Stacie M. Spencer & Marin Gillis
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a group might be struggling to determine if their measure of college students’ major life
events should include exam taking or if exam taking is a daily hassle. The instructor could
talk through the process of comparing the definitions of major life events and daily hassles,
considering the nature of the other items in the measure, and thinking about the item in
the context of the response format and time frame (e.g., does the measure ask the respond-
ent to indicate the number of times the event has happened over the past 12 months?). By
thinking aloud, the instructor demonstrates one way to solve the problem.
And finally, this approach results in the development of skills that can be transferred to
evaluating information obtained through the Internet and nonprofessional sources. By
directly comparing professional and lay measures, students learn that while both are easily
accessed through the Internet, they differ in important ways. Connor-Greene and Greene
(2002) provided evidence to support the value in teaching analytical and evaluative skills
by having students compare sources of information available through the Internet.
In conclusion, it is clear that there is a relationship between conceptual understanding
and critical thinking in that one cannot learn a concept by memorizing the definition; one
must learn the concept through the process of thinking critically. The skills that must be
taught for students to understand concepts are multidimensional and are best taught
through a variety of methods including didactic instruction, group activities, and indi-
vidual writing assignments. Although this approach seems organizationally intensive for
the instructor, it is flexible and is easily adapted to other courses that include conceptual
understanding and critical thinking objectives. Students seem not only to like this approach
but also to develop skills that can be transferred to other courses and will serve as basic
tools for lifelong learning.
References
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