made me think about because when I myself was in school a lot of my critical thinking was from hands on projects.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, Ted! I think that the need to develop critical thinking skills in students is one of the biggest issues that we as teachers face today. When I was observing in a 7th grade class, the students expressed frustrations similar to those expressed by your students when presented with an open ended question. The teacher that I was observing commented to me later that this may be the first time those students had been exposed to science problems that didn't have a distinct answer. As you discussed, it is clear that students need to be introduced to these types of problems earlier. I would argue that we should encourage critical thinking as soon as students are developmentally capable of handling those types of problems.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading your research, my hypothesis would be that the lack of enthusiasm for open-ended questions is directly related to students' prior experience with that type of question. It would be interesting to do a follow up study on how the level of enthusiasm changes with experience. Also, as Dani mentioned above, it would be worth looking at different forms of open ended problems, such as hands-on tasks, to see if the enthusiasm level varies with the type of activity.