Two critical thinking models—probing questions and conceptualization—adding 4 skillsets to the teacher's armamentarium

Abstract

Critical thinking is ubiquitous in patient care. One track for critical thinking develops skillsets emulating the thought process of the master clinician using probing questions and has been offered in treatment planning, literature search, and critique, risk assessment in caries and geriatrics, technology decision‐making, EBD, and IPP. This paper offers 2 additional critical thinking skillsets following this emulation model in social work and ethics. Conceptualization, another form of critical thinking, is also ubiquitous in health care, yet almost no literature exists to guide learning and assess performance on conceptualization. This paper introduces for discussion 2 examples of conceptualization—“How and how much does this situation differ from the ideal?” and “How does the student/practitioner conceptualize the outcome prior to the imminent procedure?” —used continually by the practitioner in patient care situations. The result is 4 additional critical thinking skillsets at different stages of development in the armamentarium for the teacher.

A tool for incorporating interprofessional perspectives into dental students decision‐making: A 2‐year follow‐up on this learning outcome

“…Concepts for the IPP model are based on emulating the thought processes of the experts on the health care team (Leary et al, 2019 ). Previously reported critical thinking emulations have taken the thought process of people from a single discipline, for example, treatment planning, risk assessment, and so on (Benner, 1982 ; Guzman‐Armstrong et al, 2014 ; Johnsen, 2013 ; Johnsen et al, 2009 , 2020 ; Leary et al, 2019 ; Lane & Stone, 2006 ; Marshall et al, 2011 , 2017 ; Marchini et al, 2017 ). The goal is to derive the expert's thought process succinctly enough for the novice to apply to the next patient or situation.…”

“…• Patient: Preferences and expectations? Guzman-Armstrong et al, 2014;Johnsen, 2013;Johnsen et al, 2009Johnsen et al, , 2020Leary et al, 2019;Lane & Stone, 2006;Marshall et al, 2011Marshall et al, , 2017Marchini et al, 2017). The goal is to derive the expert's thought process succinctly enough for the novice to apply to the next patient or situation.…”

Effect of shift to virtual teaching on active learning: A snapshot

“…To further clarify, active learning in this sense does not refer to the acquisition of psychomotor skills; rather, “active” refers to the intentional, participatory nature of the learner engagement in the educational process, regardless of the knowledge or skills acquired. Active learning can manifest in a number of different approaches or educational activities, 2–5 and it has become a preferred element in health science education, including dental education, because of its apparent success in improving learning outcomes 1,6–8 …”

“…Active learning can manifest in a number of different approaches or educational activities, [2][3][4][5] and it has become a preferred element in health science education, including dental education, because of its apparent success in improving learning outcomes. 1,[6][7][8] We attempted to answer the question-"Is active learning translatable to a virtual, remote learning environment?" Although pathways for and effectiveness of online, virtual learning have been explored separately from active learning (particularly in-person), [9][10] the sudden shift in higher education toward widespread virtual learning as a response to the current global pandemic provides an opportunity to explore the interaction between active learning strategies and an online environment.…”

Conceptualizing the next patient interaction: A clinical skillset using an emulation model in critical thinking

“…Reports give guidance to conceptualize technical procedures, 5,6 but even with visualized procedures, little is reported on whether the student grasped the guidance to conceptualize the patient procedure. A theoretical framework has been developed to conceptualize the next patient interaction following work on reflections in analyzing situations 7,8 . Given the often‐lengthy commitment needed to develop critical thinking exercises in terms of years, it is likely that an incremental approach would be more effective to gain faculty input and acceptance as well as insights into student–faculty interactions on conceptualization before beginning a patient interaction.…”