Teaching and Assessing Critical Thinking Skills in Michigan Secondary Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Programs

Abstract

As the agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR) industry feeds, clothes, and fuels the ever-growing population while facing significant challenges to production and distribution, the need for critical thinkers in the industry grows. While significant literature on critical thinking instruction exists, extensive research done to determine how critical thinking is taught in AFNR programs does not. This exploratory, mixed methods study aimed to investigate how Michigan secondary AFNR educators incorporate critical thinking instruction and assessment practices into their programs. The study, based on the critical thinking framework by Swartz and McGuinness (2014), included two phases. Phase one included a cross-sectional, web-based survey that incorporated selected-response and open-ended questions to collect participants’ attitudes toward critical thinking instructional strategies and to gather their current practices. Phase two included semi-structured interviews that intended to further explore AFNR teachers’ practices. After analysis, the results found Michigan AFNR instructors have favorable attitudes toward using strategies to develop students’ thinking skills, metacognition, and thinking dispositions. Some variation was identified between teachers based on their years of AFNR teaching experience, years of AFNR industry experience, route to teaching, and type of school where currently teaching. Furthermore, three themes emerged from the qualitative results that provided additional insight into the critical thinking instructional practices, challenges, and principles of AFNR instructors. Finally, this study suggests opportunities for AFNR education to improve critical thinking instruction and assessment.