Many students understandably ask, "How do I know if my answers to the in-class Critical Thinking Questions are correct?"

Some practical answers to this are given in the FAQ on page 2 of your workbook.

Here are some more answers to that question.

You do have access to the answers to the homework Exercises, so, if you don't get the homework Exercises right, there is a good chance you need to go back over the in-class CTQ's with a friend, TA, or an extra critical eye, and perhaps compile a list of specific questions for office hours.

A student may then ask "Wouldn't it be easier for us to learn the 'right' answers if you posted the right answers?"

Of course it would be easier if my goal was simply to have you memorize the answers to the CTQs. However, the CTQs are far too easy to put on an exam. (They are designed to be your introduction to a topic). It turns out that memorizing answers to simple questions does not help you answer harder, more conceptual questions (it simply prepares you to answer similar simple questions). HOWEVER, wrestling with simple questions and coming up with your own answers is a fantastic entry into a topic, and the best preparation for your further study via homework, the teacher's mini-lectures, and quiz and exam questions.

A key skill in this and every challenging course you will take going forward is what is called "self assessment". Self assessment is the ability to know when you are right. (Another way of thinking about it is... being able to assign a confidence level to each of your answers.) The goal with the CTQ's is to both answer the questions AND ESTABLISH A HIGH LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE THAT YOU ARE RIGHT using the textbook, other students, the Models, and questions asked of TAs or the professor (in your own words).

[In fact, development of self-assessment skills may be THE MAIN REASON HEALTH SCIENCE SCHOOLS REQUIRE THIS COURSE, and care how you do in it. What good is a doctor who recommends a treatment without knowing if this is a good course of action. IN THE REAL WORLD, THERE IS NO ANSWER KEY!]

Since every student must work to understand each new concept, you cannot skip this self-assessment part and simply look at the answer key to see if you are right. Think of it this way, if you answer a question and you are not sure you are right, this is little more than a guess. Every question I ask you in an activity CAN be answered using the information in the Model or previous Models, but most students find that some kind of extra work is required to convince themselves that they are definitely right. If you feel like you are guessing you are skipping this critical self assessment phase of the learning process, and you will find yourself guessing on exams.

Another was of saying this is: When a student reads a question and doesn't immediately know the answer, the tendency is to immediately look at the answer key if it's available. This hurts the learning process since most learning takes place as you try to figure out the answer to a question by talking to others, reading the textbook, revisiting the ChemActivity, etc.

In summary, wrestling with the CTQs is an important part of the learning process in this class, and giving out the answers short circuits this process.