Nurse educators’ critical thinking dispositions and research utilization

Critical thinking skills and dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students--a conceptual model for evaluation.

Background: In a contemporary healthcare environment characterized by rapidly-changing developments and relentlessly-increasing knowledge, professional nurses need to develop critical thinking skills that will provide them with expertise in flexible, individualized, situation-specific problem solving. Therefore, nursing education strives to facilitate the development of students’ critical thinking through the appropriate instructional approaches. Developing critical thinking and knowledge of different learning styles among the student population are important in designing curricula, and adopting teaching methods that to promote student learning is a crucial part of ensuring that students engage positively with content and develop the deep learning skills needed for lifelong learning. Assessment of LS and CTD should be given more attention by nurse educators because teaching students according to their learning ability will nurture their CTD, increase their ability to process information, and enhance academic performance. Aims: The present study aims to determine baccalaureate nursing students’ critical thinking dispositions and learning styles and its relation to their achievement. Design: The study will use descriptive correctional study. Methods: The study was conducted at Faculty of Nursing at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. All nursing students, enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing from three levels of academic year, fourth, sixth, and eighth at the time of the study of the academic year 2010-2011 were included in the study (n= 208). Three tools were used for data collection namely; California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ), and Retrospective Audit. Results: Based on the study findings of this study, it could be found that there was no significant relationship between overall critical thinking dispositions and learning style with nursing students’ achievement, while a significant relationship was proved between nursing student critical thinking disposition and nursing student active/reflective learning style. The majority of the undergraduate nursing students at Faculty of Nursing, King Khalid University showed ambivalent disposition towards most of the dispositional characteristics and the overall CCTDI. Conclusions: It was concluded that critical thinking is enhanced when active learning approaches and most nursing students preferred active/reflective learning style. It is recommended to the developed further studies in other faculties of nursing in Saudi Arabia. Key words: Nursing education program, critical thinking, critical thinking dispositions, learning styles, nursing students’ achievement, nursing educators, Grade Point Average. Abbreviations: CT critical thinking, CCTDI California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, LS learning style, GPA grade point average, SDL self-directed learning, SDLERS Students' Self-Directed Learner Readiness Scale.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the critical thinking disposition and self-esteem of psychiatric nurses and to identify factors that influence critical thinking disposition. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in this study. The participants for this study were 158 psychiatric nurses from D city & C province. The instruments were the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) and Self-Esteem Scale (SES). The collected data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 11.5 program. Results: The mean scores for critical thinking disposition and self-esteem were 186.4±13.96 and 30.5±3.95 respectively. A significant positive correlation between critical thinking disposition and self-esteem was found (r=.33, p<.001). In regression analysis, types of certification, education, work place and self-esteem explained 57% of the variance in critical thinking disposition for these nurses. Conclusion: Participants who had higher levels of critical thinking disposition tend to exhibit a positive self-concept. It is necessary to provide interventions program to improve the critical thinking disposition and self-concept of psychiatric nurses.

This study aims to identify prospective teachers’ critical thinking disposition by gender that consist of seven components: 1) inquisitiveness, 2) self-confidence, 3) truth-seeking, 4) open-mindedness, 5) analyticity, 6) systematic, and 7) maturity. The survey methodology was used in this study. Research sample consisted of 100 students in Biology Education Program, Faculty of Science and Mathematics Education IKIP Mataram, Indonesia. Data on critical thinking dispositions were collected using The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). The results showed that prospective science teachers’ critical thinking disposition generally neither strength nor weakness category (score 3.1 ≤ X ≤3.9). Based on the result, it can be stated that prospective science teachers’ critical thinking disposition is neither strength nor weakness and there are differences in critical thinking disposition based on prospective science teachers’ gender on the components: 1) inquisitiveness (p = 0.001); 2) self-confidence (t(100) = 2.331, p = 0.022); 3) open-mindedness (t(100) = 4.531, p = 0.000); and 4) maturity (p = 0.004).

Relationships between critical thinking dispositions and learning styles.

A Review of:&#x0D; Kwon, Nahyun. “A Mixed-Methods Investigation of the Relationship between Critical Thinking and Library Anxiety among Undergraduate Students in their Information Search Process.” College &amp; Research Libraries 69.2 (2008): 117-31.&#x0D; &#x0D; Objective – To investigate the nature of the association between a student’s critical thinking disposition and the extent to which they suffer from library anxiety.&#x0D; &#x0D; Design – Standardized quantitative survey instruments and a qualitative content analysis of student essays.&#x0D; &#x0D; Setting – A state (publically funded) research university located in the southeast United States.&#x0D; &#x0D; Subjects – 137 undergraduate students enrolled in the Library and Research Skills course.&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods – Undergraduate students enrolled in the three-credit course Library and Research Skills during the spring 2006 semester were invited to participate in the study. Of 180 students registered in the course, 137 volunteered to take part. Data collection took place in the first two weeks of the semester. &#x0D; &#x0D; Participants were asked to complete two standardized survey instruments: the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) and the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS). The purpose of the CCTDI is to “measure a person’s disposition to use critical thinking” (119). The instrument consists of seven scales: “truth-seeking”; “open-mindedness”; “analyticity”; “systematicity”; “critical thinking self-confidence”; “inquisitiveness”; and “maturity” (119). “Truth-seeking” is a commitment to seeking answers even if the process proves difficult or reveals information outside of one’s belief system, “systematicity” is defined as an organized approach to problem solving, and “maturity” is the ability to make “reflective decisions when facing ill-structured problem situations” (119). “Analyticity” refers to a subject’s ability to anticipate possible outcomes, “open-mindedness” to being open to different points of view, “critical thinking self- confidence” to a belief in one’s own critical thinking skills, and “inquisitiveness” to “intellectual curiosity” (119). Participants scored 75 items using a six-point Likert-type scale. &#x0D; &#x0D; The LAS measures levels of library anxiety by asking students to respond to 43 statements using a five-point point Likert-type scale. The LAS is designed to identify perceived roadblocks to their students’ use of the library, including “barriers with staff” or staff who are not helpful, “affective barriers” or a lack of confidence in one’s research skills, “comfort with the library,” “knowledge of the library,” and “mechanical barriers” such as equipment that is difficult to use (119).&#x0D; &#x0D; In addition, participants were asked to write a 500-1,000 word essay about their “most recent or most memorable experience of using the library and its resources to write a research a paper” (120). Quantitative data collected from the CCTDI and LAS was analyzed using statistical software and the content of the qualitative data generated by the student essays was analyzed to identify common critical thinking and library anxiety themes.&#x0D; &#x0D; Main Results – Only a small percentage (6%) of participants in the study were freshman (i.e., in their first year of study). The largest group was comprised of third year students or juniors (41.8%), followed by sophomores (27.6%) and seniors (21.6%). The participants ranged in age from 18 to 60, with an average age of 22.9 years. Over 68% percent were female.&#x0D; &#x0D; Overall, a higher percentage of study participants scored lower on the CCTDI across all seven scales than a normative sample of undergraduate students. A score below 40 on a particular scale is considered by the instrument developers to be an indication of weakness in that particular dimension of critical thinking. The participants’ mean score for each of the seven scales fell below this threshold. Areas of particular weakness were truth-seeking (82% of students scored below 40), systematicity (63% scored below 40), and maturity (55% below 40).&#x0D; &#x0D; The researcher ranked the students by their total CCTDI scores, and then divided the subjects into three equal groups. The 37 students with the highest overall CCTDI scores were labelled the strong critical thinking dispositions (CTD) group. The 37 students with the lowest overall CCTDI scores formed the weak CTD group. The mean LAS scores of participants in each group were then compared. A higher LAS score is indicative of a higher level of library anxiety. Students with strong CTD demonstrated significantly less library anxiety than those with weak critical thinking dispositions (an overall mean score of 93.03 versus 111.13). When it came to the five dimensions of library anxiety, the difference in the mean scores between the two groups was greatest for staff barriers (30.88 for participants with strong CTD versus 38.20 for those weak CTD) and affective barriers (27.24 versus 32.94). The difference in scores for anxiety arising from mechanical barriers was lower (0.83), but still statistically significant (p

In today’s vastly changing world, many organizations such as The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) have advocated that the key performance outcomes around which curricula and assessments should be focused are critical thinking, reasoning, communication and media/information/technology literacy in mathematics. Thus, students will need to take into account both the core academic knowledge and the higher order thinking skills to be successful in college, life and career. This study investigated the pre-service mathematics teachers’ critical thinking dispositions. 202 students who were enrolled in the department of mathematics education at a university in Turkey completed a Turkish version of the “California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory” (CCTDI). The scale has six subscales (Open-mindedness, inquisitiveness, systematicity, truth seeking, analyticity, and self-confidence). The results revealed that the majority of students had moderate critical thinking disposition. Strong positive relationships among all six subscales were determined. Further, there were significant differences in students’ critical thinking disposition based on gender and grade level.

This article discusses findings of a study that investigated the variance in critical thinking dispositions between arts and non-arts undergraduates. A consensus of findings in research literature on education and critical thinking indicates that an inquiry-based curriculum positively influences gains in critical thinking. Research shows, as well, that learning in the arts is largely inquiry-based. The synthesis of those findings and the results of this study indicate that exposure to learning in the arts positively influences students' disposition to think critically. The study reported in this article utilized quantitative data from the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), a survey instrument. Data were collected from a sample of 141 undergraduates at a large, urban, public university on the U.S. east coast. The sample consisted of two discipline groups: arts and non-arts undergraduates; and two class rank groups: freshmen and juniors/seniors. As would be expected, when the class rank groups were compared, the juniors/seniors showed a significantly higher mean overall score on the CCTDI and were also found to have significantly higher scores on several of the subscales. Comparison of the two discipline groups showed no significant difference in overall mean CCTDI scores between arts and non-arts students, but the arts students were found to have significantly higher mean scores on several of the subscales within the research instrument: truth-seeking, maturity, and open-mindedness. These results suggest that learning in the arts builds strengths in several critical thinking dispositions and offers evidence that the arts do indeed enhance the disposition to think critically.

Problem Statement: In recent years many different studies have examined critical thinking disposition; however, these studies focus on investigating the variables that are related to this subject. There are actually few empirical studies in the literature. It is clear that there is a need for experimental research in order to comprehend the process of critical thinking in-depth. Purpose of the Study: This study investigates the contrastive effect of an experimental program and the placebo effect on the improvement of critical thinking disposition of university students. Method: Sixty-three participants from the students of Arabic Language Education in the Faculty of Education in Adiyaman University were divided into three classes as experiment, placebo, and control groups, each of which consisted of 21 participants. As the placement was on an already existing class system, the study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design. In the experiment group, an eight-week program, which was developed by researchers, was applied. The study was carried out in the last 10 to 15 minutes of Educational Psychology lessons. In the placebo group a positive atmosphere was provided in the class and the students were motivated toward critical thinking by being informed about the necessities of it, and in the control group no applications were used. California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, which was adapted into Turkish by Kokdemir in 2003, was used to assess the critical thinking skills of the participants. SPSS 20.0 was used to analyze data. Variance analysis, independent samples t-test and Ancova analysis were used to examine the data. Findings and Results: Independent samples t-test results pointed out that there was not a significant difference between male and female participants. Variance analysis conducted for age variables produced no significant difference between the groups. It was found that the highest improvement in critical thinking disposition of teacher candidates was observed in the placebo group, and the experimental group ranked second; however, Ancova analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the experiment, the placebo and the control groups’ posttests. Conclusion and Recommendations: Age, gender, and groups of the student were observed as not being significant variables in critical thinking disposition at the end of the study. Within the study, it is an important finding that merely the effort for creating a positive atmosphere in the placebo group induces a better level of improvement than the experiment group where activity and practice were made possible. Findings were discussed based on the relevant literature. Keywords: Thinking, critical thinking, placebo effect, teacher candidates

The aim of this research is to examine whether the critical thinking disposition of the students studying at university changes or not according to the variables.The sample group of research consist of students who are both active athlete in 2013-2014 academic year and who continued their education at Ankara university. In order to measure the students' critical thinking disposition, the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) developed by Facione and his colleagues and adapted to Turkish by Kokdemir was used.The data showed normal distribution when assessed by Levene test. As a result, it has been identified that students critical thinking levels didn't change by sex, but the critical thinking levels of sport students who are studying in other faculties and academies are higher than those who are studying in SPES. Moreover, the critical thinking levels of students who have spent up to 1-3 and 4-6 years were lower than those who have spent up to 7 years and above.

It is expected that nursing education improves abilities of students in solving problems, decision making and critical thinking in different circumstances. This study was performed to analyse the effects of care plans prepared using concept maps on the critical thinking dispositions of students. An experimental group and a control group were made up of a total of 80 freshman and sophomore students from the nursing department of a health school. The study used a pre-test post-test control group design. The critical thinking dispositions of the groups were measured using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. In addition, the care plans prepared by the experimental group students were evaluated using the criteria for evaluating care plans with concept maps. T-test was used in analysing the data. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the total and sub-scale pre-test scores between the experimental group and control group students. There were also significant differences in the total and sub-scale post-test scores between the experimental group and control group students. There were significant differences between concept map care plan evaluation criteria mean scores of the experimental students. In the light of these findings, it could be argued that the concept mapping strategy improves critical thinking skills of students.

Background: Critical thinking in personal, professional and social life is essential for every one especially nursing students as practice this talent from young age contribute to build a new nursing generation with high self-esteem and the ability to face life obstacles and problems. Aim: this study aim to identify the relationship between thinking disposition of nurse students and their self-esteem in Port-Said technical nurse institution. Design: a descriptive correlation design. Subjects: 350 nursing students. Setting: the technical nursing institute in Port-Said. Tools: Data for this study was collected by using two tools namely: California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) and Self- Esteem Scale (SES). Results: More than half of the under graduate nursing student at Port Said technical health institution, had ambivalent disposition towards most of the dispositional characteristics and the overall thinking disposition. While more than one third of nursing students had positive disposition toward thinking. Conclusion: There was statistical significant positive correlation between critical thinking disposition and self –esteem among nursing students. Recommendation: Nursing programs should offer enough time for the students to share in the extracurricular activities provided and nursing teachers are responsible to cultivate the critical spirit in their students, which includes attitudes, dispositions and traits of thinking.

The study was conducted in order to detect critical thinking dispositions and learning styles of the students of school of physical education and sports, to explore whether there was a significant difference in terms of gender variable and academic department variable and, to discover the correlation between critical thinking tendencies and learning styles of the students. Population of the study composed of 915 students who studied at the School of Physical Education and Sports of Mustafa Kemal University during 2012-2013 academic year. 630 students were selected according to randomized sampling method.&nbsp; California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and Kolb Learning Style Inventory were used as the data collection tools. It was found out that the students had moderate level of critical thinking disposition, did not have any dominant learning style but used mostly assimilator learning style. Findings of the study revealed that there was a significant difference between gender and academic department variables. While there was no significant difference between learning styles and gender variable, there was a significant difference between learning styles and academic department. It was seen that there were significant correlations between critical thinking tendencies and learning styles of the students. &nbsp; Key words: Critical thinking, learning style, physical education.

This paper reports the development of critical thinking of urban high school students in the Chinese city of Xi’an. It presents the assessment of the students’ two components of critical thinking: dispositions towards critical thinking and critical thinking skills, using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test. Results show that the students’ dispositions toward critical thinking are at an average level while their critical thinking skills are very low. This research also shows that there is no significant difference between students from science classes and arts classes in their critical thinking dispositions while science students have a higher level of critical thinking skills. Students from advanced classes have a higher level of the two components of critical thinking than their counterparts from general classes. There are no differences between male students and female students in both components.

BackgroundScientific framework is important in designing curricula and evaluating students in the field of education and clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of non-traditional educational methods on critical thinking skills.MethodsA systematic review approach was applied. Studies published in peer-reviewed journals from January 2001 to December 2014 were searched using electronic databases and major education journals. A meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.2. Reviewing the included studies, the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) and California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) were used to assess the effectiveness of critical thinking in the meta-analysis.ResultsThe eight CCTDI datasets showed that non- traditional teaching methods (i.e., no lectures) were more effective compared to control groups (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.42, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.26–0.57, p < .00001). And six CCTST datasets showed the teaching and learning methods in these studies were also had significantly more effects when compared to the control groups (SMD: 0.29, 95 % CI: 0.10–0.48, p = 0.003).ConclusionsThis research showed that new teaching and learning methods designed to improve critical thinking were generally effective at enhancing critical thinking dispositions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0761-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.