Proposition Testing: A Strategy to Develop Critical Thinking for Essay Writing

Handbook (chapter)


Hammer, Sara and Griffiths, Phil. 2015. "Proposition Testing: A Strategy to Develop Critical Thinking for Essay Writing ." The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education. Springer. pp. 247-263
Chapter Title

Proposition Testing: A Strategy to Develop Critical Thinking for Essay Writing

Book Chapter CategoryHandbook (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID3337
Book TitleThe Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education
AuthorsHammer, Sara and Griffiths, Phil
Page Range247-263
Chapter Number15
Year2015
PublisherSpringer
ISBN9781137378057
9781137378033
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137378057_16
Web Address (URL)https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137378057_16
Abstract

One of the proudest claims of the humanities and social sciences is that our disciplines develop the capacity of students for critical thinking. This is not a claim that is supported by research, and there are good reasons to be skeptical of it. Davies (2011) has suggested that universities are actually teaching very little critical thinking. In particular, there are serious doubts about the value of the most important student learning activity in most of our subjects, and especially those in second year and above: the student essay. Complaints about the shallowness of student essays are widespread.

KeywordsCritical Thinking; High Education Research; Essay Question; Essay Writing; Proposition Test
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/wv459/proposition-testing-a-strategy-to-develop-critical-thinking-for-essay-writing

  • 22
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Measurement properties of the dispositional measure of employability in Australian university students.
Brown, Jason L, McIlveen, Peter, Perera, Harsha N and Hammer, Sara. 2024. "Measurement properties of the dispositional measure of employability in Australian university students." Australian Journal of Career Development. 33 (1), pp. 25-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/10384162231223662
Learning and teaching benchmarking in Australian universities: the current state of play
McCubbin, Amanda, Hammer, Sara and Ayriss, Peter. 2022. "Learning and teaching benchmarking in Australian universities: the current state of play." Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 44 (1), pp. 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2021.1934244
What were they thinking? The politics of ideas in Australia by James Walter with Todd Moore
Griffiths, Phil. 2011. "What were they thinking? The politics of ideas in Australia by James Walter with Todd Moore ." Journal of Australian Studies. 35 (2), pp. 268-269.
The coolie labour crisis in colonial Queensland
Griffiths, Phil. 2017. "The coolie labour crisis in colonial Queensland." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. https://doi.org/10.5263/labourhistory.113.0053
Racism: whitewashing the class divide
Griffiths, Phil. 2005. "Racism: whitewashing the class divide." Kuhn, Rick (ed.) Class and struggle in Australia. Frenchs Forest, Australia. Pearson Education Australia. pp. 159-175
The “Necessity” of a Socially Homogeneous Population: The Ruling Class Embraces Racial Exclusion
Griffiths, Phil. 2015. "The “Necessity” of a Socially Homogeneous Population: The Ruling Class Embraces Racial Exclusion ." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. https://doi.org/10.5263/labourhistory.108.0123
Proposition testing: a strategy to develop critical thinking for essay writing
Hammer, Sara and Griffiths, Phil. 2015. "Proposition testing: a strategy to develop critical thinking for essay writing." Davies, Martin and Barnett, Ronald (ed.) The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in higher education. New York, United States. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 247-263
This is a British colony: the ruling-class politics of the seafarers' strike, 1878-79
Griffiths, Phil. 2013. "This is a British colony: the ruling-class politics of the seafarers' strike, 1878-79." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. 105 (1), pp. 131-151. https://doi.org/10.5263/labourhistory.105.0131
The strategic fears of the ruling class: the construction of Queensland's Chinese Immigrants Regulation Act of 1877
Griffiths, Phil. 2012. "The strategic fears of the ruling class: the construction of Queensland's Chinese Immigrants Regulation Act of 1877." Australian Journal of Politics and History. 58 (1), pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2012.01620.x
The creation of income inequality: the impact of government policies in Australia and other OECD economies
Griffiths, Phil. 2011. "The creation of income inequality: the impact of government policies in Australia and other OECD economies." International Conference on Income Distribution Theory and Policy (2011). Wuhan, China 15 - 16 Oct 2011 Wuhan, China.
Notes on early trade unionism in Townsville
Griffiths, Phil. 2011. "Notes on early trade unionism in Townsville." The Queensland Journal of Labour History.
Big white lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia by John Fitzgerald
Griffiths, Phil. 2008. "Big white lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia by John Fitzgerald." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. 94, pp. 176-178.
Containing discontent: anti-Chinese racism in the reinvention of Angus Cameron
Griffiths, Phil. 2008. "Containing discontent: anti-Chinese racism in the reinvention of Angus Cameron." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. 94, p. 69–88.
The political economy of racism
Griffiths, Phil. 2011. "The political economy of racism." Argyrous, George and Stilwell, Frank (ed.) Readings in political economy: economics as a social science, 3rd ed.. Melbourne, Australia. Tilde University Press. pp. 37-43
From humiliation to triumph: Sir Henry Parkes, the squatters and the anti-Chinese movement, 1877-1878
Griffiths, Phil. 2010. "From humiliation to triumph: Sir Henry Parkes, the squatters and the anti-Chinese movement, 1877-1878." Journal of Australian Colonial History. 12, pp. 143-170.
The heroic/shameful role of labour: mythology in the making of White Australia
Griffiths, Phil. 2009. "The heroic/shameful role of labour: mythology in the making of White Australia." Legacies 09 Conference. Toowoomba, Australia 13 - 14 Feb 2009 Toowoomba, Australia.