Development of critical thinking in occupational therapy students

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Critical thinking is a crucial skill for academic success.
• Traditional seminar courses may not fully develop students' critical thinking abilities.
• Peer questioning methods are being explored to enhance learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of Guided Reciprocal Peer Questioning (GRPQ) on critical thinking skills.
• To compare the effectiveness of GRPQ with a traditional senior seminar course.
• To assess changes in critical thinking test scores and question types.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design comparing an experimental group using GRPQ with a control group in a traditional seminar.
• Utilized the California Critical Thinking Skills Test for quantitative assessment.
• Analyzed the nature of questions asked by students in both groups.

Main Results:

• No significant difference was found in critical thinking scores between the GRPQ and traditional seminar groups.
• Students in the GRPQ group asked a higher number of questions categorized as critical thinking.
• The GRPQ method showed a potential to enhance question formulation skills involving application, analysis, and synthesis.

Conclusions:

• While GRPQ did not significantly raise overall critical thinking scores, it positively influenced the quality of student-generated questions.
• The findings suggest GRPQ may be a valuable tool for fostering higher-order thinking through inquiry.
• Further research is recommended to explore the role of questioning and learning context in critical analysis development.