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The Critical Thinking Lab
critical thinking paper relative to the first in terms of both content and depth of analysis.
Further, students demonstrated enhanced presentation skills, both in their level of confi-
dence in expressing the conclusions reached by their groups and in the clarity with which
conclusions were articulated.
This activity represents an enjoyable and useful approach for developing critical think-
ing skills relevant to evaluating research related to “real life” issues while promoting stu-
dent collaboration and presentation skills. The method presented here is amenable to
modification for fitting differing course structures, schedules, and topic areas, and we
encourage readers to do so. Finally, although the paper is an effective tool for students to
increase their writing skills while demonstrating critical thinking skills, instructors may
omit the assignment to fit the structure of a particular course.
References
Barber, P. (2002). Critical analysis of psychological research: Rationale and design for a proposed
course for the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 2,
95–101.
Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing col-
lege courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Furedy, J. J. (1988). Teaching critical thinking at the undergraduate level: A golden opportunity
worth its weight in gold. In P. J. Woods (Ed.), Is psychology for them? A guide to undergraduate
advising (pp. 42–48). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Matlin, M. M. (1997). Distilling psychology into 700 pages: Some goals for writing an introduc-
tory psychology textbook. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Teaching introductory psychology: Survival
tips from the experts (pp. 73–90). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Myers, D. G. (1997). Professing psychology with a passion. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Teaching intro-
ductory psychology: Survival tips from the experts (pp. 107–118).Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.