One concern often expressed about the use of language models is that when used as a substitute for a person’s own writing, critical thinking skills suffer. And, to be sure, lots of studies suggest there is a link between thinking and writing.
My own view (as a former teacher) is that “people who do not write well do not think well.” So yes, substituting language models for one’s own writing is not helpful for purposes of building and maintaining critical thinking skills.
Study | Focus | Key Findings | Source Link |
Using Writing to Increase Critical Thinking Performance in General Education Biology | Examined the effect of a laboratory writing treatment on the critical thinking performance of biology students. | The writing group showed significant improvement in critical thinking skills, specifically in analysis and inference. | National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
The Correlation between Critical Thinking and Writing Ability in English | Explored the relationship between critical thinking and writing ability among English educational program students. | Found a significant positive correlation between critical thinking and writing ability (r=0.362, p < 0.05). | |
Relationship Between Perceived Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Academic Writing Skills | Investigated the connection between students' perceived critical thinking skills and their academic writing performance. | Found a strong positive correlation (r=0.722, p < 0.01). | ResearchGate |
Cognitive ability influences on written expression | Tested models including the influence of cognitive abilities and general intelligence on writing skills in children and adolescents. | Showed that various cognitive abilities differentially influence writing skills and that these effects can vary by age. | |
Writing as a Thinking Tool - MSU Denver | Discusses the use of writing to develop various mental capacities, including critical thinking. | Highlights studies suggesting that writing improves critical thinking performance. | |
Cognitive Styles and Influences on Academic Writing | Examined the impact of cognitive styles on writing performance. | Suggests that cognitive styles can influence writing performance. | |
Learning through Writing: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Assignments | Explores the role of writing-to-learn approaches in fostering critical thinking skills, particularly in the context of writing assignments. | Argues that writing can act as a "unique mode of learning," supporting the development of critical thinking abilities through the act of composition. | |
Critical Research Thinking: A Recipe for Academic Writing Success | Emphasizes the importance of critical research thinking for academic writing. | Highlights components of critical thinking as crucial for effective academic writing. | |
Flower & Hayes Cognitive Process Theory of Writing | Explains writing as a cognitive process involving planning, translating, and reviewing. | Focuses on the mental processes behind writing. | |
Cognitive and executive processes associated with children's written composition | Investigated the relationship between working memory, long-term memory, planning, and visuospatial perception and writing fluency and accuracy in children. | Found significant correlations between these cognitive processes and aspects of writing. | |
Understanding the Complex Relationship between Critical Thinking and Scientific Reasoning in Undergraduate Biology Students' Thesis Writing | Examined the connection between scientific reasoning in thesis writing and general and specific critical-thinking skills. | Found that scientific reasoning in writing is strongly related to inference skills. | National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
Insight from the association between critical thinking and English argumentative writing among Chinese high school students | Explored the relationship between critical thinking and English writing achievement among Chinese secondary school students. | Found a positive linear correlation between critical thinking and English writing. | National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
The link between writing and critical thinking | Discusses how writing facilitates critical thinking by requiring analysis, evaluation, and the development of arguments. | Suggests that writing can help identify knowledge gaps and motivate research. | |
The Writing and Critical Thinking Connection | Highlights the role of audience consideration, revision, and collaboration in developing both writing and critical thinking skills. | Suggests that the writing process encourages metacognition. | |
Why Critical Thinking in Writing Matters for Professionals | Explains the importance of critical thinking in various forms of professional writing. | Suggests that critical thinking helps in analyzing data, assessing risks, making informed decisions, evaluating sources, and constructing arguments in a professional context. | |
Science of Reading: The Role of Writing (Brief 3 of 7) | Discusses the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing, emphasizing how writing improves critical thinking about texts. | Indicates that as students develop writing skills, they become stronger readers and develop critical thinking about authors' craft. |
On the other hand, not all writing is intrinsically related to critical thinking. Much marketing copy, messaging and simple written communications arguably don’t require much, if any, critical thinking. We might not ultimately find using language models for such purposes has any fundamental harm.
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