Hi all,
I apologize for the cross-posting, but I think it will be useful
here.
Several people on these lists have gotten me thinking about
the use of outcome measures for skeptical thinking courses,
in particular.
Apropos of this, today I received a "Human Resource
Assessments Catalog" from the Psychological Corporation,
and in it is a reference to the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking
Appraisal (WGCTA, 1980).
According to the blurb, the WGCTA "predict[s] success
in occupations requiring critical thinking...With a long history
of use in educational and organizational settings, the test
helps indicate if employees have improved their critical
thinking from training and instructional programs. It also
has been useful in conducting research on the critical
thinking construct."
The first example problem involves making an inference based
on a research finding, and the second is a pretty standard
nonsense syllogism problem.
My questions are: 1) Does anyone out there know anything
about this or related measures? 2) Has anyone out there
done much in evaluating the broad success of your "thinking"
courses, beyond the obvious course-related exams and papers?
3) *Should* we be concerned in demonstrating transfer in
thinking skills from our courses to other domains?
Thanks in advance,
Mike
*****************************************************
Michael J. Kane
Psychology Department
Georgia State University
University Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
phone: 404-651-0704
fax: 404-651-0753
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"It is morally as bad not to care whether a thing
is true or not, so long as it makes you feel good,
as it is not to care how you got your money as
long as you have it."
-- E.W. Teale
