Developing analytic thinking skills in early undergraduate education

This article describes how a required prenursing health issues course was substantially restructured to increase the opportunities for students to develop analytic skills and for faculty to gain greater insight into how the students processed course content. Using writing-to-learn (WTL) strategies based on theories of adult cognitive development (Kinneavy, McCleary, & Nakadate, 1985; Kohlberg, 1978; Perry 1978), course readings, writing assignments, and exam questions were revised continuously over five semesters. This article describes the purpose and process of redesigning the course and some reflections on the outcome.