The effects of two instructional strategies for critical thinking-writing instruction on high ability middle school students

The research design. The effects of two instructional strategies on high ability middle school students' scores on three measures of critical thinking are examined in this study. Effects on students' attitude toward the instruction are also investigated. Subjects were seventh and eighth grade students identified as academically gifted. The instructional strategies consisted of monological thinking exercises and dialogical thinking exercises in the context of a course on thinking-writing.;The study adopted a random assignment/post-test only group design, stratified by sex. The independent variable was a treatment consisting of either of two instructional strategies based on either dialogical reasoning or monological reasoning.;Findings. A significant difference in test scores between the monological and the dialogical groups was observed on the Ennis-Weir Essay Test, but not on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal or the Cornell Test of Critical Thinking. A significant difference in attitude toward the course between the monological and the dialogical groups was also observed.;Implications. (1) The construct of critical thinking may be understood as a composite of sub-skills rather than one general ability; (2) Different tests of critical thinking may be based upon different assumptions about the nature of critical thinking sub-skills; (3) The critical thinking sub-skill of dialogical thinking may elude measurement by critical thinking tests that emphasize evaluative thinking rather than productive thinking; (4) Instructional strategies that emphasize dialogical thinking may improve student interest as well as thinking ability.