Exploring cultural differences in critical thinking: Is it about my thinking style or the language I speak?

Critical thinking is deemed as an ideal in academic settings, but cultural differences in critical thinking performance between Asian and Western students have been reported in the international education literature. We examined explanations for the observed differences in critical thinking between Asian and New Zealand (NZ) European students, and tested hypotheses derived from research in international education and cultural psychology. The results showed that NZ European students performed better on two objective measures of critical thinking skills than Asian students. English proficiency, but not dialectical thinking style, could at least partially if not fully explain these differences. This finding holds with both self-report (Study 1) and objectively measured (Study 2a) English proficiency. The results also indicated that Asian students tended to rely more on dialectical thinking to solve critical thinking problems than their Western counterparts. In a follow-up data analysis, students' critical thinking was found to predict their academic performance after controlling for the effects of English proficiency and general intellectual ability, but the relationship does not vary as a function of students' cultural backgrounds or cultural adoption (Study 2b). Altogether, these findings contribute to our understanding of the influence of culture on critical thinking in international education.     

FROM PISA TO EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS: THE IMPACT OF LARGE-SCALE ASSESSMENTS ON SCIENCE EDUCATION IN GERMANY

The German education system does not traditionally rely on standardized testing. However, when the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study revealed an average performance of German students compared to other participating countries, a particular proportion of low-performing students, and remarkable disparities between the federal states, German policy makers decided for a major reform of the education system. A core piece of this reform was the introduction of National Education Standards. For science education, these standards were heavily influenced by the PISA results and its underlying framework. That is, with the standards, a paradigm shift took place from the German notion of Bildung towards the Anglo-American notion of literacy. With the introduction of these standards, a new field of empirical educational research was created: research on models of scientific literacy or competency models as a basis of benchmarking the standards. This article describes the German education system before PISA, summarizes the major findings from PISA, and describes how these findings informed the formulation of the performance standards for science education. It also details the measures undertaken to benchmark these standards. Finally, it provides insight into the issues with developing and benchmarking performance standards and points out future areas of research on evidence-based decision making in educational policy.     

A minimally invasive approach to undergraduate anatomy teaching

Anatomy is one of the cornerstones of medical education. Unfortunately, sufficient evidence has accumulated to suggest a worldwide decline in the resources and time allocated to its teaching. Integration of anatomy with clinical medicine has been frequently advocated as the solution to this academic crisis. Consequently, new ways of harnessing clinical relevance to the teaching of anatomy must be sought to make it applicable to contemporary clinical practice. Human cadavers have been used to teach laparoscopic skills to surgical trainees for some time. More recently, centers in the United States have piloted the use of minimally invasive techniques in the teaching of anatomy to undergraduates. We believe that the use of laparoscopy on human cadavers may also be used to complement the teaching of anatomy to United Kingdom and European medical students. This would not only familiarize students with the topography and morphology of human anatomy, but also with the concept of manipulating anatomical structures to achieve a clinical outcome. Other benefits include improved three‐dimensional orientation, increased dexterity, and development team‐working skills amongst students. A UK feasibility study is currently underway. Anat Sci Ed 1:46–47, 2008. © 2007 American Association of Anatomists.     

The Use of Additional Information in Problem-Oriented Learning Environments

Self-directed learning with authentic and complex problems (problem-oriented learning) requires that learners observe their own learning and use additional information when it is appropriate (e.g. hypertextual information in computer-supported learning environments). Research results indicate that learners in problem-oriented learning environments often have difficulties using additional information adequately, and that they should be supported. Two studies with a computer-supported problem-oriented learning environment in the domain of medicine analysed the effects of strategy instruction on the use of additional information and the quality of the problem representation. In Study 1, an expert model was used for strategy instruction. Two groups were compared: one group with strategy modelling and one group without. Strategy modelling influenced the frequency of looked-up hypertextual information, but did not influence the quality of learners' problem representations. This could be explained by difficulties in applying the general hypertext information to the problem. In Study 2, the additional information was presented in a more contextualised way as graphical representation of the case and its relevant concepts. Again, two groups were compared: one with a strategy instruction text and one without. Strategy instruction texts supported an adequate use of this graphical information by learners and had an effect on the quality of their problem representations. These findings are discussed with respect to the design of additional help systems in problem-oriented learning environments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.