Thinking Skills for Engineering and Technology Students: A Case Study in a General Education Class

This pilot study aimed to investigate the effect of student’s learning-reflection skill as a mediator on the thinking skills of participants taking a subject, Learning and Problem-Solving Skills. The course covered analytical thinking skills and critical thinking skills. Throughout the 15-week semester, the practice of reflection using the 3-basket technique was implemented. Using the coaching competency, the instructor created an environment in which students could safely reflect on their learning as a group or individually. At the end of the semester, the perception of the students’ thinking and learning abilities, i.e., analytical thinking and critical thinking, and reflection skills were evaluated and correlated with the predictors such as the class satisfaction in terms of the structure/activities, the instructor’s behavior/in-class environment, and the students’ behaviors. The results showed strong positive correlations of the predictors with the students’ reflection and thinking skills. In addition, both instructor’s behavior as coach/in-class environment and students’ behaviors significantly effected students’ thinking abilities via students’ reflection skills as the mediator.