Education Commons^™

Don't Google It! Appeal To Students' Passions To Inspire Information Literacy, Ellen B. Derwin Ph.D.

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Who doesn’t love Google? Yet in courses all across disciplines at colleges and universities, faculty struggle with assigning work that requires research. Why? Students immediately Google (or use another search engine) to seek information and often ignore requirements to seek information that is relevant, credible, accurate and evidence-based. Despite partnering with librarians, grading with information literacy as a high priority, and guiding students to seek appropriate sources, googling without critical thinking happens on a regular basis. At Brandman University, this frustration for faculty occurs throughout the curriculum, even in courses such as Critical Thinking, Student Success, and Information Literacy, which …

Supporting Examination Reform In Nepal, Mee Young Han

Teacher India

ACER is helping to ensure that school assessment in Nepal focuses on testing higher-order thinking skills.

Narrating A Conscientization Journey On Crime Prevention Through Social Development, Carlos Luis Zatarain

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There is an increasing interest among municipalities to address crime through prevention as social development (CPSD) that acknowledges the underlying social conditions that influence the occurrence of crime. This requires a critical consciousness among community members and decision-makers of the root causes of crime and critical action that reflect that understanding. This, in turn, implies both a significant mental and cultural shift requiring personal transformation. Only then can the appropriate actions towards a preventative approach to crime be effectively fostered. For this purpose, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council developed a community course titled Reframing Crime, Justice, and Prevention that …

More Than A Leadership Position, Kainoa Cuttitta

Student Engagement Posters

Kanoia Cuttitta discusses student engagement at Linfield College with regard to her involvement in ASLC (the Associated Students of Linfield College).

The Social Construction Of Life: Critical Thinking About Biology In Society, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

This book aims to expand the boundaries of the influences that readers consider when interpreting the practices and products of the life sciences ("biology") and their impact on society. The chapter topics include: Interpreting Ideas of Nature; The structure of origin stories; Multiple layers in influencing an audience: The case of Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Metaphors of coordination and development; What causes a disease?—the consequences of hereditarianism in the case of pellagra; How changeable are IQ test scores?; Social negotiations around genetic screening; Intersecting processes involving genes and environment.

Each chapter consists of 5 parts:

1. Introduce simple …

Design For Living Complexities, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers in Critical, Creative and Reflective Practice

Lectures from a 12-session course that addresses the intersection of design with critical thinking. Design in this course means intentionality in construction, which involves a range of materials, a sequence of steps, and principles that inform the choice of materials and the steps. Design also always involves putting people, as well as materials, into place. This happens by working with the known properties of people, as well as the known properties of material, and trying out new arrangements to work around their constraints (at least temporarily). Critical thinking, as I define it, involves understanding ideas and practices better when we …

The Basic Communication Course And A University-Wide Critical Thinking Pedagogy Program, Brent Kice

Basic Communication Course Annual

This Basic Course Forum highlights authors’ responses to the following topics: What curricular programs present the best opportunity for curricular connections to the basic course? Building upon conversations from the July 2018 Basic Course Institute (hosted by University of Dayton), what administrative successes and challenges do basic course directors face?

Preserving The Archives In The 21st Century Classroom: Designing History Classes Around Primary Source Research., Julie Harper Pace

Georgia Educational Researcher

This article details an experiment in an 11^th and 12^th grade 3-week intensive course, the Science and History of Contagious Disease. The course was an interdisciplinary survey of how diseases are spread along with an examination of social responses. Although both lecture and discussion based, the course revolved primary around a trip in which we led approximately 22 students through archival research in the City of Savannah Municipal Archives on the Yellow Fever epidemics of 1820, 1854, and 1876. The article describes the numerous advantages of archival work, from direct contact with rare and unique primary sources to …

Pensamiento Crítico Y Escritura: Un Análisis Documental En El Contexto Educativo Latinoamericano, Diana Rocío Debia Mendieta, Herimey Hennessey Ramírez, Andrea Mesa Mojica, Lina Paola Quete Alarcón

Licenciatura en Español y Lenguas Extranjeras

Este artículo recoge los hallazgos de una investigación que surge al interior del Semillero AGLAIA y se constituye en un aporte a la consolidación de un estado del arte del estudio denominado Sistematización de experiencias de formación docente en programas y escenarios educativos orientados hacia el desarrollo de pensamiento crítico con profesores en formación y en ejercicio, adelantado por un equipo de investigadores del grupo de trabajo de CLACSO de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación. En ese marco y teniendo en cuenta la necesidad de indagar sobre las investigaciones ligadas al estudio de la escritura para la formación …

Exploring Higher Order Thinking Strategies In Georgia's Top Performing Middle Schools, Karen Kister

Ed.D. Dissertations

Developmental psychologists defined adolescent cognitive development as a period of time when individuals learn to mentally separate from adults and establish a self‑sufficient identity capable of the autonomous thought necessary to apply higher-order thinking. In contrast, college professors of the millennial generation stated that students demonstrate increased immaturity levels inconsistent with those of prior generations. Hence, the focus of this study was to examine the higher-order thinking strategies that teachers of adolescents have implemented within the five top performing middle schools in the state of Georgia. The findings offered a potential coexistence of higher-order thinking abilities and autonomous behavior and …

A Classroom Activity For Teaching Kohlberg’S Theory Of Moral Development, Cheryl L. Carmichael, Anna M. Schwartz, Maureen Coyle, Matthew H. Goldberg

Publications and Research

In two studies, we demonstrate an engaging classroom activity that facilitates student learning about Kohlberg’s theory of moral development by using digital resources to foster active, experiential learning. In addition to hearing a standard lecture about moral development, students watched a video of a morally provocative incident, then worked in small groups to classify user comments posted in response to the video according to Kohlberg’s six stages. Students in both studies found the activity enjoyable and useful. Moreover, students’ scores on a moral development quiz improved after completing the activity (Study 1), and students who completed the activity in addition …

Four Glos Walk Into A Classroom: The Challenge Of Supporting Critical Skill Growth, Megan O'Neill, Grace Kaletski

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In this presentation, we outline the challenges faced when we adopted a LEAP-inspired general education curriculum with several critical skills as outcomes but created no support structure to deliver and foster them. Our General Learning Outcomes (GLOs) include writing, information literacy, speaking, and critical thinking; however, we had faculty leadership, expertise, and tutoring support only for writing. While writing assessment showed strong results and ultimately created curriculum change, the outsourced assessments of info lit, critical thinking, and speaking gave us widely divergent and unsatisfactory results. As one consequence, assessment efforts stalled in those areas. Looking at the successful development model …

The Green Book: Race, Geography, And Critical Understanding, Mark Pearcy Ph.D.

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Social studies teachers face a number of disciplinary challenges--for instance, insufficient geographic knowledge, fewer opportunities for critical analysis amid shrinking instructional time--and, in terms of confronting discrimination and disparity, an increasingly racially segregated society. Teachers can, however, make excellent use of historical resources and modern mapping tools to empower students in their analysis of the Jim Crow era and segregation in American daily life. This article describes the use of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide produced from 1937 to 1963 for African-American drivers which detailed American businesses which catered to black travelers. Using the data from these books, …

College For The Sake Of What? Promoting The Development Of Wholly Educated Students, Michael P. Yoder

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

There is increasing pressure on institutions of higher education to accurately measure student success. What was once thought of as a way to develop students holistically via a liberal arts degree, higher education is now often regarded as a means to an end: a well-paying job. Lost in the drive for quantifiable data is the holistic development of individuals who are capable of interacting with and influencing the world around them. Thus, higher education struggles to respond to market pressures while maintaining a focus on wholly developing individuals. In this research study, it is proposed that student “success” should include …

Addressing Religious Issues And Power In Elt Classrooms: Voices From English Teachers In Indonesia, Joseph E. Mambu

International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching

Drawing on insights from the ELT literature on values, power (relations), and dialogues on faith, this article will explore how EFL teachers reflected on their attempts to communicate their religious views to students. Data was acquired from three Christian English teachers. One was from the USA and the other two were Indonesian nationals. They participated in a larger case study project in an undergraduate English Language Teacher Education program at a university in Indonesia. In interviews teachers demonstrated the enactment of interfaith dialogues, critical thinking, respect, and religious reflexivity. This exploratory study concludes that religious values can be incorporated into …

Some Things You Can Do To Support Public Education Now, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Yesterday a group of students here at Gettysburg College, where I teach, organized a Solidarity Rally. It consisted largely of teach-ins designed to start conversations, and hopefully it will the first of many events that bring people together to think more carefully about how we should respond to things going on outside of our college and town. [excerpt]

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D.

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

Using Role-Play To Enhance Critical Thinking About Ethics In Psychology, Jillian Grose-Fifer

Publications and Research

In this chapter, I describe a highly structured, student-centered role-play activity. Before coming to class, students read about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. They then work cooperatively in small groups to decide on how to collectively portray the role of their assigned character from the study. Each group then presents their character's testimonial at a tribunal, with the aim of clarifying the injustices that occurred during the study. The activity is designed to foster collaboration and communication skills and to encourage students to think critically about how this historical study violated ethical standards for conducting research with human subjects. Assessment data …

Thinking For Yourself And Answering For Yourself, Austin Dacey

Pedagogy and the Human Sciences

Commentary on “Rethinking Critical Thinking: A Relational and Contextual Approach” (Bowker & Fazioli, 2016).

Comparing Critical Thinkingdispositions Of Students Enrolled In A College Levelglobal Seminarcourse, Dennis W. Duncan, Rainer Haas, John C. Ricketts

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

In recent years, the discussion concerning critical thinking and problem solving among college graduates and new industry hires has increased dramatically. A plethora of research has discovered that college graduates entering the workforce are lacking in their ability to problem solve and think critically. These attributes have been called some of the most necessary for an individuals’ success in the 21stcentury. The purpose of this study was to identify the variance in critical thinking dispositionof students (undergraduate and graduate) enrolled in an International course (Global Seminar) using the UF-EMI Critical Thinking Disposition Assessment. Students representing the US, Italy, and Austria …

Integrating Creative, Critical, And Historical Thinking Through Close Reading, Document- Based Writing, And Original Political Cartooning, John Bickford

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Historical thinking, an unnatural and developed skill,1 is foundational for both civicinvolvement and social studies education.2 To facilitate students’ historical thinking, teachers candraw from a myriad of discipline-specific close reading strategies.3 History literacy stratagems canbe adjusted for learners both young4 and old5; teachers can target a specific heuristic6 or address adistinct barrier to understanding.7 Whether termed content area literacy strategies, close readings,processes, and simply methods,8 state and national education require students to scrutinizecomplex, diverse, and, at times, competing texts.9 The education initiatives assess students—inboth history/social studies and English/language arts non-fiction curricula—on their ability toextract, employ, and cite newly generated understandings …

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

The Role Of Critical Thinking In Reader Perceptions Of Leadership In Comic Books, Renee Krusemark Edd

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

This study qualitatively explored how readers use critical thinking to perceive leadership in The Walking Dead comic books. Sixty-nine participants gave responses regarding their thoughts about leadership in the comic via an online survey. A majority of the participants indicated a wide range of values for comics as a learning experience. Most participants perceived leadership in the comic books as an individual who protects others and makes decisions. After completing the online survey, 22 participants gave acceptable and relevant responses about their perceptions of leadership and how they form these perceptions. Information was collected through email interviewing. The study concluded …

The Educational Benefits Of Cultural Institutions, Brian Kisida

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant portion of the education children receive occurs outside of the traditional classroom and produces outcomes not typically captured by standardized achievement tests. This dissertation is part of an effort to expand the educational venues and outcomes educational researchers rigorously examine. In particular, I present the key results from experimental studies of the effects of school tours to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR., and to the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, AR.

Chapter 1 focuses on arts exposure and critical thinking outcomes. A problem for the arts’ role in education has been a …

“Media Violence Is Made To Attract And Entertain People”: Responses To Media Literacy Lessons On The Effects Of And Institutional Motives Behind Media Violence, Laras Sekarasih, Kimberly R. Walsh, Erica Scharrer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study investigated the following research question: How do sixth-graders respond to a media literacy lesson that was designed to, among other goals, introduce the concept of the presence of commercial interest in media production, particularly regarding the prevalence of media violence? Forty-seven responses were analyzed thematically using constant comparison. Students’ responses illustrate their critical thinking and understanding about producers’ intent in including violence in media, although recognizing the commercial interest behind media violence still seems to be a challenge. Findings also suggest the task of striking a balance between instilling critical thinking skills and acknowledging children’s personal media experiences.

Developing Critical Thinking Within A Master Of Science In Leadership Program, Daryl V. Watkins, Matthew P. Earnhardt

Publications

Critical thinking involves an important set of competencies, skills, and behaviors that can be systematically developed and cultivated. Critical thinking is fostered within the Master of Science in Leadership Program to help students achieve higher levels of thinking through the program and also to help them improve their leadership acumen. The paper describes critical thinking, provides background on the Paulian view of critical thinking used within the program, and presents the approach used to infuse critical thinking into the curriculum. The Master of Science in Leadership Program introduces critical thinking in the first required course and weaves critical thinking concepts …

Instructional Design And Facilitation Approaches That Promote Critical Thinking In Asynchronous Online Discussions: A Review Of The Literature, Laura Schindler, Gary J. Burkholder Jr

Center for Research Quality Publications

Asynchronous online discussions (AODs) are often used to promote critical thinking in online courses; however, recent research suggests that levels of critical thinking in discussions remain low. Furthermore, there is a lack of consensus in the literature about the definition of critical thinking and many of the existing studies focus on one specific cognitive construct. Therefore, it is unknown which instructional approaches have the strongest empirical support for promoting critical thinking across multiple cognitive constructs. The purpose of this article is to present a review of the literature related to instructional design and facilitation approaches that promote critical thinking in …

Welcome To The University Libraries Poster Session!, Erin E. Rinto, Melissa Bowles-Terry, Rachelle Weigel, Nancy E. Fawley, Rosan Mitola, Amanda Melilli, Amy Jo Hunsaker, Jennifer L. Fabbi

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

Over the past eight years, the UNLV Libraries have led and contributed to campus initiatives to revise the undergraduate curriculum and student learning outcomes at UNLV. Through formal and informal leadership roles, librarians helped to create the University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (UULOs) in the areas of Intellectual Breadth and Lifelong Learning, Communication, Inquiry and Critical Thinking, Global/Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness, and Citizenship and Ethics and a revised model for general education.

In Fall 2011, the Faculty Senate approved a vertical pathway of key courses, which serve to integrate and assess the UULOs from a student’s first year of college through …

Student Government Leadership In The 21st Century : Its Importance And Why It Must Be Supported., Spencer Scruggs

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Student Collaboration Online In A Critical Thinking Course, Bob Schoenberg

Bob Schoenberg

This article identifies several benefits of student online collaboration and describes a number of collaborative tools that can be used without charge. The author also shares with readers several different strategies for promoting collaboration, including some of his personal tips and suggestions, based on his experience of teaching an online course on Critical Thinking at UMass Boston. The author argues that online education offers many opportunities for students to learn a variety of subjects, think critically and work collaboratively. However, for online faculty to be effective in their teaching they need training and experience.