The use of narrative in the development of critical thinking

This paper describes an approach to assessment aimed at developing critical skills in the production of arguments concerning contemporary issues in he alth. It is demonstrated that, in teaching from a constructivist position o f knowledge, students can be cautious in producing assignments because of t he relativist characteristic of constructivism. It is proposed that student s could be more open and flexible in their approach to assessment and the u se of cooperative working through the creation of narratives. it is suggest ed that narratives can provide an accessible and heuristic process from whi ch academic accounts may be built. The use of narratives in taking the stud ents from their everyday thinking to academic accounts is presented in rela tion to four teaching sessions. The use of this approach is in turn evaluat ed by students' narratives of their teaming experience. Of 30 narratives ob tained from students, analysis demonstrated that 21 accounts expressed aspe cts associated with the development of critical thinking. Nine students voi ced some dissatisfaction with the assessment process, and further work to r emedy these problems is outlined. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.