The Relationship Between the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and Student Learning Outcomes in...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professions
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Critical thinking is essential for effective nursing decision-making.
• Assessing critical thinking dispositions is crucial for nursing education program evaluation.
• The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) is a tool used to measure these dispositions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between critical thinking dispositions and academic/licensing outcomes in nursing students.
• To determine if the CCTDI can predict learning outcomes in nursing education.
• To evaluate the efficacy of the CCTDI as an assessment tool in nursing programs.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of 96 nursing students' academic records.
• Correlational statistics were used to examine relationships between CCTDI scores and GPA/HESI exam scores.
• Ordinal regression assessed the predictive power of CCTDI scores for science grades and NCLEX-RN success.

Main Results:

• No significant predictive relationship was found between first-year CCTDI scores and first-year science grades.
• Senior-year CCTDI scores showed weak correlation with HESI Pharmacology Exam scores but not with cumulative GPA or HESI RN Exit Exam.
• CCTDI scores did not predict success on the NCLEX-RN examination.

Conclusions:

• The study failed to establish meaningful correlations between critical thinking dispositions (measured by CCTDI) and key nursing education learning outcomes.
• Findings do not support the use of the CCTDI for assessing the effectiveness of nursing education programs.
• Further research may be needed to identify more effective methods for measuring critical thinking in nursing students.