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Maximizing The Learning Outcomes Of Cocurricular Civic Engagement In Higher Education, Jeremy Poehnert
Maximizing The Learning Outcomes Of Cocurricular Civic Engagement In Higher Education, Jeremy Poehnert
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
My experience as an undergraduate college student was marked by many challenges. A constant source of support throughout that time was my participation in cocurricular community service activities – without those experiences I would never have completed my degree. After graduating I pursued a career in which I could continue my involvement with such programs, which, for the purposes of this paper, I will refer to as higher education civic engagement (HECE). There has been one issue that I have been particularly drawn to in HECE work — how to maximize what students learn when they participate in cocurricular civic …
Managing From The Middle, Lisa Williams
Managing From The Middle, Lisa Williams
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
How can middle managers successfully improve work conditions and performance of their staff as part of becoming a better manager? This synthesis reviews relevant literature to develop five key principles in my argument: Motivation is the key, the change process begins with me, change is an ongoing and fluid process, middle managers have a need for team and middle managers play different roles during team building. I have also developed a handy booklet for the middle manager to use in changing their management style, which is included as Appendix. The booklet first briefly explains the principles. It then discusses four …
First-Generation Students’ Pathways To A Baccalaureate, Yolanda Avidano
First-Generation Students’ Pathways To A Baccalaureate, Yolanda Avidano
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The pathway to college for most low-income first-generation students can seem impracticable and impossible to achieve. This diverse population has caused much apprehension among educational administrators and practitioners about how to serve these students effectively. As an educational practitioner working with this population I am especially interested in uncovering the “state of affairs” regarding first-generation college students in general, and low income first generation students in particular, and how I might be a catalyst of positive and effective change as I serve them. My synthesis reviews published literature that reveals the “state of affairs” regarding first generation students. I address …
Building A Learning Community For Dental Hygiene Faculty, Nancy Baccari
Building A Learning Community For Dental Hygiene Faculty, Nancy Baccari
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
Have you ever felt isolated in your work environment that left you feeling perplexed and stuck only to find out that colleagues felt the same way you did but had no idea to work around it? Through this practioner’s narrative, I journey through my struggle of teacher isolation to my action plan to make it better. Finding a way to identify my feelings, strengths and weaknesses and move towards change to improve my own work environment describes my experience in the Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) graduate program. This new awareness changed the way I see myself as a leader …
Applying Critical And Creative Thinking In Teaching Buddhism, Doan Van Thua
Applying Critical And Creative Thinking In Teaching Buddhism, Doan Van Thua
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
This synthesis describes my journey preparing myself for teaching Buddhism in a way that moves beyond traditional approaches of transmitting information to students. I describe learning, teaching activities, tools, and methodologies using critical and creative thinking that can be applicable to Buddhist education. I describe some changes towards more interactive modes of teaching and progress in teaching I have made so far in my teaching Sunday school for children, in public teaching, and in giving instruction to Buddhist groups. Some further expectations and some defects in my teaching that need improvement are noted. A Buddhist is not a blind follower, …
Bringing Community College Students And Employers Together: A Guide For Employers And Career Centers In An Economic Decline, Jeffrey Craig
Bringing Community College Students And Employers Together: A Guide For Employers And Career Centers In An Economic Decline, Jeffrey Craig
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
This paper emerges from my work as Coordinator of Job Placement at Bristol Community College over the last 19 months, in which I have had the opportunity to try new approaches to problem-solving and pursue professional growth as I serve students in higher education. The recent economic crisis has left millions of Americans out of work across most sectors. Displaced workers are flocking to community colleges to upgrade and learn new skills with the goal of becoming more marketable to potential employers. Enrollments have soared, while costs have risen and budgets cut. These conditions place an undue burden on these …
Incorporating Service-Learning Into The Esl Curriculum: What Aspiring Practitioners Need To Know, Andres R. Reyes
Incorporating Service-Learning Into The Esl Curriculum: What Aspiring Practitioners Need To Know, Andres R. Reyes
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
As an ESL teacher at a community college, my constant goal is to synergize teaching approaches and strategies so that in addition to maximizing students' language learning, their critical thinking skills, cultural competence, and reflectivity - as members of an increasingly growing multicultural society - are heightened. Most recently, I have been pursuing service-learning as a philosophy, pedagogy, and practice that can help students connect their classroom learning to concrete, exciting, and challenging learning situations beyond the classroom. This paper is an attempt to highlight service-learning as a powerful tool that can make a difference in students' lives as they …
Exploring The Teaching Mind: Extending Participation In Lifelong Learning Through Engagement With A Supportive Community, Jeremy Szteiter
Exploring The Teaching Mind: Extending Participation In Lifelong Learning Through Engagement With A Supportive Community, Jeremy Szteiter
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
This paper extends the notion of lifelong learning beyond gaining knowledge over a lifetime to preparing oneself to teach what has been learned to others. The "Teaching Mind," as I define the idea, involves thinking about what has been learned and what one knows by reconsidering that knowledge through the eyes of self as a teacher. The Teaching Mind assumes a broad notion of teaching that relates to informal and community learning across all areas of life and culture, beyond professional teaching in formal schools. The pursuit of the Teaching Mind is highly accessible to all those who wish to …
My Search For A Meaningful Information Literacy Course: A Drama In Three Acts, Jan Coe
My Search For A Meaningful Information Literacy Course: A Drama In Three Acts, Jan Coe
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
My synthesis project began as a personal and professional mission to help students decipher their library assignments and learn how to do research in general. In pursuing this goal, I learned a lot about 'information literacy' but I also learned about the reasons being information literate is important to me: it is a gestalt of a critical thinker. I discovered that - beyond becoming adept in the mechanics of information retrieval - what I really wanted for my students are the very things I value and enjoy doing myself: learning about communities of discourse; mulling over and asking questions about …
Web-Based Transitioning For Students With Disabilities: Learning From Existing Limitations To Design A Process That Leaves No Child Behind, Kevin Johnson
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
Students with disabilities face numerous obstacles. This is especially true while in the process of postsecondary transitioning, moving from secondary (K-12) to Post-secondary schooling (College, University or Community College). The transitioning process poses obstacles to all students however students with disabilities confront additional obstacles unique to having a disability. Federal law mandates public secondary schools design transition plans, a written plan detailing students transition from secondary to postsecondary school. Secondary schools must also create opportunities for students to develop both academic and life skills critical to successfully take the postsecondary leap and remain successful at the postsecondary level. The need …
Pomp In Circumstance: Paradox, Oppositions, Metaphors And Philosophy In The Context Of Adult Basic Education, Matt Puma
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The ability to think fluidly with a variety of oppositional forms is essential to both critical and creative thinking. Loaded oppositions such as science vs. humanities, reason vs. emotion, male vs. female and good vs. evil become hindrances to thought when they are held too rigidly as dichotomies. Learning to work with the rich flow of oppositions involves patient exploration and an openness to the emergence of paradoxical truths rooted in the opposition. However, paradoxical thinking is not the only method for flexing fixed oppositions; there are many other types of "moves" that one can make when thinking creatively with …
Critical Thinking Dispositions: The Need For A Balanced Curriculum In Collegiate Critical Thinking Courses, Bayse E. Hendrix
Critical Thinking Dispositions: The Need For A Balanced Curriculum In Collegiate Critical Thinking Courses, Bayse E. Hendrix
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The aim of this synthesis is to argue that students cannot become effective thinkers simply by being taught the analytical skills of critical reading, writing, and thinking. Without learning the necessary dispositions of critical thinking students will not develop into well-rounded, effective thinkers. The study is focused on an already existing course at Mass Bay Community College. The present curriculum is based on the fundamental skills of determining the soundness and validity of an argument. Assisting and encouraging the obtainment of critical thinking dispositions will inspire students to become more aware of the role their listening and communicating skills and …
Inviting Critical And Creative Thinking Into The Classroom, Kelley A. Freeman
Inviting Critical And Creative Thinking Into The Classroom, Kelley A. Freeman
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
In the field of education, there is much discussion around the subtleties of teaching critical and creative thinking. Surrounding the controversy are questions such as, are certain skills are subordinate to others, and can best practices be fully described. Amidst this continuing discussion, most students are not being taught the necessary, fundamental skills that will allow them to become good thinkers; nor is curriculum being aligned to explicitly and systematically include thinking skills. In the interim however, teachers can become aware of what is involved in critical and creative thinking and the dispositions, skills, strategies and environment that foster good …
The Leaders Of The Future: A Call To Action For Higher Education, Deirdre L. Hennessey
The Leaders Of The Future: A Call To Action For Higher Education, Deirdre L. Hennessey
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The purpose of this thesis is to create a plan for a college or university to use in designing a program of leadership development for students. The study begins at the first stages, discussing the role of higher education as a producer of leaders. It is argued that it is the responsibility of higher education to promote leadership and actively cultivate leaders as part of its mission. Leadeship is defined and the fundamentals of the thesis are explained. Personal and creative potential are explained as the foundation of any leadership program. These qualities are discussed, and methods of teaching these …
Using Hands-On Manipulatives To Teach Problem Solving, Cynthia A. Greenwood
Using Hands-On Manipulatives To Teach Problem Solving, Cynthia A. Greenwood
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
As educators we share a link with the classic story of the "Velveteen Rabbit", as we also seek what is real. In education "real" is what holds meaning for the students and connects their world to the world of the classroom. As teachers we continually ask for the students' active participation, involvement and commitment to the learning task, but too often we teach only from the textbook. Classroom tasks that do go beyond textbook mastery may spark the students' interest, but sometimes appear to have no link to the reality of the students' world. Cognitive research reminds educators of the …
How Does The Teacher Know? One Teacher's Search For Authenticity In The Classroom, Ellen Catherine M. Eberly
How Does The Teacher Know? One Teacher's Search For Authenticity In The Classroom, Ellen Catherine M. Eberly
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The author, a master teacher of secondary language arts, shares her reflections on how she uses CCT skills to synthesize her insights and observations of her own learning, teaching, and investigative experiences - past and present -- in order to make VALID choices about what is worth knowing and teaching in a classroom preparing students for the 21st Century. In general, the thesis emphasizes the importance of AUTHENTICITY in determining whether a curriculum or teacher's instructional methodology is VALID for today's students. AUTHENTICITY is determined by the degree of personal connectivity experienced by both student and teacher with the subject …
Teaching Foreign Languages In Context: Intermediate Italian And Critical Thinking, Chiara Frenquellucci
Teaching Foreign Languages In Context: Intermediate Italian And Critical Thinking, Chiara Frenquellucci
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
Declining student interest in the study of foreign languages in U.S. universities has prompted calls for reform. This thesis proposes to enhance the teaching of intermediate Italian through the integration of critical thinking skills and innovative techniques of language instruction. Implementing such a program requires shifts in both content and teaching methods. Language (both native and foreign) is not a set of detached components, but rather a tool for communication of perceptions and ideas through meaningful exchanges. The learning of a language should fulfill its promise of proficiency and be a congenial opportunity for success in learning. Exploiting the natural …
Changing Mathematics Learning Through Changing Teachers' Thinking, Pamela J. Cooke
Changing Mathematics Learning Through Changing Teachers' Thinking, Pamela J. Cooke
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
In the context of the goals for reform in mathematics education, as advocated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, this thesis calls for elementary level students to be actively engaged in learning mathematics through the use of hands-on materials and problem solving situations which involve investigation, reasoning, and communication. These mathematical goals are discussed and then related to the more general critical thinking skills of identifying and formulating questions, asking and answering questions, investigating and analyzing data, deducing and judging deductions, inducing and judging inductions, defining terms, and interacting with others. This thesis is based heavily on the …
Teaching Critical And Creative Thinking Skills As Part Of The Technical Communications Curriculum, Anne Harrington
Teaching Critical And Creative Thinking Skills As Part Of The Technical Communications Curriculum, Anne Harrington
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
I incorporated critical thinking instruction in the writing curriculum by using three writing projects: journal writing, a policy paper on AIDS, and an assignment to evaluate grammar checkers. In their journal writing students both generated and evaluated ideas. In the AIDS project, they reinforced these convergent and divergent thinking skills within the context of a real-world issue. For the software project, students practiced thinking skills in an arena that was more technical and objective, but in which they were evaluating fundamental writing criteria. These diverse assignments, based on a philosophically compatible approach to the teaching of writing, helped students develop …
Writing Toward Understanding, Dianne Gregory
Writing Toward Understanding, Dianne Gregory
Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection
The author -- a writer and student of creativity -- sets out to record her creative process while writing a novel and then match it to prevailing creativity theory. However, in her process notes she finds none of the typical concerns of cognitive psychology, such as problem-finding, risk-taking, breaking set, and other heuristics. The three theorists -- Amabile, Perkins, and Howard -- who seemed impressive to the author as a student, turn irrelevant when she reads them through the eyes of a writer-storyteller. From the fatty flesh of her notes and unformed recollections, elements of the author’s own personal process …