Enhancing Student's Critical Thinking through Analytical Learning Approaches

Critical thinking has been perceived as one of the oldest and most generally recognised approaches to intelligence skills. Scriven and Paul (1996) and Angelo (1995) view critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualising, applying, analysing, synthesising, and evaluating as a guide to belief and action. It is believed that challenging critical thinking enhances learning outcome. This study aimed to compare the influence of different analytical approaches on learning by enhancing the medical students' critical thinking. Three types of analytical approaches used were mind mapping, TOC (Theory of Constraints), and tables. 90 medical students were randomly assigned into 3 groups to learn a complex issue (Syncope) within 90 minutes, using either one of the mentioned approaches. Learning outcome was assessed and differences were compared. Individual opinions were sought for and discussed. The performance scores of students exposed to Mind Mapping were significantly higher than those of TOC. The average scores were in the order of Mind Map>Table >TOC, but statistically not significant. Students felt that all methods enhanced their thinking and understanding when tackling with a complex issue within a limited time frame. Majority in mind mapping agreed that it had a positive impact on their analysing ability and less time consuming. Analytical methods enhanced student's learning of complex issues. Medical students should be introduced to various analytical approaches and encouraged to adopt the appropriate method as required.