A Model of Student Success: Coaching Students to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Introductory Biology Courses

Abstract

Science students who perform poorly in introductory science classes often don’t know how to do better because they “don’t know that they don’t know”, and they have poor critical thinking and problem solving skills. The current study describes how modeling and coaching students in “active study” improves higher order thinking skills. The data show that students who received such coaching performed significantly better on exams by the end of the semester compared to control groups. Modeling and coaching “active study” behavior is essential to ensure that students build confidence in their ability to study science and remain in the science pipeline.

Keywords

• Critical thinking skills
• Introductory biology courses