The power of practice: adjusting curriculum to include emphasis on skills

Abstract

Critical thinking skills are sought after in the workforce and are often included in departmental or course learning objectives. However, many courses focus on content rather than the cognitive skills needed to improve critical thinking ability. Further, skills are difficult to teach simply by modeling and lecturing. This study examines a course that included skill-focused content-related practice into a large lecture course and collected data on exam performance. The data indicate that scaffolded, in-class practice made a significant difference on student exam performance on questions involving data analysis and application.