Abstract:

Collaborative work is an excellent tool in the learning process, as well as a good strategy to enhance critical thinking skills (CTS) within the classroom. In this work, ~250 first semester students from the Medicine Program of the Universidad del Norte (Colombia) participated in the implementation of strategies for the promotion of healthy eating practices and habits in their families and in the university community. The classroom innovation was developed under the situated cognition conceptual framework which connects "learning" with "doing". The impact on the learning process was assessed by way of a test, and progress in CTS was monitored via an assessment instrument (rubric). In parallel, the student teams calculated the glycemic indexes as an indicator of the effectiveness of the actions implemented by them. The results of the comparison between tests and the application of the CTS assessment instrument showed that the participants achieved meaningful learning about healthy eating. The advance in critical thinking skills was significant, the improvement percentages are: in Inference (Thinking of alternatives 93%), (Draw conclusions 73%), (Examine the evidence 93%); in Analysis (Discuss ideas 88%); in Explanation (Describe results 90%); in Evaluation (Access the credibility of the statements 90%); in Self-regulation (Self-examination 50%), (Self-correction 82%); and in Interpretation (Categorize 70%). These results showed that this approach generates a meaningful and purposeful learning space in the face of the importance of healthy eating. In addition, it was demonstrated that the construction of learning communities where the family nucleus is involved allows students to develop skills critical thinking, a desirable condition in contexts of college education.

Keywords:

Critical thinking skills, Healthy eating, Situated cognition, problem solving.