1. Type relevant Irish language Unit Name into this text box in Title Master. Type relevant English language Unit Name into this text box in Title Master. Theorising Critical Thinking in Nursing Education UCD Fellows in Teaching and Academic Development Tom O’Connor Gerry MacRuairc Aoife Ahern Martin McNamara Deirdre O’Donnell

2. Fellowships in Teaching and Academic Development Initiative under Strategic Innovation Fund Purpose: Conduct research which is of strategic importance to the development of teaching and learning in UCD 2009-2011 (7 fellows) http://www.ucd.ie/fellows/

3. Overview Critical thinking (CT): some key issues and questions from scholarship on higher education & nursing Theorising CT and Nursing knowledge using Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) An analysis of the nature of nursing knowledge Some findings from the UCD study exploring the understandings of CT in the university setting Implications for curriculum and nursing education

4. Critical Thinking: The Graduate Attribute? Contested, elusive, fugitive concept Linked variously to logic, problem solving, scepticism regarding evidence, exploring contradictions/complexities, argumentation, open mindedness, discerning patterns and connections, able to rise above the concrete to think in abstract way 3-tier model (Barnett 1997) Critical thinking (learning generally to problem solve) Critical thought (using this skill to interrogate a body of knowledge) Critique (meta-criticism, critique one discipline from the perspective of another, situate own discipline in wider contexts) (Pithers & Soden 2000, Davies 2006, Jones 2007a,2007b, 2009, Maton 2009 )

5. This one … Critical thinking is about what is hidden. It is thus in any form a confrontation and resistance 'critical thinking is at the core of the art or disobedience' (James et al 2010 287). Critical thinking is the art of knowledgeable and skilful disobedience. It is disciplined thinking otherwise it is just simple criticism which can lack substance and credibility ( James 2010)

6. Implications for teaching and learning Agreement that many staff have an inadequate grasp of the explicit fundamentals of CT – they know it when they see it and this creates problems when teaching and assessing. Scholarship strongly suggests that what is lacking is an operational conceptualisation of CT- One that is closely aligned to teaching and learning activities and to coherent assessment Also identify a lack of operational definitions appropriate to different disciplines. Scholarship strongly suggests that CT needs to be at the core of curriculum and modular design from the start not add on (James et al 2008, 2010)

7. CT in Nursing A valued concept given the breath of literature in nursing education Suffers same lack of definition as in other areas Often linked directly to practical situations and algorithmic type interpretations Often linked also to other disciplinary specific concepts such as competence, patient safety & fitness to practice (Adam 1999, May et al 1999, Scheffer et al 2000, Simpson & Courtney 2002, Fero et a 2009, Mc Mullen et al 2009)

8. Theoretical approach Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) Karl Maton LCT provides a framework for critically analysing knowledge claims and institutional practices. Critical realist, draws on the work of Bernstein and Bordieu.AutonomyDensityTemporalitySpecialisationSemantics

9. Semantics SG-SD+ SG+SD- Semantic Gravity: Refers to the degree which meaning relates to it’s context Semantic Density: Refers to the degree to which meaning is condensed Is useful in anylsing everything from whole fields of knowledge to individual pieces of work

10. SG++ SD-- SG +/- SD +/- SG-- SD++ ‘How to’ nursing Grand theories Mid range theroy SG- SG+ SD- SD+ No value judgement on the position Maton 2010

11. An analysis of the nature of nursing knowledge as it is viewed by transferees to the academy (McNamara et al) Interviews with nursing academics Nursing knowledge characterised by weak connections between the abstract and the concrete Theory doesn't speak to practice (Theory is dumb) and practice doesn't inform theory (Theory is deaf) Within the academy a depiction of a fragmented and compartmentalised knowledge field, lacking integration and anchored to the concrete and descriptive (SD-, SG+) Externality and back to practice a depiction of disconnectedness and being out of touch (SG-, SD+)

12. Understanding CT in the university setting Aim:To explore the understandings and realisation of critical thinking in the university curriculum Rationale: A need to understand it, challenge tokenistic attention and find out how it is (or can be) realised Multi-method qualitative study, involving Schools from all five UCD Colleges across a range of subjects and disciplines Phase 1 Semi-structured interviews with 13 subject experts Phase 2 Analysis of 2 modules chosen by each subject expert using related documentation Phase 3 Semi-structured interviews with module co-ordinators Phase 4 Analysis of student assessment work per module Phase 5 The employer’s perspective

13. Findings Academics Range of definitions –Generic –Specific –? Recognition (it ‘emerges’) Valued (? By students) CT in the Curriculum –Teaching & Learning Strategies –Assessment –Graduate/Undergraduate debate (levels?) Barriers and facilitators –It emerges and disappears Student Work/Documentary analysis –CT evident (sometimes) –Assessment task rather than than the nature of the assessment may be more important –How are we recognising it? –Strong where there is a relationship between the abstract and the concrete

14. Emerging model of CT based on Maton’s LCT (Semantics) CT characterised by the ability to shift/oscillate between the abstract and the concrete In Maton’s terms it is the ability to move along and between the Semantic Gravity/ Semantic Density continua Movement (Cognitive Shuttling) the key The ‘Cognitive shuttle’ is achieved by way of the teaching and learning activities and assessment Challenges hierarchically taxonomies

15. SG- SG+ SD- SD+ Skills,Know how, Practical knowledge Experience,Real world, Employability Demonstrate, Example Principles,Constructs,Models Concepts,Theories, Assumptions Perspectives,Ideas

16. What does it mean for nursing? If, as suggested, nursing knowledge is characterised by weak connections between the abstract and the concrete, the ability to develop CT is compromised The establishment of processes to reconnect the abstract and the concrete is key Implications for curriculum; –Selection –Sequencing –Assessment Implications for teaching, learning & pedagogies

17. References Barrie S. (2006) Understanding what we mane by the generic attributes if graduates. Higher Education 51 pp 215-241 Barrie S. (2007) A conceptual framework for the teaching and learning of generic graduate attributes. Studies in Higher Education 32(4) pp 439-458. Barnett R. (1997) Higher Education: A critical business. Open University Press, Buckingham. Davies W. M. (2006) An ‘infusion approach to critical thinking; Moore on the critical thinking debate. Higher Education Research and Development 25(2) pp 179-193. Jones A. ( 2007) Multiplicities or manna from heaven? Critical thinking and the disciplinary context, Australian Journal of Education Vol. 51, No. 1, 84–103. Jones A. (2007) Looking over our shoulders: Critical thinking and ontological insecurity in higher education, London Review of Education. Jones A. (2009) Generic attribute as espoused theory: the importance of context. Higher Education 58 p175-191. Maton K. (2009) Cumulative and segmented learning: exploring the role of curriculum structures in knowledge-building in British Journal of Sociology of Education 30(1) pp 43–57 Maton K. (2010) Theories and things: The semantics of disciplinarity, in Christie, F. & Maton, K. (eds.) Disciplinarity: Systemic functional and sociological perspectives. London, Continuum. Pithers R.T & Soden R (2000) Critical thinking in education: a review. Educational Research (42)3 Pitman T. & Broomhall S. (2000) Australian universities, generic skills and lifelong learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education 28(4) pp 439-458. Fero, L. J., Witsberger, C. M., Wesmiller, S. W., Zullo, T. G., & Hoffman, L. A. (2009). Critical thinking ability of new graduate and experienced nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(1), 139-148. May BA, Edell V, Butell S, Doughty J, Langford C. (1999) Critical thinking and clinical competence: a study of their relationship in BSN seniors. Journal of Nursing Education. ;38(3):100–110. Mc Mullen et al (2009) Examining Patterns of Change in the Critical Thinking Skills of Graduate Nursing Students Journal of Nursing Education v. 48 no. 6 p. 310-18 Adams, B.L. (1999). Nursing education for critical thinking: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Education, 38, 111-119. Simpson E, Courtney M. (2002) Critical thinking in nursing education: literature review. International Journal of Nursing Practice. ;8(2):89– 98. Scheffer, B. K., et. al. (2000) A consensus statement on critical thinking in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education v. 39 no. 8 p. 352-9