Teaching Critical Thinking Skills:

A Case Study from Mechanical Engineering

Marion BowmanSkills Adviser (Skills@Library)m.c.bowman@leeds.ac.uk

Katy SidwellFaculty Team Librarian (Engineering)c.a.sidwell@leeds.ac.uk

Skills@Library

Format of this session

1. Critical thinking in Mech3800 – why and how?

2. Some activities from the course to look at

3. Was the approach successful? – some results

Skills@Library

Why Critical Thinking?

“If engineers are to be more than technical functionaries in the next millennium, there is a need to provide young engineers with …skills in critical analysis and ethical judgement and an ability to assess the long term consequences of their work.”

BEDER, S. 1999. Beyond Technicalities: Expanding Engineering Thinking, Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, January , pp.12 – 18, pg12.

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What is Critical Thinking?

1. Assumptions: a. uncertainty exists, b. no one right answer

2. The critical thinking process: (adapted from Cottrell, 2005)

- Collect knowledge from many sources

- Identify sources’ positions / methods / approaches

- Question the evidence and identify limitations

- Draw own conclusions

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Stages of the development of Critical Thinking

St. Characteristics Learning activity

1 Knowledge is certain, concrete Rote learning

2 Knowledge is certain, not everyone has access to it

Explore pros and cons of a problem

3 Knowledge is certain in some areas and temporarily uncertain in others

Identify own perspectives

4 Knowledge is uncertain due to limitations of knower

Explore other’s perspectives in groups

5 No knowledge is certain – all interpreted by individual knower

Class discussions challenge perspectives

6 Knowledge is uncertain and depends on context and evidence

Explore unanswered question in writing

7 Knowledge is outcome of process of inquiry Analyse new problems – inquiry process

Adapted from King and Kitchener (1994) and Kronholm (1996) in Siller (2001)

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Critical thinking & Ethics in MECH3800

Component of module Theme Assessment

Introduction to this module CT + Eth Self-assessment

Health & Safety Eth Ethics Essay

Project management CT Proj. Report

Literature searching CT Proj. Report

Report Writing: Literature reviews CT Proj. Report

The role of the Institute of Mech Eng Eth Ethics Essay

Report Writing: Results & Conclusions CT Proj. Report

Ethics in Engineering Eth Ethics Essay

Intellectual property Eth Ethics Essay

Learning Log CT + Et Learning log

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Critical thinking: Ice-breaker

Discuss:

Women are better drivers than men.

Student response: ‘but what is the right answer?’

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How good are your critical thinking skills now?

Try the self-assessment quiz again.

No. Statement Rating

0 - 4

1. When I am searching for information online, I always question the reliability of the sources I find.

4 = strongly agree, 3 = agree, 2 = sort of agree, 1 = disagree, 0 = strongly disagree

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Seven Pillars of Information literacy

1. Recognise a need for information

2. Distinguish ways to address the information gap

3. Construct strategies for locating information

4. Locate and access information

5. Compare and evaluate information obtained from different sources

6. Organise, apply and communicate information to others appropriately

7. Synthesise and build upon existing information, contributing to the creation of new knowledge

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Critical thinking in literature searching

Construct research question (s) Mindmap exercise

Select appropriate sources Primary and secondary sources exercise Academic and popular sources

What is a journal?Consider language Search tools and techniques (workshop)

Matching need to appropriate tools Tracking down the full text article

Evaluating and referencing and plagiarism exercises

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Writing a Literature Review: What is one anyway?

The purpose of a literature review is to summarize, synthesize and critique the sources relating to your topic.

OR

To provide an overview

To evaluate sources

To categorise sources

To compare sources

To make links to your project

NB: Critical thinking + joined-up thinking! (links)

NB: Paraphrasing!

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Writing a Discussion Section

Hardest section to write!

- Principal findings

- Strengths and weaknesses of study

- Comparison to other studies (references)

- The meaning of this study for the field- Unanswered questions: further study

NB: Critical thinking and joined up thinking

specific

general

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Results: Critical Thinking Self-Assessment

- Pre-test in intro. lecture; post-test in final lecture.

- Paired sample T-test using SPSS 14

- Average score pre-test = 52.8 / 80

- Average score post-test = 61.3 / 80

- Scores increased by average of 8.5 points

- It is unlikely that this increase is due to chance

- (1:1000 probability that this is due to chance)

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The Learning Log

- The most useful thing I have learned today

- What I have learned today that I can apply to:

- my project

- my ethics essay

- my professional development

- my critical thinking skills

- Any other comments

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Results: Learning Log Feedback

‘There is no link between this lecture and my project’

‘I cannot see how writing a literature review will be helpful in my professional life.’

‘[Critical Thinking is] not throwing away other’s ideas I may not agree with.’

‘My personal experience in the glass industry could affect the approach I take to my project. I should evaluate other methods to see if they are relevant.’

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Results: other effects

- Attendance from 50% last year 80-90% this year

- Greater engagement: > number of questions / comments

- First Mech. Eng. drop in students at Skills@Library

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Personal Reflection

- Lower level of writing and CT than expected

- Reluctance to read

- Reluctance to write

- Unfamiliarity with journal articles

- Learning log – 2 way communication

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Want to know more?

Skills@ Library A: 15 Blenheim Terrace T: 0113 34 34096 E: skills@library.leeds.ac.uk W: http://skills.library.leeds.ac.uk

Faculty Team Librarians W: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/subjects/

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Conclusion

1. More awareness raising input on Critical Thinking is needed

2. Developing CT skills is a slow burn (long time period needed)

3. Developing CT skills is best embedded in a subject

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References

COTTRELL, S. 2005. Critical thinking Skills: Developing Effective Analysis and Argument, Wiltshire: Palgrave Macmillan, p 13

KING, P.M. AND KITCHENER, K.S.1994. Developing reflective judgement, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

KRONHOLM, M. 1996. The impact of developmental instruction on reflective judgement. Review of Higher Education. 19 (2), pg 199-225.

SCONUL. 2007. The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy. Available from the World Wide Web: http://www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/information_literacy/seven_pillars.html

SILLER, T.J. 2001. Sustainability and critical thinking in Civil Engineering curriculum, Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, July, pg 104 – 108.

Warhol, B. 2007. Dunce. Flickr image by Billy Warhol under a Creative Commons license: http://flickr.com/photos/billywarhol/1304030714/