Journal article
Critical thinking skills and science achievement: A latent profile analysis
Thinking skills and creativity, Vol.49, 101349
09/2023
DOI: 10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101349
Abstract
•Contributes to debate on general vs. domain-specific critical thinking skills.•Identifies five profiles with varying abilities, independent of demographics.•Higher performance not limited to gifted; lower scores not limited to special needs.•Critical thinking and science achievement impact success in other domains.•Emphasizes development of critical thinking and reasoning skills linked to science knowledge.
This study provides a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneity among students in relation to their critical thinking skills and standardized science assessment scores by identifying different student profiles. The research utilized a latent profile analysis modeling strategy to develop student profiles with scores from the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and science scores from the Iowa Assessments at grade 5. The participants consisted of 2,052 5th-grade students across 47 schools in a Midwestern state. The results identified five distinct profiles demonstrating independence from socio-demographic characteristics. The profiles were categorized as follows: (a) Strong Inductive - Very Strong Deductive (SIVSD), (b) Strong Inductive - Strong Deductive (SISD), (c) Good Inductive - Good Deductive (GIGD), (d) Weak Inductive - Good Deductive (WIGD), and (e) Weak Inductive - Weak Deductive (WIWD). These findings shed light on the diversity of students' cognitive skills and are instrumental in fostering the development of hypotheses concerning critical thinking skills, pointing to prospective research avenues. This understanding may lead to implications on the design of curricula and teaching strategies, tailoring them to effectively nurture these critical thinking skills in diverse student populations.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Critical thinking skills and science achievement: A latent profile analysis
- Creators
- Jihyun Hwang - Korea National University of EducationBrian Hand - University of IowaBrian F. French - Washington State University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Thinking skills and creativity, Vol.49, 101349
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101349
- ISSN
- 1871-1871
- eISSN
- 1878-0423
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100018542, name: Irish Endocrine Society; DOI: 10.13039/100005246, name: Institute of Education Sciences, award: R305A090094
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/2023
- Academic Unit
- Teaching and Learning
- Record Identifier
- 9984435134402771
Metrics
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