ERIC Number: ED306902
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1988
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Stimulating Critical Thinking through Faculty Development: Design, Evaluation, and Problems.
Gibbs, Leonard E.; And Others
A faculty development program designed to encourage critical thinking skills across the curriculum at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is described in this report. The program's goal was to stimulate faculty to add critical thinking to their pedagogical objectives. Faculty participants attended six 4-hour meetings designed to heighten their awareness and appreciation of critical thinking. They were randomly assigned to a 50-member program group or to a 22-member control group. The six meetings discussed the following: a definition and discussion of critical thinking; the adaptability of different teaching styles to critical thinking; the extent to which participants engaged in critical thinking and pedagogical activities consistent with critical thinking objectives; evaluation of critical thinking behavior; small group discussion of 38 plans made by participants; and sharing lessons learned while implementing the plans. Results indicate the program did not increase scores of faculty participants on the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test. Also, students sampled from classes taught by control and experimental faculty did not differ on posttest measures. Problems faced by such faculty development projects include: different needs among faculty from different disciplines; reluctance of faculty to admit skill deficiencies; and difficulty matching faculty development program and evaluation instruments. Faculty noted that students often resist critical thinking, and critical thinking pedagogy is very time consuming. Contains 14 references. (Author/SM)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Wisconsin Univ., Eau Claire.; American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A