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Stedman and Brown  Advancements in Agricultural Development  
  Volume 1, Issue 1, 2020 
  agdevresearch.org 

1. Nicole Stedman, Professor, University of Florida 
PO Box 110540, Gainesville, FL 32611-0540 
nstedman@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-1798  

2. Amy Brown, Graduate Assistant, University of Florida 
PO Box 110540, Gainesville, FL 32611-0540 
amybrown@ufl.edu, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6378-025X 

 
 

14 

Critical thinking perspectives of undergraduate students:  
How they think about climate change impacts on global food 

security and hunger 
 

N. Stedman1, A. Brown2 
 

 

 

  

 

 

Abstract 
Today’s learners need support in not only developing capacity for a global mindset, but also for 
thinking critically about the world. Employers are seeking graduates who can enter the workforce 
prepared to work within agriculture with the ability to understand its complexities. Higher education 
institutions have been called upon to provide this to students and faculty are often charged with this 
responsibility. However, faculty are often unprepared to provide this level of instruction and need 
support in order to foster this in the classroom. Student participants in this study were exposed to 
scenarios, which are a tool used to provide multiple perspectives and outcomes to real-life scenarios. 
Faculty used the scenarios to complement course instruction with respect to the impacts of climate 
change on food security and hunger. Using Facione’s (1990) framework for critical thinking skill, 
statements submitted by students both prior to the scenario and post were analyzed. It was found 
that while students demonstrated critical thinking in both the pre and post, the post statements 
were much richer, in-depth, and thoughtful in how critical thinking was demonstrated. This showed 
that faculty support, combined with innovative teaching methods, like scenarios, will encourage 
students’ building of capacity for critical thinking. 
 
Keywords 
Critical Thinking, Higher Education, Scenarios, Faculty Development, Undergraduate Education 



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Introduction and Problem Statement 

The world is rapidly changing and “employers look to colleges and universities to produce 
employment-ready graduates” to solve tomorrow’s problems (National Research Council, 2009, 
p. 18). In order to solve complex problems of a global nature, students must be able to think 
critically about them. Thinking is a natural process and can often be biased, distorted, partial, 
uninformed and potentially prejudiced; excellence in thought must be cultivated (Duron, 
Limbach, & Waugh, 2006).  
 
In today’s university climate, it is becoming a necessity to provide the world with informed, 
productive, and internationally minded citizens. According to the American Association of 
Colleges and Universities (AAC&U, 2007), “it is clear that the United States-and individual 
Americans-will be challenged to engage in unprecedented ways with the global community, 
collaboratively and competitively” (p. 2). Internationalization of curriculum is becoming a 
priority for most universities. Although this problem was noted a decade ago, The National 
Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC, 2004) concluded the 
internationalization of curriculum “helps [students] to develop the global critical thinking 
essential to contributing as citizens of the world and competing in the international 
marketplace” (p. viii).  
 
In 2004, higher education associations and leaders of institutional accrediting bodies decided 
critical thinking was one of the six major intellectual and practical skills with which students 
should leave their undergraduate time (AAC&U, 2004). “If critical thinking skills are not well-
developed through the educational system, there are ramifications to our ability to make 
meaning in the workforce. If our ability to make meaning is limited by deficient critical thinking, 
it will have an impact on our ability to lead” (Flores, Matkin, Burbach, Quinn, & Harding, 2013, 
p. 213).  
 
Reinforcing this idea, the National Research Council (2009) challenged faculty to realign their 
focus on ‘transferable competencies’ in order for graduates in FANH to stay competitive. 
Specifically, the NRC recognizes the importance of critical thinking development in students 
(2009). Recent college graduates have been unsuccessful in the workplace at jobs any higher 
than entry level. This has been attributed to the students’ inadequate and poorly developed 
critical thinking skills. Colleges must meet the demand of the industry by finding a solution to 
developing better critical thinking skills in undergraduate student before entering the 
workforce (Bascuas, 2013).  
 
Stedman and Adams (2012) found faculty are not generally knowledgeable about critical 
thinking. When asked to answer questions related to critical thinking basic concepts and 
understanding, faculty often answered these questions incorrectly indicating a lack of 
knowledge about the concepts of critical thinking. A gap exists in how they are able to teach for 
critical thinking when they are not knowledgeable about those basic concepts. Teaching critical 
thinking skills explicitly is possibly the most effective way to foster critical thinking skills in 
students. Multiple studies have supported students’ general problem solving, critical thinking 



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abilities, language comprehension, inventive thinking, and even IQ have had significant 
improvements when students are provided explicit instruction (Abrami, Bernard, Borokhovski, 
Michael, Surkes, Tamim, & Zhang, 2008; Hernnstein,  Nickerson, de Sánchez, & Swets, 1986; 
Zohar, Weinberger, & Tamir, 1994). 
 
Context is a large component of one’s ability to think critically. For the purposes of this project, 
a global perspective will be emphasized. In our increasingly global society, there is a need to 
provide today’s students and future employees with global perspectives and competencies 
(Ricketts & Morgan, 2009).  
 

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 

For the purposes of this study, Facione’s (1990) Delphi study provided the framework for 
defining critical thinking and skills. Facione (1990) defined critical thinking as, “purposeful, self-
regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well 
as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual 
considerations…” (pg. 2). The Delphi panel of experts consensually agreed on descriptions of 
the following critical thinking cognitive skills:  

(1) Interpretation, “to comprehend and express the meaning or significance of a wide 
variety of experiences, situations, data, events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules, 
procedures or criteria” (p. 6),  
(2) Analysis,” to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among 
statements, questions, concepts, descriptions or other forms of representation intended 
to express beliefs, judgments, experiences, reasons, information, or opinions” (p. 7),  
(3) Evaluation, “to assess the credibility of statements or other representations which 
are accounts or descriptions of a person's perception, experience, situation, judgment, 
belief, or opinion; and to assess the logical strength of the actual or intend inferential 
relationships among statements, descriptions, questions or other forms of 
representation” (p. 8),  
(4) Inference, “to identify and secure elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; 
to form conjectures and hypotheses; to consider relevant information and to educe the 
consequences flowing from data, statements, principles, evidence, judgments, beliefs, 
opinions, concepts, descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation (p. 9),  
(5) Explanation, “to state the results of one's reasoning; to justify that reasoning in 
terms of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological and contextual 
considerations upon which one's results were based; and to present one's reasoning in 
the form of cogent arguments” (p. 10), and 
(6) Self-Regulation, “self-consciously to monitor one's cognitive activities, the elements 
used in those activities, and the results educed, particularly by applying skills in analysis 
and evaluation to one's own inferential judgments with a view toward questioning, 
confirming, validating, or correcting either one's reasoning or one's results” (p. 10). 

 



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Each of these skills are then broken down into subskills further refining their application. The 
manner in which skills are used has been applied to specific contexts, Facione confirming that 
the context determines the successful application. However, "while CT skills themselves 
transcend specific subjects or disciplines, exercising them successfully in certain contexts 
demands domain-specific knowledge, some of which may concern specific methods and 
techniques used to make reasonable judgments in those specific contexts" (Facione, 1990, p. 5). 
 
Tomorrow’s graduates in FANH will face challenges on a global scale. Preparing them to solve 
these problems must be a primary goal for colleges of agriculture. To do so, teaching faculty 
must be able to teach in a way that encourages and fosters critical thinking. As Terenzini, 
Springer, Pascarella, and Nora (1995) noted, critical thinking is an “enduring skill, that it is a 
central element in lifelong learning, and that it is an appropriate skill for colleges and 
universities to develop among students” (p. 24).  
 
In order to accomplish the transfer of critical thinking skill. Instructors created scenarios, which 
are similar to case studies. This provides a much more fertile foundation for developing and 
using critical thinking skills. Wilson and Ralston (2006) developed a process for the creation of 
scenarios, which was adapted for the purposes of this project. Each step in this process is a 
critical point of adding value and exposing mental models and assumptions during the scenario 
project. These 18 steps are also in four general phases of scenario planning, namely, (a) “getting 
started, (b) laying the environmental analysis foundation, (c) creating the scenarios, and (d) 
moving from scenarios to a decision” (Wilson & Ralston, 2006, p. 25).  

 
Purpose 

The purpose of this study was to identify changes in undergraduate students’ use of critical 
thinking skills when thinking about the impacts of climate change on global food security and 
hunger. The study was guided by a single objective, to identify students use of critical thinking 
skills prior to instruction compared to post instruction. 
 

Methods 

This qualitative study was designed to assess the impact of critical thinking instruction on 
undergraduates thinking about climate change and global food security and hunger. Faculty 
instructors were recruited to participate in an academy on critical thinking in efforts to promote 
capacity building of critical thinking of undergraduate students in colleges of agriculture across 
the southeastern United States. Faculty participated in a three-month online academy that 
included specific modules on critical thinking, critical thinking pedagogy, climate change, food 
security and hunger, scenario and scenario development, instructional design, and teaching 
contentious topics. Thirteen faculty created scenarios which were used as instructional 
resources in their classrooms.  The courses included non-profit leadership, family sciences, food 
sciences, contemporary agricultural issues, environmental health, and agricultural 
communication. This is important aspect, as according to Facione (1990) the value of critical 
thinking in context contributes to the development of capacity. Scenarios were used in the 



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classes from fall to spring 2018. Faculty implemented the scenarios as part of existing course 
lesson. Each scenario was 10-15 minutes in length and included: an introduction to Belize, video 
content related to the topic, additional support resources, and specific elements of the scenario 
(objectives, knowledge/data/expert insight, future scenarios, and plan(s) of action. Faculty 
invited students to participate in the study and as a result 142 pre-test and 243 post-test 
statements were collected via Qualtrics. This qualitative portion was part of a larger mix-
methods study, which included a cultural questionnaire developed during a previous research 
project, as well as a demographic portion.  
 
Using a qualitative design, both pre and post-tests were analyzed using structural coding based 
on Facione’s (1990) critical thinking skills. Students were asked to respond to one question for 
both pre and post-test, “what is your current understanding of the impacts of climate change 
on global food security and hunger?” Two researchers worked independently to code student 
statements for critical thinking. The two sets were then compared to codify the identified skills. 

 
Findings 

Participants of the study included students enrolled in courses across a range of disciplines. 
Participants self-reported demographic data. Of the participants responding their reported 
classifications included freshmen (n=3), sophomore (n=18), junior (n=41), and senior (n=57).  
Ninety-two reported female as their gender with 27 reporting male. Ethnicities included 
American Indian or Alaskan Native (n=1), Asian (n=4), Black or African American (n=19), 
Hispanic or Latino (n=16), and White Caucasian (n=79). 
 
To further understand the participants, they were asked if they had traveled to Latin America, 
and if so where. Of those who responded, 41 indicated that they had traveled to Latin America 
with countries visited including Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, Dominican 
Republic, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Haiti, Chili, Honduras, and Belize. 
 
The following provides examples collected from the students’ and post-tests. Of the six skills, 
the following were most frequently demonstrated in the pre-test, explanation (16), 
interpretation (25), self-regulation (29), and inference (38).  In the post-test statements, 
students demonstrated four of the six skills including explanation (12), interpretation (28), self-
regulation (29), and inference (30). While the statements were not identified in a manner to 
compare individual student responses, findings were determined by aggregate, comparing the 
total pool of statements provided by students across all the courses included in the sample. For 
the pre-test, table 1illustrates statements, which demonstrated critical thinking skill. 
  



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Table 1 
 
Examples of student statements illustrating critical thinking skill (n=119) 

Critical Thinking Skill Quote 1 Pre Quote 2 Post 
Interpretation  “Food security and climate change 

are the result of larger systemic 
issues in global society. I believe 
both are issues that stem from the 
current economic issues on the 
global market. The profit of using 
fossil fuels and other 
environmental hazards outweighs 
the future damages. And food 
security is a result of resources 
not being utilized properly or 
given generously because of the 
greater appeal of capital gain.” 

“This study has made me 
aware that many factors 
come into play when 
considering a "solution." By 
solution I mean this is a big 
problem that can't be fixed 
with a single solution but a 
set of solutions that 
highlight a part of the 
bigger problem.” 
 

 “I currently believe that climate 
change is a prominent issue in the 
world today and it has a major 
effect on our environment. I 
believe that if we don't change 
the way we are using 
nonrenewable resources and 
other things that are polluting the 
air, we can damage Earth in a 
permanent and irreversible. In 
terms of food security, it is 
definitely an important issue all 
across our country and around the 
globe. People have problems 
getting access to the proper food 
they need to survive.” 
 

“I knew that food insecurity 
was a wicked problem, but 
adding the unknown caused 
by climate change just adds 
a whole other wicked 
problem that would have to 
be addressed. I feel due to 
the environment that I have 
grown up, prior to this 
activity, I was unable to 
really think critically or 
understand a problem like 
this and how there is more 
than just food insecurity to 
address. Definitely a 
complex problem that 
doesn't have just one, or 
even 5 answers.” 

Inference  “Despite what many say, the 
climate is changing. Global 
temperature is rising, our polar 
caps are melting, and from my 
understanding, we are headed 
down a dangerous path. Food 
security is asterisk as well, 
however, genetic modification is 

“Now, I understand the 
urgency behind climate 
change and how 
intrinsically it is linked to 
food security. For many 
countries, especially in the 
Caribbean and South 
America, food security will 



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helping us create disease and pest 
resistant crops that allow us to 
advance crop production.” 
 

be drastically affected by 
climate change and rising 
sea levels. Not only, do 
temperature changes affect 
the growth of different 
produce, but if sea levels 
were to rise drastically, it 
would decrease the land 
area many of nations 
require.” 

 “I believe that the climate change 
and particularly the precipitation 
patterns are affecting the 
Mississippi Delta crops in regard 
to less rainfall in the summertime. 
Less rainfall means pumping 
excess water from the ground. 
Therefore, depleting the aquifers. 
As a result of this, food security 
could be a problem if one day we 
are not able to water our crops.” 
 

“I still believe that climate 
change is caused by global 
warming as I have 
observed. For food security, 
it is still a problem in 
contemporary times. In the 
US, there are food deserts 
still. There are also places 
that people do not have 
access to fresh foods and 
only have fast food 
restaurants. In that regard, 
its kind of increases the 
obesity rates.” 

Explanation  “My understanding is that they 
both are largely affected by 
increase in population. With an 
increase in population we are 
putting a strain on our 
environment, which then has 
adverse effects on our climate. 
Food security is challenged when 
our climate becomes so volatile, 
which is not helped by increasing 
demand due to current population 
levels.” 
 

“My beliefs and 
understanding of climate 
change and food security 
are largely unchanged. I 
believe climate change is an 
issue humans have helped 
create due to negligence. I 
am concerned about the 
effects of climate change on 
the environment, quality of 
air and water, and 
availability of food.  I think 
as climate change becomes 
worse, there will be many 
more who are food 
insecure due to potential 
increased prices of food. I 
think we will also need to 
be more creative in how 
food is grown, and what we 



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do with food waste after it 
has been consumed.” 

 “Climate change is a real issue 
that should be addressed and 
taken seriously by all global 
citizens. Climate change is 
connected to food security as it 
produces unpredictable weather, 
natural disasters (such as 
droughts, tsunamis, and 
hurricanes), etc. that kill entire 
harvests and food supplies. 
Therefore, people who are solely 
dependent on agriculture for their 
income and live in agricultural 
societies (like Sub-Saharan Africa) 
face higher food insecurities and 
are heavily affected by climate 
change.” 
 

“Following my participation 
in the scenario, I learned 
that climate change and 
food security go hand in 
hand. Climate change 
includes things like 
hurricanes, droughts, and 
rain patterns which all 
affect the production of 
food. Many third world 
countries are affected 
greatly because of this. 
They do not have the 
resources and technology 
to preserve their food and 
they have to find alternate 
ways to earn money to buy 
food or ways to grow food 
during these changing 
weather patterns.” 

Self-Regulation  “I personally have not done much 
research into the matter and 
cannot give a solid opinion on 
whether it is happening or if it is 
not.” 
 

“I was unaware of the large 
correlation between 
climate change and food 
security, also my idea of 
what food security is has 
changed. I did not know it 
meant the ability to foresee 
where your food is coming 
from in the future.” 

 “I know there is an underlying 
issue with the two topics, but I'm 
not exactly sure how to fix the 
problem of climate change and 
food security.” 
 

“My current beliefs are 
even more so in support of 
developing ways which can 
have a significant positive 
impact on countries which 
are threatened by climate 
change and food insecurity. 
It is especially necessary to 
analyze the evidence we 
already have to ensure that 
we are considering all 
potential impacts to a 
community, its people and 



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their families. Evidence-
supported legislation which 
can promote resilience in 
communities as well as 
increase the ability for 
residents to recovery 
quickly is important to 
determine because without 
it climate change and food 
insecurity could lead to 
serious trauma for millions 
of individuals.” 

 

Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations 

It is clear that post instruction students were more likely to use a breadth of critical thinking 
skills, demonstrating a higher capacity for critical thinking. Students were also able to more 
accurately describe the impacts, so while they may have used inference in the pre-test, how 
inference was used and depth of thought in demonstrating inference was greater after use of 
the scenario. This supports Terenzini, Springer, Pascarella, and Nora (1995) in that students 
need support on how to apply the skills. The transferability of critical thinking skill is evident 
and the clarity in which they are demonstrated by the student further impacts the ways in 
which students can transfer that skill set. It is important for faculty to continue to encourage 
students to not just thinking broadly, but deeply about climate change and its impacts on global 
food security and hunger.  
 
The application of context is supported by Facione (1990) and showcases that teaching critical 
thinking in a context promotes its use and application. Faculty need to be encouraged to 
promote critical thinking in their instructional activities, as showcased in the scenarios created 
and implemented in this study. Stedman and Adams (2012) recognized that faculty need 
support and resources in order to better facilitate the teaching of critical thinking skill. Faculty 
who participated in this study were provided ample instruction on critical thinking, scenario 
development, and climate change/food security. With those instructional aids in place, faculty 
and students demonstrated higher levels of a capacity for teaching and learning. Further, 
Wilson and Ralston (2006) model for developing scenario-based learning objects showed to be 
beneficial in its application to student learning, especially in the context of critical thinking. 
 
While the results of this study are not broadly transferable, it is clear that specific support for 
faculty related to critical thinking facilitates the building of capacity for students. Further, 
explicit instruction, clarity in delivery and expectation were also provided to student 
participants. This enabled the learners to fully understand and appreciate that demonstrating 
critical thinking as an outcome of the lesson was important. The lessons were more than just 



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learning about the impacts of climate change on food security, it was being able to 
demonstrate critical thinking in that context. 
 
This study provided a baseline of data related to how students can build capacity for critical 
thinking. However, further information is needed with respect to understanding how discipline 
or context-specific teaching influences this. Student participants represented a wide range of 
disciplines and pinpointing how and when critical thinking is taught and promoted across 
curriculum is another important consideration.   
 
Overall this study sought to identify the impact that context-specific scenarios emphasizing 
critical thinking had on students’ ability to demonstrate critical thinking skill. In this study, 
students were able to demonstrate critical thinking prior to the implementation of the scenario; 
however, the manner and depth in which they applied the skills increased greatly after the 
scenario use. Students learning of critical thinking must be context-specific, continuous, and 
supported across their curriculum. Faculty also need to be supported in their instruction of 
critical thinking, whereby helping to teach students who not only have a global perspective but 
can truly think about what is happening in the world around them. 

 

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