Two Approaches for Using Web Sharing and Photography Assignments to Increase Critical Thinking in the Health Sciences.

Abstract

Increasing student critical thinking and active engagement with course content is an ongoing challenge in tertiary education. The present article explores the use of photography in two health sciences courses as a catalyst for the encouragement of critical thinking, creativity, engagement, and problem solving. The authors adapted photography assignments based on Photovoice and photo elicitation which are described in detail along with the benefits and challenges of utilizing nontraditional assignment formats. The immediate impact of these assignments appears to have challenged students’ thinking about the health culture in their lived environments and has allowed them to critically investigate and interpret their photos and the photos of their classmates.