Collaborative Research: Critical Thinking for Civic Thinking in Science

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Interdisciplinary (99)This project addresses the task of generating a scientifically literate citizenry by paying explicit attention to the relationship between critical thinking and civic thinking. The target audience is non-science majors taking introductory science courses, geology and biology. This collaborative work helps identify the pedagogical practices that advance student learning in these areas, involves faculty from four institutions, and builds on a pilot study that was initially supported by the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The project is being implemented in two stages. First, participating instructors incorporate Critical Thinking for Civic Thinking (CT)2 exercises in their courses. These exercises consist of open-ended scenarios that require students to apply scientific reasoning and develop a civic action plan. They pose a civic problem that has an essentially science base (e.g. Human Health and the Quality of Drinking Water). The second stage of this project consists of an experimental design that identifies and tests the relative effectiveness of specific pedagogical interventions. Participating faculty are meeting for a summer institute in 2007 to discuss the results from the first-stage and to identify the practices that enhance student learning. They will devise an experimental protocol to test what appears to be the most salient independent variable (or variables) in improving student learning. The subsequent analysis will be carried out in the 2007-2008 academic year. Small grants to additional STEM faculty at the participating institutions are being used to expand the pedagogical approach to other disciplines. Intellectual Merit: Analysis is being conducted to determine if critical and civic thinking skills tend to develop concurrently or independently among beginning science students. The collaboration between four institutions permits the use of common assessment measures to compare and contrast student responses across multiple institutions. Historically, most institutions interested in specific student learning outcomes either have tried to define and measure them within their own institutional context or have used nationally standardized exams that can not be easily connected to specific curricula or pedagogical interventions. The experimental design being created is based on the participating faculty's collaboration, analysis, and reflection upon the actual pedagogical practices that are used in their classrooms. Broader Impacts: For participating students, engagement with (CT)2 exercises introduces them to the rigors of scientific reasoning and skepticism in addressing open-ended, real world problems. The exercises encourage students to see the practical necessities and value of the scientific method. For faculty, the summer academy serves as an opportunity for the participating instructors to reflect on their teaching practice in light of direct evidence of student learning. For educational researchers, a controlled experiment within an inter-institutional context that links improvements in student's abilities in critical thinking and civic thinking contributes to the understanding of effective teaching practices and suggests reforms in the teaching of science.