The promotion of critical thinking skills through argument mapping

Argument mapping is a method of visually diagramming arguments using a 'box and arrow' format with the aim of simplifying the reading of an argument structure and facilitating the assimilation of core statements and relations. The current chapter presents the findings of a controlled trial in which argument mapping training was compared with hierarchical outline training as techniques for teaching critical thinking skills. Eighty-one undergraduate psychology students were allocated to one of three groups: an argument mapping group, an outlining group, or a control group and were tested on critical thinking before and after an 8-week intervention period. Results revealed that students in the argument mapping group scored higher than the control group at post-test on the critical thinking skills of evaluation and inductive reasoning. Students in the outlining group scored significantly higher than those in the control group on tests of analysis and inductive reasoning. There were no significant performance differences at post-test between those in the argument mapping group and those in the hierarchical summary group. Results are discussed in light of research and theory on best practice in the cultivation of critical thinking.