Critical thinking in undergraduate athletic training education

Area of Science:

• Athletic Training Education
• Curriculum Development
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Assessing critical thinking (CT) skills is crucial in athletic training education.
• Understanding how educators incorporate CT into curriculum materials is essential for effective pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if undergraduate athletic training educators' learning objectives promote critical thinking (CT) skills.
• To determine if assignments and examinations effectively measure students' development of CT skills.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of curriculum materials (syllabi, assignments, examinations) from 13 institutions.
• Classification of learning objectives, exam questions, and assignments as CT or non-critical thinking (NCT) using Bloom's taxonomy.

Main Results:

• 52% of learning objectives and 100% of written assignments fostered CT.
• Only 14% of examination questions measured CT, while 86% did not.
• A significant disparity exists in CT integration across different assessment types.

Conclusions:

• Athletic training educators are more successful in fostering CT through learning objectives and assignments than examinations.
• Bloom's taxonomy serves as a valuable tool for educators to design and evaluate CT-focused learning materials.
• Further refinement of examination strategies is needed to accurately measure CT development in athletic training students.