Theoretical Framework – The description of critical thinking came from combined works of Scheffer and Rubenfeld (2000), Facione (1990), and Paul (1993). The notion of reflection and reflective writing was synthesized from seminal works of Mezirow (1981) and Schon (1983, 1988). For the description of cognitive word use, the researcher used classic works of Vygotsky (1962) and Van Manen (1990).

Tools – A teacher designed tool, the Critical Thinking Scale, was used by five faculty members to independently evaluated graduates’ reflective writing for critical thinking evidence. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was the standardized measure of critical thinking. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), a software processing program, was used to analyze the same reflective writings that teachers rated.

Data – Archival data in the form of reflective writings and CCTST exit scores were obtained from a total of fifty-seven nursing graduates of the 1999 - 2002 classes from a small liberal arts college located in northeast USA. The reflective writings pertained to significant experiences that graduates encountered during their last practice course of the program.

Findings – Pearson correlations between the total CCTST critical thinking score and mean teacher rating indicated a positive relationship (r = .233, p < 0.05). Using multiple regression, the six LIWC cognitive mechanisms subscores were significantly related (R2 = .222, p < 0.05) to the total CCTST critical thinking score.

Implications – Students have a right to consistent and fair evaluation of reflective writing. Future research is indicated to develop and test teacher accessible tools to evaluate reflective writing of students and practicing nurses.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004