Critical thinking instruction and minority engineering students at a public urban higher education institution.

摘要

The enhancement of critical thinking skills is necessary for students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. A three-year mixed methods study conducted at a Historically Black College and University in Baltimore, Maryland focused on enhancing critical thinking skills for African American students. A total of ninety students participated in a summer residential enrichment program during 2006-2008. The quasi-experimental study consisted of 50 students in the experimental group and 40 students in the control group.A standardized critical thinking assessment was administered as a pre- and post-test which gave implications to the effectiveness of a critical thinking intervention that was implemented in the experimental group. Quantitative data collection and analyses focused on results from the pre- and post-test results, while qualitative data collection and analyses consisted of textual analyses of students' written narrative statements and interviews with engineering faculty.The most important implication of this study is that integrating critical thinking pedagogy opposed to rote memorization into curricula will better prepare students for careers in STEM disciplines. The study includes several recommendations regarding the integration of critical thinking pedagogy for college and university administrators and faculty.