Todd J. Wilkinson et al.
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1 List all the reasons for believing the claim is true.
2 List all the reasons for questioning the claim or believing it is not true.
3 To what extent is supporting evidence presented in the article?
4 To what extent is this evidence convincing?
In addition, each group forms a consensus conclusion about the claim (e.g., that evidence
supports the conclusion that the claim likely is true, or that evidence provided to support the
claim is insufficient). As an incentive, the instructor tells students that by virtue of a class
vote, members in the group with the best presentation will receive extra credit points.
Materials include butcher paper (or equivalent) and markers. Tape should be available
as well for each group to fix their poster to a designated spot along the classroom wall for
presentations. Each group has approximately 5 mins (to be adjusted according to how
many groups there are and how much time is left before the end of class) to present the
claim itself, their evaluation of the claim, and their conclusion. Optimally, the class stands
and moves around the classroom as each group presents from their poster location, simu-
lating a poster session at a professional conference. Following the presentation of all post-
ers, each class member receives a sticky note and fixes it to the poster that represents what
she or he believes was the best thought-out evaluation (i.e., not simply the flashiest or best
designed poster). If preferred, voting also can occur in the form of a secret ballot. After the
instructor announces the winning group, discussion ensues (e.g., what makes this poster
the best?). The exercise generally takes about 2 hours to complete and works equally well
in a single 2-hour time block or spread across two 1-hour class sessions. To help students
personalize the learning acquired during the exercise, we incorporated an additional writ-
ing assignment with this activity by having students summarize what they learned and
demonstrate their critical thinking skills by re-evaluating their group’s selected claim in
individual papers.
Evaluations and Conclusions
Students (n = 33) completed evaluations of the critical thinking lab at the end of a
15-week semester in which they conducted the lab during the 3rd and 9th weeks. On a
Likert-type scale (1 = no increase, 3 = moderate amount, 5 = large amount), students
indicated that the lab increased their knowledge and skills related to critical thinking a
“moderate to large amount” (M = 3.86, SD = .78). Using items with similar response
options, students also rated the exercise as enjoyable (M = 3.98, SD = .8) and useful to
them beyond the class (M = 3.79, SD = .87).
The instructor also asked students whether they recommended the critical thinking lab
for use with future classes. All but one student recommended using the lab exercise in the
future. In addition, students made several positive comments, including that the lab “really
helps to see how others extract/critically think about these articles,” and “I think it’s good
practice for critical thinking outside of class.” Students suggested that the exercise also was
a useful way to promote collaboration and teamwork within the class. Anecdotally, stu-
dent papers revealed markedly more effective use of critical thinking skills on the second