Organic Foods Debate: Fostering Critical Thinking in the Higher Education Classroom

Organic Foods Debate: Fostering Critical Thinking in the Higher Education Classroom (The Higher Education Division’s Scholarship on Teaching and Learning Presentation)
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Constitution Ballroom |
Moderator: Virginia C. Stage, PhD, RD, LDN, East Carolina University
Speakers: Geoffrey Greene, PhD, RD, LDN, University of Rhode Island; Jade White, MS, University of Rhode Island; Katherine Peterson, PhD, University of Rhode Island
During this scholarship on teaching and learning session, the audience will learn about critical thinking skill development and will participate in an interactive skill development program using organic foods as the target problem. The program is structured as a debate, including brief multimedia presentations, by proponents of organic and conventional agriculture followed by evaluation of key points by the audience. Speakers will respond to this evaluation. The audience will be presented with additional critical thinking questions and the speakers will respond. Results of critical thinking research in college students using these techniques will be presented and compared to audience responses.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to apply critical thinking development strategies in their classrooms.
Participants will practice strategies such as introducing the topic in the form of a problem, providing tools to organize information and assessing barriers to use of critical thinking skills.
Participants will recognize how preexisting biases related to a target problem can interfere with the use of critical thinking skills.
Session organized by the Higher Education Division.