Work in progress - comparing the results of Reflective Thinking interventions at IIT and Uppsala University

Abstract

A common problem in higher education is the question of whether or not students are obtaining the skills they need to solve problems in the real world. At the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), an attempt to address this problem has led to the concept of Reflective Judgment, defined by Patricia M. King and Karen Strohm Kitchener (1994) as the ability to make good decisions about ill-structured problems, or problems that do not have a single right answer. At IIT, a written measure of Reflective Thinking has been developed using questions included in Reflections assignments. At Uppsala University, a similar interest in the question of how students learn has led educators to experiment with the use of Reflections assignments in their courses as a means of stimulating deeper learning. Comparing IITpsilas scoring of student Reflections for Reflective Thinking to Uppsalapsilas interest in ill-structured problem solving and use of Reflections as an enhancement of the student learning process, it is clear that while these two universities have in common the use of reflections and the goal of helping students develop advanced problem solving skills, they are taking two fairly distinct approaches. What is not clear is whether one approach is more effective than the other approach at enhancing studentspsila problem solving skills.