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
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
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