Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Eileen E. Morrison
Committee Member
John A. Morgan
Committee Member
James A. Pietrovito
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
application, assignments, baseline information, benchmarking model, Bloom’s Taxonomy, California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, California Critical Thinking Skills Test, college undergraduates, course materials, critical thinking, critical thinking disposition, critical thinking skills, curricula, curriculum evaluation, examination questions, faculty, health care environment, New England, norm values, nursing literature, nursing students, objectives, physical therapy, Physical Therapist Assistant, progressive learning, PTA programs, semesters, standardized measures, teaching strategies
Abstract
The purpose of this applied dissertation was to evaluate the extent to which Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) programs in New England addressed critical thinking skills in their curricula. Norm values were measured for two standardized measures of critical thinking and the extent to which course materials promoted critical thinking was determined using Bloom’s Taxonomy. Teaching strategies were compiled for use by PTA faculty to foster the development of critical thinking skills.
Eight of eighteen PTA programs within New England participated. Scores on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (13.87 of a possible 34 points) were lower than those reported for the norm sample of college undergraduates (15.89 points), and scores on the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (304 points) were similar to those reported by the test developers for college undergraduates (305 points). Scores for the sample population were similar to those reported for nursing students on both measures. Application of the nursing literature dealing with critical thinking to the PTA student population was supported. Forty-two percent of objectives per course and 30% of examination questions per course were classified as critical thinking. Assignments were classified as critical thinking 89% of the time. The emphasis on critical thinking was progressive throughout semesters.
While no conclusions can be drawn regarding the ability of PTA students to use critical thinking skills in dealing with the demands of today’s health care environment, baseline information is now available from which improvements can be made and measured. Specific recommendations were generated from the findings of this study. A benchmarking model was developed by which individual PTA courses and curricula can be evaluated regarding critical thinking.