Understanding the Complex Relationship between Critical Thinking and Science Reasoning among Undergraduate Thesis Writers.

dc.contributor.author

Dowd, Jason E

dc.contributor.author

Thompson, Robert J

dc.contributor.author

Schiff, Leslie A

dc.contributor.author

Reynolds, Julie A

dc.contributor.editor

Coley, John

dc.date.accessioned

2020-04-18T14:00:42Z

dc.date.available

2020-04-18T14:00:42Z

dc.date.issued

2018-01

dc.date.updated

2020-04-18T14:00:41Z

dc.description.abstract

Developing critical-thinking and scientific reasoning skills are core learning objectives of science education, but little empirical evidence exists regarding the interrelationships between these constructs. Writing effectively fosters students' development of these constructs, and it offers a unique window into studying how they relate. In this study of undergraduate thesis writing in biology at two universities, we examine how scientific reasoning exhibited in writing (assessed using the Biology Thesis Assessment Protocol) relates to general and specific critical-thinking skills (assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test), and we consider implications for instruction. We find that scientific reasoning in writing is strongly related to inference, while other aspects of science reasoning that emerge in writing (epistemological considerations, writing conventions, etc.) are not significantly related to critical-thinking skills. Science reasoning in writing is not merely a proxy for critical thinking. In linking features of students' writing to their critical-thinking skills, this study 1) provides a bridge to prior work suggesting that engagement in science writing enhances critical thinking and 2) serves as a foundational step for subsequently determining whether instruction focused explicitly on developing critical-thinking skills (particularly inference) can actually improve students' scientific reasoning in their writing.

dc.identifier

17/1/ar4

dc.identifier.issn

1931-7913

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1931-7913

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20431

dc.language

eng

dc.publisher

American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

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CBE life sciences education

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10.1187/cbe.17-03-0052

dc.subject

Humans

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Learning

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Problem Solving

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Thinking

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Biology

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Students

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Universities

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Writing

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California

dc.title

Understanding the Complex Relationship between Critical Thinking and Science Reasoning among Undergraduate Thesis Writers.

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Thompson, Robert J|0000-0002-4173-6474

duke.contributor.orcid

Reynolds, Julie A|0000-0002-0476-7933

pubs.begin-page

ar4

pubs.end-page

ar4

pubs.issue

1

pubs.organisational-group

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

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Biology

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Duke

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Psychology and Neuroscience

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

17

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