Teaching Logical Thinking: Preparing Graduate Students for Comprehensive Examinations

Abstract

The problemA common lament among faculty members is that students cannot think clearly, do not put things in logical order, and that “they certainly did not learn to think so poorly in my class.” A manifestation of that inability is the work done on essay examinations.In our Master of Urban Administration program, a professional course of study for persons in public administration, a source of stress between faculty and students concerns performance on the comprehensive examinations administered at the midpoint of the two year program. Faculty members complain that students do not address the question asked, only answer part of the question, or do not identify key points in their answers. On the other hand, students argue that they have never been given questions like those on the comprehensive examinations or been shown how to think through an answer in a logical or systematic fashion.