Abstract

Research on personal epistemology (Boden, Smartt, Franklin-Guy, & Scudder, 2006; Perry, 1968; Schommer, 1990; Schommer-Aikins, Duell, & Barker, 2003) suggests that factors such as students’ beliefs about the structure of knowledge, the certainty of knowledge, the sources of knowledge, the control of learning, and the speed of knowledge acquisition affect the learning process. This study explores the strategies that professors implement in order to promote the epistemological development of students by encouraging them to think for themselves, to question authority, and to become self-directed. Participants in this study were professors teaching in graduate programs at two universities in an urban setting in the Midwestern region of the United States. Open-ended essay questions were administered online, and follow-up in-person, telephone, and email interviews were conducted. The data were coded and categorized using the constant-comparative method. Seven themes of commonly employed methodologies emerged. These included the utilization of case studies, debate/guided discussions, the Socratic Method, reflective assignments, technology, self-directed learning, and text/article critiques. The methodologies described in this study share many common characteristics: they are active, applied, process-oriented, challenging, and formative. While there are certainly many effective teaching techniques that one can utilize at the university level, the authors suggest that the methodologies outlined in this study can be put into practice in order to promote student epistemological development and self-directedness.