Analysis of Results

The chapter quiz consisted of seven open-ended questions and was administered with a multiple-choice end-of-unit test for the revolutionary and colonial period. The open-ended questions were the same for each evaluated section. The multiple-choice quizzes varied due to the subject matter covered in each period. The responses to questions were totaled and values recorded in a spreadsheet. An analysis of the data was made to measure the frequency of each strategy. The strategies included point of view, compare/contrast, prioritizing, cause/effect and analysis for each question. The rubric and analysis for this quiz is included in Appendix ____. A total of nineteen students participated in this exercise who answered both the revolutionary and colonial tests. Each question was evaluated to include the strategies students incorporated in their answers and then evaluated to determine the increase/decrease of their strategies integrated in the test responses.

Student response to the question regarding the purpose of the unit had a reduction of 3.16 percent from the colonial to revolutionary period that included all critical thinking strategies. The total change for the key question of the unit increased by 6.32 percent while the most important information in the unit also increased by 1.05 percent. The main conclusion of the unit question increased by 6.32 percent, while the author's thoughts on the unit had a 4.21 percent improvement. Finally, question six, the author's implication of history recorded no change and the point of view question witnessed an 8.42 per cent increase between the colonial and revolutionary periods.

The only reduction in value between cumulative strategies for the colonial and revolutionary period questions occurred for the main purpose of the unit question. This reduction may possibly be explained by the difference in subject matter between the two units where some students displayed a higher interest in one period over the other. Also, in incorporating multiple strategies in the revolutionary unit, students found that they were able to make use of various strategies to answer the questions. As an example, it was found that the point of view decreased by 15.79 percent while cause and effect increased by 21.05 percent from the colonial to revolutionary war period.

An analysis of each critical thinking strategy yielded different responses. There was a drop of 0.75 percent for point of view from the colonial to the revolutionary period and an 8.27 percent reduction for the compare/contrast strategy. The prioritizing strategy experienced a 1.50 percent increase while the cause and effect strategy had an overall 6.02 percent increase. Finally, the analysis strategy improved by 18.05 percent.

Perhaps as the students became more comfortable using multiple critical thinking strategies, they were able to incorporate these strategies more effectively in their answers. This could account for the negative difference in the compare and contrast question. I do not feel that a 0.75 percent drop is significant given the sample size of this survey

Home
Purpose
Definitions of Critical Thinking
Teachers' Utilization of Critical Thinking in the Classroom
Correlation of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to Standardized Test Improvement
Methodology
Analysis of Results - Questionnaire Analysis
Analysis of Results - Cartoon Analysis
Analysis of the Individual Assignment
Analysis of Group Assignment
Teacher Analysis of Daily Lessons