Developing Critical Thinking in a First-Year University Chemistry Course

Critical thinking is a key quality in learning first-year university chemistry. And therefore, teaching critical thinking enables students to take a stance on scientific issues, to logically rationalise the issue under discussion, to detect fallacies in arguments, or to suspend making of a decision when there is insufficient proof to trace and sustain a conclusion. The aim of this thesis is to examine the perceptions of university lecturers towards the integration of critical thinking into their teaching and how they develop critical thinking in their students. The literature has limited research on teaching strategies and activities that foster critical thinking in first-year university chemistry students in New Zealand, a shortcoming this thesis addresses. The thesis asks how critical thinking is planned, enacted and assessed. Using a case study of lecturers, their perceptions about critical thinking and perceived barriers to promoting critical thinking are described