“Ilana Krause, a fourth year Materials Science and Engineering Student, was recently awarded the 2017-2018 University Scholar Fellowship. This award sponsors students to identify a research topic, publish findings, and present the overall project at a final symposium. Dr. Nancy Ruzycki is the faculty sponsor and project mentor for this award.
The project, “Measuring Critical Thinking within Laboratory Courses,” seeks to measure critical thinking through student recognition of elements that define aspects of critical thinking. Many students struggle with open-ended problem solving, and it is important to fully develop a method of evaluating problem solving thought-processes. Students enrolled in the Materials Engineering Laboratory class complete surveys that are coded to identify aspects of critical thinking. This will allow for a fundamental understanding of current critical thinking schemas of students in order to develop activities that address lapses in critical thinking abilities.
More information can be found on: http://www.scholars.ufl.edu/”