“Kroll [1] describes intellectual growth as the progression from ignorant certainty to intelligent confusion. Many entering college students are firmly rooted in ignorant certainty. Their beliefs about the world are clear, absolute, and based entirely on what they have been told by others—parents, teachers, and influential peers. They have never subjected these beliefs to critical questioning or looked for evidence to test their validity. They view all knowledge as either certain or unknowable, with scientific knowledge residing squarely in the domain of certainty. In their minds, the role of teachers is to know The Truth and to tell it to them and their role as students is to absorb it and repeat it back on assignments and tests.

source: Richard M. Felder, North Carolina State University Rebecca Brent, Education Designs, Inc. ; The Intellectual Development of Science and Engineering Students. Part 1: Models and Challenges. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247916554_The_Intellectual_Development_of_Science_and_Engineering_Students_Part_1_Models_and_Challenges [accessed Apr 10 2020].