Can Critical Thinking Be Taught in Online Business Courses? A Review of the Literature and Opportunities for the Future

• In Event: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum

Abstract

Online education within schools and colleges of business and management has grown dramatically over the past 20 years. As the number of students and platform offering has grown, both praise and criticism of online education has also increased.

One of the criticisms of online education is that students miss the interaction with their faculty/teachers and other students in the course. This problem could manifest itself in an ability only to “rote-memorize” facts and be unable to apply these facts to new and unfamiliar situations, or to express the application of these facts to other situations. The ability to debate, including considering alternative facts and scenarios, could be limited, thereby making higher-order thinking more difficult to attain. Another possible problem: If the facts or assumptions change, could students answer the new question successfully?

This paper discusses some of the criticisms of online education as it relates to business courses that should be asking students to pursue higher-order levels of thinking. It begins by discussing general online courses and then concentrates on business courses in specific. The paper also offers some solutions as cited by authors and researchers. The paper concludes by considering new ways of communication which could also assist students in obtaining a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Author

• Robert J Walsh, University of Dallas