Classification of Students into Types Based on Critical Thinking Skills and Analysis of the Effect of Students’ Education and Learning Experiences on Skills by Type

抄録

In this study, we classified university students into types based on the 3 skills involved in critical thinking, and while analyzing the relationship between disposition, behavior, and abilities related to critical thinking for each type, we analyzed the factors that improve these abilities through disposition and behavior. We identified 3 types of students, and found that, for those who exhibited relatively high critical thinking, accumulated experiences since elementary and middle school influenced current behavior. Those who did not exhibit high critical thinking did not make connections with past experiences, and their current behavior influenced their abilities. For those who exhibited only high written communication skills, their disposition influenced their critical thinking abilities. Based on the conditional probability distribution, we found that groups with high and low critical thinking skills differed in terms of the change of ability improvements based on strengthening of necessary behaviors and dispositions.