Population Thinking Instruction in High Schools: a Public Health Intervention with Triple Benefits

Critical Thinking Disposition and Influencing Factors Among Sophomore Pediatric Medical Students

Objective

The second year of undergraduate medical education is a critical phase transitioning from basic medical knowledge to specialized learning, requiring strong critical thinking abilities. Pediatric diseases, with their unique characteristics, demand active critical thinking from pediatricians. This study aims to investigate and analyze the critical thinking dispositions of second-year pediatric medical students, identify influencing factors, and propose recommendations for improving teaching methods.

Methods

This cross-sectional study employed the Chinese version of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV) and conducted an online survey among 240 second-year pediatric medical students at Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. The study described the overall CTDI-CV scores and sub-dimension scores (mean ± standard deviation) and analyzed the distribution of critical thinking dispositions using t-tests and trend analysis.

Results

A total of 229 students (95.4%) completed the survey, with 58.95% being female. The overall mean critical thinking score was 287.96 ± 39.09, and 139 students (60.70%) exhibited positive or highly positive critical thinking dispositions. Rural students scored lower than non-rural students (t = -2.773, P = 0.0069), while only children scored higher than non-only children (t = 2.659, P = 0.0086). Higher high school academic ranking was associated with higher scores (H = 23.85, P < 0.001). Students whose parents had a bachelor's degree or higher scored significantly better (t = 2.373, P = 0.0188). Interest in pediatrics was linked to higher scores (H = 15.36, P = 0.0015). Positive correlations were found between analyticity, inquisitiveness, and self-confidence (r ≥ 0.75).

Conclusion

Second-year pediatric medical students in China generally display strong critical thinking abilities. Factors such as family background, academic performance, parental education level, and interest in pediatrics significantly influence these abilities. Pediatric educators should account for these individual differences to better enhance critical thinking development in students and improve teaching strategies accordingly.

Leveraging Maker Learning in STEM to Promote Children's Interest in Cancer Research: A Pilot Program

Children's early awareness about cancer, through exposure to cancer biology and prevention strategies and research principles, is a promising focus of education and learning. It may also benefit the pipeline of people entering into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. We describe an educational pilot program for elementary school students, using developmentally appropriate activities focused on cancer at a museum dedicated to children's maker-centered learning and STEM. The program was implemented through a public school in Washington, DC serving students underrepresented in STEM. Program conceptualization, museum and school engagement, and maker learning pedagogy are described, as well as curricular outcomes. A total of N = 111 students (44% female, 75% Black/African American, 5% Latine) participated in a day-long field trip. Museum educators, assisted by cancer center researchers, led a multipart workshop on cancer and the environment and hands-on rotation of activities in microbiology, immunology, and ultraviolet radiation safety; students then completed self-report evaluations. Results indicate that nearly all (> 95%) students practiced activities typical of a STEM professional at the program, and > 70% correctly answered factual questions about topics studied. Importantly, 87-94% demonstrated clear STEM interest, a sense of belonging in the field, and practice implementing skills for success in STEM (e.g., perseverance, imagination, teamwork). This pilot demonstrated acceptability and feasibility in delivering a cancer-focused curriculum to underserved elementary students using maker learning while favorably impacting key objectives. Future scale-up of this program is warranted, with the potential to increase students' motivation to engage in STEM and cancer research.

Critical thinking disposition of medical students in Anhui Province, China: a cross-sectional investigation

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the critical thinking disposition of medical undergraduates.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was performed on 426 students from four majors, including preventive medicine, maternal and children's health care medicine, health inspection and quarantine, and food quality and safety. The survey was completed in May 2019 using the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory-Chinese version (CTDI-CV).

RESULTS

A total of 435 questionnaires were distributed and 426 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective rate of 97.93%. The CTDI-CV overall average score was 262.02 ± 34.74 points indicating an ambivalent disposition in medical undergraduate students. Only one of the subscales (maturity in judgment) had mean scores of 43.35 ± 8.23 indicating the positive disposition of students. Among them, males scored 257.42 ± 35.06 lower than females' 264.82 ± 34.32, the difference was statistically significant. The target scores of preventive medicine, maternal and children's health medicine, health inspection and quarantine, and food quality and safety were 265.17 ± 30.10, 260.26 ± 37.05, 271.73 ± 33.55, and 252.11 ± 39.87, respectively. The difference was statistically significant. Among the three dimensions of seeking truth, open mind, and cognitive maturity, the scores of males were 38.26 ± 7.48, 38.78 ± 6.46 and 41.03 ± 8.69, which were lower than females' 39.97 ± 7.11, 40.48 ± 6.48 and 44.91 ± 7.60, respectively. The scores of food quality and safety students were 37.23 ± 7.08, 36.61 ± 7.41 and 40.57 ± 8.60, respectively, which were lower than the preventive medicine (39.98 ± 7.07, 40.60 ± 5.96 and 44.44 ± 6.97, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Most medical students were found to have an ambivalent disposition which meant they were not disposed toward critical thinking. These findings suggested that more effective teaching methods should be taken to facilitate critical thinking disposition and problem-solving ability.

Epidemiology, Secondary School Curricula, and Preparing the Next Generation for Global Citizenship

Because COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases are likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping American and global society in years to come, there is a need to prepare young people to make informed decisions in this changing global context. One way to do so is teaching and learning about basic principles of epidemiology in secondary schools. Improved understanding about the agent of infection, mechanisms of transmission, factors that increase or decrease susceptibility, place variation and environmental factors that facilitate or hinder transmission, reservoirs of infection (where the agent lives and multiplies), and when the disease is more or less likely to occur comprise the main facts about an infectious disease relevant to prevention and control. Improved understanding of these basic concepts could help future generations make informed decisions in a changing global context with emerging infectious diseases and a plethora of widely disseminated misinformation and disinformation. This viewpoint considers why learning about epidemiology in secondary school would benefit population health using COVID-19 as an illustration.