Critical thinking in the context of biology

CETL Workshop

February 25, 2015

Ben Montgomery

NSE (Biology)

Critical thinking in context of biology

I. What is critical thinking

II. Making time for critical thinking

III. Structured thought exercises

What is critical thinking?

• Workshop description:

– “thinking critically about issues, taking a position on an issue, and drawing from their readings and research to make arguments and solve problems”

Other definitions• “conceptualizing, applying, analyzing,

synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer”

• "disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence”

• "includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs”

• “thinking about one's thinking in a manner designed to organize and clarify, raise the efficiency of, and recognize errors and biases in one's own thinking.”

What is critical thinking?

Traditional emphasis of Introductory Biology

Flipped classroom makes time for critical thinking

• Faculty are uncertain about “how thinking-skill development can be integrated into a course without sacrificing its content”

-Tyser & Cerbin 1991

Flipped classroom makes time for critical thinking

• Lecturing is slow; reading is fast

• Content initially presented in structured reading assignments

– require students to demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and simple higher-level skills

• Comprehension tested with online quizzes, in-class activities

Making time to think in the classroom

• Uses of class time:

– Assessing understanding

– Reinforcing ideas

– Practicing higher-level skills

Critical thinking in the classroom

Conceptual / modeling exercises

• Emphasize making inferences/predictions based on assumptions

• Based on scenarios explained on 1-page handouts

• Group work

• A subset of assignments are graded

Critical evaluation of scientific claims

• Does the evidence support the claim being made?

• Is effect large enough to matter?

• Are results relevant to actual health question?

Specific questions to ask:

1. What are the credentials & motivation of the person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?

4. How large is the effect?

5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:1. What are the credentials & motivation

of the person making the claim?

- What is affiliation of researcher?

- Who funded research? Is conflict of interest likely?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?4. How large is the effect?5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:1. What are the credentials & motivation of

the person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

- Did the researchers manipulate independent variable or use natural variation?

3. What is the inference space?4. How large is the effect?5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:1. What are the credentials & motivation of the

person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?- What is study population (gender/sex,

age, ethnicity, current health condition, etc)?

- What range of variation in treatments or conditions were subjects exposed to?

4. How large is the effect?5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:

1. What are the credentials & motivation of the person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?

4. How large is the effect?1. What is baseline measurement?

2. By what absolute amount did the baseline measure change?

5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:

1. What are the credentials & motivation of the person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?

4. How large is the effect?

5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Questions to ask:

1. What are the credentials & motivation of the person making the claim?

2. Is evidence based on correlation or causation?

3. What is the inference space?

4. How large is the effect?

5. How large of a population was tested?

6. Is the effect statistically significant?

Teaching evaluation skills

• Powerpoint & discussion format

– Present each criterion

– Present results from studies where each limitation is important

– Ask students to evaluate examples and identify the relevant limitation

Assignment for assessment

• Choose a popular press article about 1 specific health-related study.

• Assess whether article provides suitable information according to each criterion– Tried essay format; now use list of question and

answers

• Comment and follow up with similar assignment

• Short excerpt version suitable for exams

Students’ abilities to evaluate articles

• Fall 2014:

– Assignment 1: Mean 67.8; Median 69.0

– Assignment 2: Mean 73.8; Median 75.0

Lessons

• Careful article selection is key

• Time consuming when each student choses a different article

– Instructor selects or instructor selects from among student submissions

• Peer-reviewed articles are too hard at Intro level

• Repeated use of class time is needed