Professors’ Assumptions About Students’ Critical Thinking Dispositions and Epistemological Beliefs
Abstract
Research dealing with the epistemological development of young adults has helped college professors better understand how their students reason about and resolve ill-structured problems. To date, however, researchers have largely overlooked two important variables: epistemic beliefs held by college faculty members themselves and faculty members' assumptions about college students' reasoning. In this paper, I review highlights from adult developmental theories, including a discussion of the nature of problems commonly confronted by college students. Next, I share the results of an investigation into the epistemic orientations of general education faculty, focusing in particular on their assumptions about typical undergraduates' approaches to reasoning. I conclude by discussing implications for translating theories of adult intellectual development into effective methods of college teaching.
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