Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
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Research study to explore novel teaching methods for improved student critical thinking skills and academic achievement
Dr Oliver Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology, and Dr Kevin Deighton, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, have been awarded the grant from the Physiological Society, to investigate the benefits of an extra-curricular journal club on critical thinking, academic performance and attitudes towards physiology research. The duo will also be developing best practice guidelines for journal club design based on the outcomes of the research, which will be transferable throughout the biological sciences.
The researchers have already delivered a pilot scheme with undergraduate Sport and Exercise Science students which reported improved student confidence in their critical thinking skills and final academic assessment marks relative to controls.
Speaking about the project, Oliver said: “Many graduates that enter the workplace are deficient in key employability skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. We know that curriculum constraints and course textbooks can sometimes leave students deficient in the skills necessary to improve critical thinking skills and academic performance and often students find reading scientific studies in isolation a point of frustration and anxiety.
“In our pilot, the journal club allowed students to access guided analysis of the primary literature. This helped the students to overcome these issues giving them more confidence, improved critical thinking skills and positive opinions towards scientific investigations. We are delighted to receive the funding from this prestigious organisation and it will allow us to fully establish the benefits of journal club participation within physiology education and if successful, will present guidelines for integration into the curriculum.”
Results from the project will also determine the effects of physiology journal club participation on academic performance, critical thinking skills, data interpretation skills and attitudes towards reading scientific studies in undergraduate Sport and Exercise Science students.