Measuring Critical Thinking in Physics: Development and Validation of a Critical Thinking Test in Electricity and Magnetism

Tiruneh, Dawit Tibebu; Cock, Mieke De; Weldeslassie, Ataklti G.; Elen, Jan; Janssen, Rianne

doi:10.1007/s10763-016-9723-0

Cited by 193 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…However, Ennis (1989) found that critical thinking has subject specificity (similar to domain specificity); therefore, evaluation scales for critical thinking abilities vary among different fields and require different design considerations to develop more proper educational or evaluation tools (Tiruneh, Cock, Weldeslassie, Elen, & Janssen, 2016). A study of Renaud and Murray (2008) using psychology as the learning content showed results consistent with Ennis' opinion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

The Development and Validation of a Mechanical Critical Thinking Scale for High School Students

Lin²,

Chang³

2016

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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The purpose of this study was to develop a mechanical critical thinking scale for high school students. A stratified random sampling method was used to establish the norms. After pretests and item analysis, the scale was determined to have five subtest sections (i.e., recognition of assumptions, induction, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments) consisting of 25 items. In addition, using 1,954 high school students as participants, this study established a norm and investigated the differences among genders and ages. The results showed that male students had better mechanical critical thinking skills than did female students in terms of induction aptitude, while female students were better in evaluation aptitude. In addition, the mechanical critical thinking performance of 12th-grade students was superior to that of 10th-and 11th-grade students.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

The Development and Validation of a Mechanical Critical Thinking Scale for High School Students

Lin²,

Chang³

2016

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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“…However, the experience of evaluating Immersion-and Infusion-based CT interventions for the acquisition of domain-specific CT skills has not been well valued. A few researchers developed and validated CT tests based on content from specific subject-matter domains: the Psychological CT Assessment in the domain of psychology (Lawson, 1999), the Biological CT exam (McMurray, 1991) and the Critical Thinking in Electricity and Magnetism test in the domain of physics (CTEM; Tiruneh, De Cock, Weldeslassie, Elen, & Janssen, 2017). The empirical evidence on whether performance in a domain-specific CT test relates to performance in one of the abovementioned domain-general CT tests has been scant.…”

Section: The Assessment Of Ct Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CTEM (Tiruneh et al, 2017) The CTEM was administered to measure domainspecific CT proficiency in line with the desired domain-specific CT outcomes described in Table 2. The test consists of 20 items: two of which are forced-choice and the remaining are constructed-response format items.…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Learning Environments for Critical Thinking: Examining Effective Instructional Approaches

Tiruneh

Cock

Elen

2017

Int J of Sci and Math Educ

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Fostering the development of students' critical thinking (CT) is regarded as an essential outcome of higher education. However, despite the large body of research on this topic, there has been little consensus on how educators best support the development of CT. In view of some of the controversies surrounding the teaching of CT skills in higher education, this study examined the effects of embedding CT instruction systematically in domain-specific courses (Immersion vs. Infusion) on the acquisition of domain-specific and domain-general CT skills and course achievement. First-year university students (N = 143) enrolled in an introductory physics course were assigned to one of three instructional conditions: Immersion, Infusion, and control. The Immersion and Infusion conditions followed lessons designed systematically based on the First Principles of Instruction model, whereas the control condition followed a regular instruction. Results showed that participants in the Immersion and Infusion conditions significantly outperformed those in the control condition on domain-specific CT proficiency and course achievement. However, neither the Immersion nor the Infusion condition was helpful in fostering the acquisition of domain-general CT skills. The findings generally demonstrated that embedding CT instruction systematically in domain-specific courses requires greater clarity about what set of CT skills could be targeted in domain-specific instruction, how specific subject-matter instruction could be designed considering CT as an integral part of domain-specific instruction, and how best CT outcomes be assessed. Some considerations for the design of CT-supportive learning environments are discussed.

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“…If tests are understood to shape both the curriculum and teaching, an efficient way to improve the quality of education in critical thinking is developing the better tests (Yeh, 2001). Tiruneh et al (2016) stated that critical thinking tests which have been developed such as the Cornell Critical Thinking Test-Level Z (CCTT), the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay test, the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, and the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment (HCTA) were mostly general content-based and reviewed based on the following criteria: (a) is the test based on a clear DOI: 10.1021/xxx.xxxx.xxxxxx J.Sci. Learn.2017.1(1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development and Validation of Science Virtual Test to Assess 7th Grade Students' Critical Thinking on Matter and Heat Topic

2017

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An efficient way to improve the quality of education in critical thinking is developing the better tests. The test has been shifted towards the use of computer-based procedures. Lack of specific topic of critical thinking tests in science and the advanced of technology made the researcher intended to develop and validate a test to measure students' critical thinking in the matter and heat topic based on computer for seventh grade junior high school. The method that used in this research was descriptive. Generally, the process of developing and validating the test consists of 5 steps: (1) content analysis; (2) constructing multiple choice items; (3) readability test and expert validation; (4) limited tryout; and (5) larger application. Based on larger application, it is obtained the reliability value, difficulty level, discriminating power and distractor quality. The subject was 117 students of public Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung. The instrument validation resulted 30 items that represent 8 elements and 21 sub-elements to measure students' critical thinking based on Inch in matter and heat topic. The instrument is further called as Science Virtual Test Matter and Heat (SVT-MH). The alpha Cronbach (α) is 0.642 which means that the instrument is sufficient to measure students' critical thinking matter and heat topic. The result also shows the profile of students in critical thinking is 73% categorized as 'moderate', while students respond the positive impression towards the use of SVT-MH.

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Measuring Critical Thinking in Physics: Development and Validation of a Critical Thinking Test in Electricity and Magnetism

Cited by 193 publications

References 30 publications

The Development and Validation of a Mechanical Critical Thinking Scale for High School Students

The Development and Validation of a Mechanical Critical Thinking Scale for High School Students

Designing Learning Environments for Critical Thinking: Examining Effective Instructional Approaches

The Development and Validation of Science Virtual Test to Assess 7th Grade Students' Critical Thinking on Matter and Heat Topic

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