Critical Thinking Theory to Practice: Using the Expert's Thought Process as Guide for Learning and Assessment.

Critical thinking skills are essential for the successful dentist, yet few explicit skillsets in critical thinking have been developed and published in peer-reviewed literature. The aims of this article are to 1) offer an assessable critical thinking teaching model with the expert's thought process as the outcome, learning guide, and assessment instrument and 2) offer three critical thinking skillsets following this model: for geriatric risk assessment, technology decision making, and situation analysis/reflections. For the objective component, the student demonstrates delivery of each step in the thought process.

Integrating critical thinking and evidence-based dentistry across a four-year dental curriculum: a model for independent learning.

Introducing critical thinking and evidence-based dentistry (EBD) content into an established dental curriculum can be a difficult and challenging process. Over the past three years, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry has developed and implemented a progressive four-year integrated critical thinking and EBD curriculum. The objective of this article is to describe the development and implementation process to make it available as a model for other dental schools contemplating introduction of critical thinking and EBD into their curricula.

A model for overview of student learning: a matrix of educational outcomes versus methodologies.

A concise overview of an institution's aspirations for its students becomes increasingly elusive because dental education has evolving emphases on priorities like critical thinking and adapting to new technology. The purpose of this article is to offer a learner-oriented matrix that gives a focus for discussion and an overview of an institution's educational outcomes. On one axis of the matrix, common educational outcomes are listed: knowledge, technical skills, critical thinking, ethical and professional values, patient and practice management, and social responsibility awareness.

Medical school preadmission interviews: are structured interviews more reliable than unstructured interviews?

Background: The medical education research literature consistently recommends a structured format for the medical school preadmission interview. There is, however, little direct evidence to support this recommendation.

Purpose: To shed further light on this issue, the present study examines the respective reliability contributions from the structured and unstructured interview components at the University of Iowa.

Assessing implicit gender bias in Medical Student Performance Evaluations.

For medical schools, the increasing presence of women makes it especially important that potential sources of gender bias be identified and removed from student evaluation methods. Our study looked for patterns of gender bias in adjective data used to inform our Medical Student Performance Evaluations (MSPEs). Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to model the latent structure of the adjectives attributed to students (n = 657) and to test for systematic scoring errors by gender.

Investigating the utility of a GPA institutional adjustment index.

Background: Grading standards vary widely across undergraduate institutions. If, during the medical school admissions process, GPA is considered without reference to the institution attended, it will disadvantage applicants from undergraduate institutions employing rigorous grading standards.

Method: A regression-based GPA institutional equating method using historical MCAT and GPA information is described.

Examining the influence of using same versus different questions on the reliability of the medical school preadmission interview.

Background: Researchers generally recommend a structured format for the medical school preadmission interview (MSPI). However, the relative benefits of various elements of structure remain unexamined.

Purpose: In this study, we compared the performance of a highly structured interview format with a semistructured format.

Investigating the reliability of the medical school admissions interview.

Purpose: Determining the valid and fair use of the interview for medical school admissions is contingent upon a demonstration of the reproducibility of interview scores. This study seeks to establish the generalizability of interview scores, first assessing the existing research evidence, and then analyzing data from a non-experimental independent replications research design.

Methods: Multivariate and univariate generalizability analyses are conducted using data from a structured interview obtained from a population of medical school applicants over two years.

A model for diversity in admissions: a review of issues and methods and an experimental approach.

Purpose: The underrepresentation of certain minorities within medical education and the medical profession continues to be a problem. A review of the relevant research literature suggests current strategies are inadequate to address this important problem. Psychometric issues important in differentiating the unique concerns of medical education must be defined.

A statistical technique for the development of an alternate list when using constrained optimization to make admission decisions.

Background: In an earlier study it was demonstrated that constrained optimization could be used to accurately translate admission goals. Constrained optimization differs from weighting equations in that it does not assign a rank ordering. Although constrained optimization is conceptually superior, some procedures within the admissions process require a rank ordering of applicants.