Developing Analytical Skills
What are some ways you can facilitate the development of analytical skills in your students?
One way to help my students develop analytical skills is to remind them to pay attention to the details. Often students are afraid of not reacting quickly so they don't have sufficient information to really know what they're doing.
I see this happen with emergencies or when a patient is having a change of condition. The student will get so nervous that a significant problem is emerging, they don't take a minute to breathe, gather all of the data, and then choose a course of action.
I encourage my students to make sure they have all of the relevant information in front of them before making a decision or implementing interventions.
I do the same thing. When a student and/or group gets stuck and asks for the answer I ask them what it says in their book. Some students get frustrated with this because they're not getting the instant result they are looking for. I try to resolve that frustration by explaining that they will not always have someone else there to give them answers and that they must learn to use all available resources to solve a problem. Part of solving a problem is knowing the answer, but a bigger part is knowing how to get to that answer, and that "how" can often then be applied to different problems to create a solution.
"Divide and Conquer"
Teaching students how to diagnosis drivability problems can be frustrating. Todays generation gives up very easy if the answer to a problem isn't blatantly obvious. They tried Googling it and asked everyone on their friends list even posted questions on forums to no avail. I have them break down the problems into smaller groups and have them tell me what parts of that group work and why they know that they do. They will eliminate the possible problems by telling me what does work. Getting them into a routine of testing small sections and then draw conclusions about what has to be the cause by isolating it.
I may give my students one or two written scenarios with open ended questions to give room for exploration and brainstorming of possible solutions to the scenarios. Each student reads out his or her answers while I allow others to critique each student's answer before giving my probable solutions. They are free to constructively critique my solution/s as well.
We watched a Film titled "The Three Faces of Eve" A good question to help my students to develop Analytical skills is: "Was it right for Eve's husband to divorce her despite her health condition? Give reason/s for your answer.
Calleen,
You make a very good point about the need for guided questions. This format helps students to gain confidence as they learn how to respond to the questions and then develop proposed solutions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a new teacher, I am learning along with the students, and it does seem to help when you ask open ended questions that they have to think and reflect on the material they have learned. They sometimes just don't know they know the answer or that it takes two or three thought processes to get to that answer. But, with guided questions they usually answer their own questions.
I agree with the majority of posts that mention small group work. To help students critique each other and work through their problems. This is a great skill we can teach future workers- who may at some point be supervisors and need to critique others.
The students I work with sometimes have trouble analyzing and I use Blooms taxonomy to explain the importance of analysis..and hopefully it will lead to critical examination. It especially helps to relate analysis to patient care and the ability to look at the patient record and examine it in detail.
Howard,
Important step that should not be over looked. They need to be able to weigh pros and cons as they come up with possible solutions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I also make the groups give all possible answers wright or wrong, then have them analyze all possible outcomes.
Kimberly,
This is the approach I use as well and I feel the same as you in that this approach helps each student to grow individually as well as the class collectively. They start to see how group problem solving can work and they learn how to work with others to reach a mutual solution.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have been using small groups to work on problem solving in class. I have tried to mix the groups so there are people with different strengths in each group. I am going to implement having the groups write out the problem and break it down into smaller units to help them organize the problem solving process. I feel like this will be a great way for students to feel less overwhelmed.
Andy,
This is how critical thinking is developed. You are holding them accountable for the information and by asking them to go back to the basics you are helping them to become problem solvers as well as reflective processors.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Our Labs are in small groups when they are stumped on a problem, I refer them to their basic diagnostic procedures to review where they are & where they want to be
Brent,
This is an exciting time for students as it lets them bring together all of the effort they have been expending to get to where they are. They are using their newly acquired knowledge and skills in a real world setting. This is when motivation for them really kicks in, not to mention the critical thinking and problem solving they are doing.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In our dental hygiene clinic the students practice their analytical skills by combining their findings of the medical and dental history, oral and dental exam, radiographs, and the diet and nutrition of their patient to construct an logical and appropriate treatment plan for that individual.
Armin,
Great strategy to use. Once your students have this approach mastered they are going to be able to work in many different situations while problem solving. Successful problem solving is a career tool that everyone needs to have experience in using.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to have them to develop a plan (solution), starting with the most important phase and working from there in steps forward and backwards. Additional challege comes from assumtions which might require the development of a branch plan.
Richard,
Well done in terms of developing analytical skills. These are essential skills to have as we all are called to problem solve in one way or another in our careers. The more preparation you can provide your students the more value they will see in their course work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
By applying a range of methods that can help identify the development needs of the students, we can begin to show them how to use analytical skills. Getting them to understand how to define a problem, and effectively come up with a solution. Explaining to them the different ways of coming to a solution and testing their theories will help them develop their analytical skills.
