ERIC Number: EJ1076545
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0307-5079
EISSN: N/A
How Clear and Organized Classroom Instruction and Deep Approaches to Learning Affect Growth in Critical Thinking and Need for Cognition
Wang, Jui-Sheng; Pascarella, Ernest T.; Nelson Laird, Thomas F.; Ribera, Amy K.
Studies in Higher Education, v40 n10 p1786-1807 2015
In this study the authors analyze longitudinal student survey data from the 17-institution Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS) to determine the extent that the influence of overall exposure to clear and organized instruction on four-year growth in two measures of cognitive development is mediated by student use of deep approaches to learning. The findings suggest that for one cognitive outcome, need for cognition, a substantial part of the effect of clear and organized instruction is significantly transmitted by all three dimensions of deep learning: higher-order learning, reflective learning, and integrative learning. This overall trend was not statistically significant for critical thinking, although the impact of clear and organized instruction on growth in critical thinking skills was significantly mediated through one dimension of deep approaches to learning--reflective learning.
Descriptors: Critical Thinking, Classroom Techniques, Instructional Effectiveness, Longitudinal Studies, Student Surveys, National Surveys, Liberal Arts, Cognitive Development, Learning Strategies, Thinking Skills, Transformative Learning, Integrated Activities, Undergraduate Students, Predictor Variables, Models, Student Development, Learner Engagement, College Freshmen, College Seniors
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Survey of Student Engagement; Need for Cognition Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A