Critical Thinking and Orientation to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Research
Being well versed in peer-reviewed research literature of the psychology field and being able to mine traditional and online research library databases for research literature are important expectations of college-level scholars. As a college-level instructor, what strategies might you use to orient students to the peer-review process and the value it imparts on the research? How does that relate to the development of your students’ critical thinking skills?
For this Discussion, review and study this week’s Learning Resources. Consider the following scenario: You have been asked to develop a 4-week online course for beginning graduate students in which they learn to critically evaluate research journal articles. Reflect on online teaching strategies that might facilitate critical thinking in this 4-week course. Consider how you might introduce the online library in the first week of class. Think about what strategies you might use to encourage your students’ critical thinking skills in their evaluation of peer-reviewed psychology journals.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 3 a brief explanation of one online teaching strategy you might use to encourage your students’ critical thinking skills in the first week of class through the use of the online library. Then explain how the strategy you selected facilitates the development of critical thinking skills.
Be sure to support your post with specific references to the Learning Resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full, APA-formatted citations for your references.
References:
- Richardson, J., & Ice, P. (2010). Investigating Students’ Level of Critical Thinking across Instructional Strategies in Online Discussions. Internet and Higher Education, 13(1-2), 52-59.
- Stadtlander, L. M., & Giles, M. J. (2010). Virtual Instruction: A Qualitative Research Laboratory Course. Teaching of Psychology, 37(4), 281-286.
- Stavredes, T. (2011). Effective online teaching: Foundations and strategies for student success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Chapter 12, “Establishing Social Presence Through Learner-to-Learner Collaborative Strategies” (pp. 131–149)
- Chapter 13, “Establishing Instructor Presence Through Instructor-to-Learner Interaction Strategies” (pp. 151–157)
- Chapter 14, “Communication Tools to Support Cognitive, Social, and Teaching Presence” (pp. 167–181)