Identifying Faculty's Knowledge of Critical Thinking Concepts and Perceptions of Critical Thinking Instruction in Hiaher Education1

摘要

This study was done to identify patterns in college of agriculture and life sciences faculty's understanding of basic critical thinking concepts and person perceptions of critical thinking instruction. The objectives of this study include, identifyingpatterns in faculty's knowledge of critical thinking concepts and identifying patterns in faculty's perceptions of critical thinking instruction in higher education. This quantitative study was performed to analyze patterns in responses of faculty participants. The participants included 61 self-selected faculty with teaching appointments in a college of agriculture and life sciences at a southern land grant institution. The data was collected using a compilation of three instruments: a critical thinking basic skills test, a "perceptions of critical thinking instruction" questionnaire, and a short demographic segment. The online data collection software, Qualtrics, was used to collect the data. The overall conclusion was that faculty's knowledge of perceptions and concepts of critical thinking is severely lacking. Not one question, in any section, was answered completely correctly. It is recommended that faculty participate in further education to understand the concepts of critical thinking.