Grauerholz 2003 Assessing critical thinking sociology.pdf - Oncourse

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EXPLORING CRITICAL SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING*Much has been written about enhancing students' critical thinking abilities,but very little empirical research on this important learning outcome existswithin the sociological literature. Indeed, there is little consensus among sociologists(and non-sociologists) about what critical thinking is. In this paper wereview ways in which sociologists have conceptualized and measured criticalthinking and introduce a new concept--critical sociological thinking--that em-bodies the type of higher-level thinking many sociologists want to help studentsattain. Critical sociological thinking refers to the ability to logicaly andreasonably evaluate an argument or problem while maintaining an awarenessof and sensitivity to social forces and contexts. Further, we develop a scalethat can be used to measure critical sociological thinking and demonstrate itsusefulness in the empirical analysis of student writing. Implications for futureresearch and teaching are discussed.LIZ GRAUERHOLZPurdue UniversitySHARON BOUMA-HOLTROPPurdue UniversityONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT and commonlearning goals in sociology is enhancingstudents' critical thinking abilities(Goldsmid and Wilson 1980), yet empiricalresearch and theoretical clarity on this importantlearning outcome is sorely lacking(Baker 1981; Geertsen 2003a). Withoutsuch research, we remain at a loss to determinewhether certain teaching techniqueseffectively enhance such learning, whethersome are more effective than others, or iftheir effectiveness varies by student, group,or institution.In this paper, we explore ways in whichcritical thinking has been used theoreticallyand empirically primarily within the sociologicalliterature and attempt to clarify itsmeanings. Building upon the concepts ofreferential thinking, as introduced by Geert-"*The authors would like to thank Reed Geertsen,Janet Wilmoth, John Bean and the anonymousreviewers for their insightful comments onearlier drafts of this paper. Please address allcorrespondence to Liz Grauerholz, Departmentof Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University,West Lafayette, IN 47907;e-mail: grauer@sri. soc.purdue.edu.Editor's note: The reviewers were, inalphabetical order, Reed Geertsen, PriscillaReinertsen, and Norma Shepelak.sen (2003a), and discipline-specific criticalthinking, as discussed by McPeck (1985),we introduce the concept of critical sociologicalthinking to describe the type of criticalthinking of particular interest to sociologists-criticalthinking with a sensitivity toand awareness of social and cultural contexts.Data from a study of student writingare presented to demonstrate ways in whichcritical sociological thinking can be measuredempirically and used to assess studentlearning.CONCEPTUALIZINGCRITICAL THINKINGCritical thinking seems to be much likegood art: we know it when we see it, wehave some sense of how we might encourageor even teach it, but we are not surehow to assess or measure it. Certainly, theconcept has been overused and impreciselydefined. Baker's (1981:359) claim morethan 20 years ago that "critical thinking isone of those buzz words which seems tomean just about anything to anybody" stillrings true today. Among those who do attemptdefinitions, there is considerable variability(Geertsen 2003a). For instance, criticalthinking has been defined as:Teaching Sociology, Vol. 31, 2003 (October:485-496) 485
486 TEACHING SOCIOLOGYlearning names for the world's objects anddeveloping problem-solving skills. (Goldsmidand Wilson 1980:78)...the ability to create logical arguments basedon the "sociological imagination." (Green andKlug 1990:462)...the process of reasonably deciding what todo and/or believe. (Dorn, cited in Green andKlug 1990:465)the development of "deep professional competenceand sophisticated ethical judgment."(Nelson 1999:175)...identification of ambiguity and its role inreasoning,...discovery of assumptions andvalue conflicts,... evaluation of evidence,...assessmentof logic,...examination ofmetaphorical allusions,...identification of significantomitted information, ...generating alternativeinferences, and...development of areasoned judgment. (Browne and Litwin1987:384)...active critical and creative inquiry".(Shepelak, Curry-Jackson, and Moore1992:19)Others simply bypass the question of definingcritical thinking altogether while claimingto have found ways to enhance "it"(e.g. Zeller 1988).Several scholars have attempted to synthesizethe literature on critical thinking. Ruminskiand Hanks (1995:5) suggest thatdespite disagreement over how criticalthinking should be defined, most expertsagree that "critical thinking includes skillsin applying, analyzing, and evaluating information."In his review of the literatureon critical thinking, Baker (1981:328) suggeststhat critical thinking is usually conceptualizedin two ways: as a "problem-solvingprocess" and as a process of "deductivelogic and argument analysis." Similarly,Dorn (cited in Green and Klug 1990) suggeststhat critical thinking involves microlevelintellectual abilities and skills, such asthe ability to clarify issues and identifyvalue assumptions; macro-level dispositions,such as a predisposition to ask forevidence or to be creative; and macro-levelvalues, such as a commitment to fairness.Geertsen (2003a) reviews various ways inwhich critical thinking has been conceptualizeddating back to John Dewey. Similar toDewey, he distinguishes between criticalthinking, which involves more confirmatoryprocesses such as corroborating evidenceand narrowing perspectives, and reflectivethinking, which involves a broadening ofperspectives. Geertsen (2003a) suggests thatcritical thinking and reflective thinking, intheir many forms, represent higher-levelthinking: "I believe the appropriate umbrellaterm for all types of extraordinarythinking is higher-level thinking" (p. 8).Geertsen (2003a) further identifies sixdimensions of higher-level thinking, each ofwhich involves both critical and reflectivethinking. For example, one dimension ofhigher-level thinking is strategic thinking(thinking that is oriented toward application),which includes decision-making(critical thinking) and problem solving(reflective thinking).Although educators are likely to welcomeall forms of higher-level thinking in theirstudents, Geertsen (2003a) suggests thatcertain types of higher-level thinking aremore important to different disciplines.Medical professionals, for example, need tobe proficient in strategic thinking; that is,decision making and problem solving:Doctors are expected to understand and useestablished procedures for diagnosing andtreating unambiguous diseases; if they do not,a malpractice suit is likely to follow. In otherwords, they must make correct decisionswithin the parameters of established medicalknowledge. However, problem solving comesinto play when doctors encounter symptomsthat do not respond well to existing treatments.This ambiguity calls for a consideration of abroaderange of possibilities (Geertsen 2003a:11).Although many scholars argue that criticalthinking involves abilities and skills that canbe applied to any problem or subject matter(e.g., Paul 1993; Wade and Tavris 1993),
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