CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL _

268 Pages·2005·1.75 MB·English

by  Jennifer H. Reed

Graduate School
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
____________________________

Ph.D. Dissertation
____________________________

This is to certify that the Ph.D. Dissertation of

JENNIFER H. REED

with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies has been approved by
the Examining Committee on October 26, 1998
as satisfactory for the dissertation requirement
for the Doctor of Philosophy degree

Examining Committee:

___________________________________________________
Co-Major Professor: James Eison, Ph.D.

___________________________________________________

Co-Major Professor: J. Howard Johnston, Ph.D.

___________________________________________________
Member: William F. Benjamin, Ph.D.

___________________________________________________
Member: Gary Mormino, Ph.D.

___________________________________________________
Member: Dick J. Puglisi, Ph.D.
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EFFECT OF A MODEL FOR CRITICAL THINKING ON STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

AND INTERPRETATION, ARGUMENTATIVE REASONING,

CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS, AND HISTORY CONTENT

IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE HISTORY COURSE

by

JENNIFER H. REED

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in
Interdisciplinary Studies
College of Education
University of South Florida

December 1998

Co-Major Professor: James Eison, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor: J. Howard Johnston, Ph.D.
i i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. James Eison, who served as my co-major
professor. You were unfailingly available for my questions and concerns, large or
small, and always ready with thoughtful suggestions and valuable insights.
Many thanks to the other members of my committee, Dr. Howard Johnston,
Dr. William Benjamin, Dr. Gary Mormino, and Dr. Dick Puglisi. Each of you, with
your special expertise, provided me with invaluable advice, encouragement, and
careful guidance. I also wish to thank Dr. Jeffrey Kromrey for clarifying statistical
procedures and answering questions.
To my friends and colleagues in this great adventure, Sandy Hightower and
Pam Craven, I appreciate your encouragement, support, and assistance. Your
companionship made difficult times enjoyable. To Reggie Lee, I offer my undying
gratitude for your invaluable aid with the statistical component of this study. Thanks
also to Barbara Ramsey and Pat Williams for your contributions as raters for the DBQ
and the Ennis-Weir respectively.
I also wish to acknowledge the support of the administration and colleagues at
Polk Community College. Thanks especially to Jude Ryan for your careful
proofreading.
Lastly, I wish to thank my husband, Michael, and my children, Rachael, Josh,
and David, for your continuous support and encouragement. I appreciate you more
than words can express.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES iv
LIST OF FIGURES vi
ABSTRACT vii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1

Statement of the Problem 1
Purpose of the Study 6
Research Questions 7
Definitions 8
Delimitations and Limitations 11
Summary 13

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 14

Defining Critical Thinking 14
Philosophy-based theories and definitions 16
Psychology-based theories and definitions 22
Attempts at consensus 27
Teaching for Critical Thinking 30
Assessment of Critical Thinking 32
Critical Thinking and Age 37
Critical Thinking and Gender 39
Transfer of Learning 41
Critical Thinking and History 42
Summary of Literature 45

CHAPTER III METHOD 48

Institutional Setting 49
Research Participants 49
Instruments 53
Analysis and interpretation of primary source documents 56
Argument analysis and general critical thinking ability 59
Critical thinking dispositions 63
History achievement 66
Demographic Survey 68
Student Perception of Instruction 69
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Interviews 69
Summary of instruments 70
Design and Procedures 71
Instructional Method and Materials 75
Experimental group 75
Control group 92
Method of Data Analysis 98
Summary of Method 100

CHAPTER IV RESULTS 102

Description of Sample 103
Method of Data Analysis 105
Achievement in Analysis and Interpretation of Primary
Source Documents 108
Research questions 108
Descriptive statistics 108
Inferential statistics for achievement in analysis and
interpretation of primary source documents 110
Achievement in Argumentative Reasoning 113
Research questions 113
Descriptive statistics 113
Inferential statistics for achievement in argumentative reasoning 115
Dispositions Toward Critical Thinking 119
Research questions 119
Descriptive statistics 119
Inferential statistics for dispositions toward critical thinking 122
Achievement in Knowledge of History Content 124
Research questions 124
Descriptive statistics 125
Inferential statistics for achievement in history
content knowledge 126
Relationships Among Achievement in Source Analysis and
Interpretation, Argumentative Analysis, Critical Thinking
Dispositions, and Knowledge of History Content 128
Interviews 129
Summary of Results 133

CHAPTER V DISCUSSION 134

Discussion of Research Questions 136
Research question one 136
Research question two 141
Research question three 149
Research question four 153
Research question five 156
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Research question six 157
Relationships among achievement on the four instruments 158
Summary of Conclusions 160
Limitations 161
Implications for Practice 162
Recommendations for Further Research 170
Recommendations for Professional Development 171

REFERENCES 173

APPENDICES 190

Appendix A Critical Thinking and History Packet 191
Appendix B Student Perception of Instruction Form and
Student Responses 203
Appendix C Drop Survey and Student Responses 209
Appendix D Demographic Survey and Student Responses 212
Appendix E History Content Exam 220
Appendix F Student Interviews 229
Appendix G Letter of Permission from Participating
Institution 250
Appendix H Course Syllabus: U. S. History 1877
to the Present 253
Appendix I Sample Questions from Constructing the
American Past (Vol. 2) 261

VITA End Page

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of Participants 54
Table 2 Preliminary Study – Mean Scores for Critical Thinking
Dispositions 65
Table 3 Preliminary Study – History Content Exam 68
Table 4 Comparison of Instructional Methods and Materials
for Experimental and Control Groups 97
Table 5 Distribution of Pretest Scores 103
Table 6 Distribution of Pretest and Posttest Scores by Age 104
Table 7 Distribution of Pretest and Posttest Scores by Gender 105
Table 8 Distribution of DBQ Scores by Method of Instruction 109
Table 9 Means and Standard Deviations on the DBQ by Method
of Instruction and Age 109
Table 10 Means and Standard Deviations on the DBQ by
Method of Instruction and Gender 110
Table 11 Analysis of Covariance for the DBQ 112
Table 12 Distribution of Ennis-Weir Scores by Method of Instruction 114
Table 13 Means and Standard Deviations on the Ennis-Weir
by Method of Instruction and Age 115
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Table 14 Means and Standard Deviations on the Ennis-Weir
by Method of Instruction and Gender 116
Table 15 Analysis of Covariance for the Ennis-Weir 117
Table 16 Distribution of CCTDI Scores by Method of Instruction 119
Table 17 Means and Standard Deviations on the CCTDI
by Method of Instruction and Age 120
Table 18 Means and Standard Deviations on the CCTDI
by Method of Instruction and Gender 121
Table 19 Means and Standard Deviations on CCTDI Scales 122
Table 20 Analysis of Covariance for the CCTDI 123
Table 21 Distribution of Scores on the History Content Exam
by Method of Instruction 125
Table 22 Means and Standard Deviations on the History Content
Exam by Method of Instruction and Age 126
Table 23 Means and Standard Deviations on the History Content
Exam by Method of Instruction and Gender 127
Table 24 Analysis of Covariance for the History Content Exam 128
Table 25 Correlation Matrix for Outcome Variables 129

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Richard Paul’s Model for Critical Thinking 77

Figure 2 Student Handout – Reasoning About History Form 82
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EFFECT OF A MODEL FOR CRITICAL THINKING ON STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

AND INTERPRETATION, ARGUMENTATIVE REASONING,

CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS, AND HISTORY CONTENT

IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE HISTORY COURSE

by

JENNIFER H. REED

An Abstract

Of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in
Interdisciplinary Studies
College of Education
University of South Florida

December 1998

Co-Major Professor: James Eison, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor: J. Howard Johnston, Ph.D.
x