Peer interaction and the learning of critical thinking skills in further education students

A teaching programme is reported in which criticalthinking skills (in the sense of reasonedjustification of arguments; see Kuhn, 1991, 1993) weretaught. The principal aims of the study were todevelop, implement and evaluate a programme forteaching evidence-based justification to vocationaleducation students in Further Education colleges. Teaching was via modelling and peer-based critiquingexercises in the context of the students' projectwork. Eighty-four Further Education college studentsunderwent a 10-session teaching intervention whichdovetailed with their Additional Assessmentintegrative project work. Students took part inpeer-based exercises in which they learned to critiqueimaginary examples of project outlines and plans,followed by similar peer-based critiquing of eachothers' proposed projects. Analysis of the students'dialogues with each other indicated that they hadlearned the importance of justifying arguments, andcontent analysis of their written work indicated thatthey engaged in justification of their arguments to asignificantly greater degree than control groups. Several key variables in the dialogues correlatedpositively with justification in the written work,suggesting that the dialogue had impacted on thewritten work. However, justification tended to be ofa weak kind (using anecdotes or experience-basedgeneralisations), and strong (i.e. formalresearch-based) evidence remained relativelyinfrequent and sometimes inappropriately used. Apsychometric test of general critical thinking skillsshowed no evidence of transfer of learning.     

A case for critical constructivism and critical thinking in science education

While constructivism has made a considerable mark concerning learning in many areas of school learning, much less is evident relating to the education and professional development of teachers. This paper not only deals with the implementation and evaluation of such a constructivist course, but extends the argument towards the induction of teachers into “critical constructivism” through their own action research projects. Data is drawn from a single case study which illuminates the induction process and illustrates the changes taking place in the professional life and the reflective practice of one teacher as she deals with scientific concepts with two classes of 11–15 and 18–25 year olds. The Brazilian setting for the course lends resonance to its international significance.     

Reducing prejudice: constructivist considerations for special education

ABSTRACT

How might teachers think about moving to challenge prejudice against persons with handicap? Drawing on Piaget's and Bateson's constructivist theories, prejudices are examined in terms of the processes by which they are formed within the individual, the role they play in identity, and the reasons they may be resistant to change. Consideration is then given to strategies which may be useful in inviting reconsideration of cognitive items of this type. Looking at the learner's experience these include certain types of questioning strategies and counterexamples. Looking at the teacher's experience a number of techniques are recommended including, neutrality, circular questioning, and parenthesising.     

The experiences of neophyte teachers: a critical constructivist assessment

In this paper the experiences of nine neophyte teachers are examined. Using a critical constructivist approach to analyze the data reveals six conceptual and temporal stages through which these beginning teachers pass during their initial experiences as practitioners. These stages are described as: (i) “archetype,” a pre-conscious and instinctual expression of human nature that is recurrent; (ii) approaching the gates; (iii) clearing the gates; (iv) the gloss wears off; (v) disillusionment and blaming; and, (vi) alternative routes across the Rubicon. Although drawn from a Canadian context, these findings may be transferable to other countries and will be of interest to teacher educators, school administrators, and beginning teachers themselves.     

Community-based inquiry improves critical thinking in general education biology

National stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned about the inability of college graduates to think critically. Research shows that, while both faculty and students deem critical thinking essential, only a small fraction of graduates can demonstrate the thinking skills necessary for academic and professional success. Many faculty are considering nontraditional teaching methods that incorporate undergraduate research because they more closely align with the process of doing investigative science. This study compared a research-focused teaching method called community-based inquiry (CBI) with traditional lecture/laboratory in general education biology to discover which method would elicit greater gains in critical thinking. Results showed significant critical-thinking gains in the CBI group but decreases in a traditional group and a mixed CBI/traditional group. Prior critical-thinking skill, instructor, and ethnicity also significantly influenced critical-thinking gains, with nearly all ethnicities in the CBI group outperforming peers in both the mixed and traditional groups. Females, who showed decreased critical thinking in traditional courses relative to males, outperformed their male counterparts in CBI courses. Through the results of this study, it is hoped that faculty who value both research and critical thinking will consider using the CBI method.     

批判性思维在大学英语教育中的重要性

我国传统的英语专业教学一直过于注重培养学生的英语语言知识及应用技能,而缺乏对学生批判性思维的培养。本文试图分析大学英语学习中批判性思维的重要性,并从教学方法和评价方法等方面对积极开拓批判性思维提出一些可行性建议。     

Reflections on the Umbrella Movement: Implications for civic education and critical thinking

Abstract

The 2014 Umbrella Movement was one of the most significant social and political events in recent Hong Kong history. This paper offers some initial reflections on the connections between the movement and broader issues related to civic education, critical thinking, and theories of education. First, it is suggested that the movement closely resembles a form of civic education known as ‘action civics,’ offering an alternative pedagogy that might encourage more authentic civic participation. Second, the movement raises questions about how the teaching of critical thinking can be made more practically relevant to modern citizenship. Third, the deep political polarization associated with the movement indicates that civic education and critical thinking training need to pay attention to cognitive biases that affect political ideology. Finally, the Umbrella Movement reflects the failure of democratization in Hong Kong and coincides with increasing political pressures on the local education system. We discuss how political reality connects to issues about democratic education, critical pedagogy, and the idea of political neutrality in education.     

Criticality's affective entanglements: rethinking emotion and critical thinking in higher education

ABSTRACT

Critical thinking is often understood as a set of tangible, transferrable and measurable skills and competencies. Yet, it is also an intensely affective experience that is complex, contingent and contextualised. Using interview, focus group and observation data conducted with 15 first-year undergraduate social science students at a UK research-intensive university, this paper explores how students negotiate the complex knowledge practices that constitute critical thinking, particularly the affects of being and becoming critical. The theoretical tools offered by Karen Barad and Sara Ahmed allow a conceptualisation of critical thinking as a complex phenomenon of socio-material and affective practices. This paper turns to Barad and Ahmed to explore the potential of their clashing theorisations for thinking through the affective territories of critical thinking. It will argue that acknowledging the way(s) critical thinking feels (as well as what it is and what it is for) opens up new imaginaries for feminist scholarship about criticality.     

Peer coaching as part of a professional development program for science teachers in Botswana

This paper discusses the findings of a study into the potentials of peer coaching as part of a professional development program, consisting of an in-service course and exemplary curriculum materials, in supporting the implementation of learner-centred teaching in senior secondary science and mathematics education in Botswana. Teachers in the study organised several peer coaching activities and considered them beneficial. They primarily indicated having learned about general teaching issues while comments referring specifically to the implementation of learner-centred teaching were sparse. It is argued that for peer coaching to be an effective support tool teachers should have a thorough conceptualisation of this innovative approach.     

Group projects: more learning? Less fair? A conundrum in assessing postgraduate business education

Group projects form a large and possibly growing component of the work undertaken for assessing students for postgraduate degrees in business. Yet the assessments sources, methods and purposes result in an array of combinations that the literature on assessment fails to capture in its full complexity. This paper builds on a new framework for discussing the assessment of group projects and reports on an exploratory piece of empirical research to examine the questions posed in the title: Is there more learning? The answer is a solid, if less than emphatic yes. Is it less fair? Probably, but what is the alternative?     

An evaluation of argument mapping as a method of enhancing critical thinking performance in e-learning environments

The current research examined the effects of a critical thinking (CT) e-learning course taught through argument mapping (AM) on measures of CT ability. Seventy-four undergraduate psychology students were allocated to either an AM-infused CT e-learning course or a no instruction control group and were tested both before and after an 8-week intervention period on CT ability using the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment. Results revealed that participation in the AM-infused CT course significantly enhanced overall CT ability and all CT sub-scale abilities from pre- to post-testing and that post-test performance was positively correlated with motivation towards learning and dispositional need for cognition. In addition, AM-infused CT course participants exhibited a significantly larger gain in both overall CT and in argument analysis (a CT subscale) than controls. There were no effects of training on either motivation for learning or need for cognition. However, both the latter variables were correlated with CT ability at post-testing. Results are discussed in light of research and theory on the best practices of providing CT instruction through argument mapping and e-learning environments.     

Media and technology in education: A constructivist view

This paper is a version of the seventh ECTJ/ERIC-IR Young Scholar Paper, an annual award initiated to stimulate writing by young professionals in the field of instructional technology. Preparation of the paper was supported by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources at Syracuse, NY. - Ed.     

Critical thinking in education: a review

National governments and employers have argued that it is important for all sectors of education to prepare individuals who are able to think well and for themselves. 'Good thinking' and 'thinking well' are commonly used terms bound up with what is called 'critical thinking' in the research literature. Evidence is presented in this paper, however, which suggests that not all students may be good at critical thinking; nor do some teachers appear to teach students 'good thinking' skills. A review of the research literature in this area was undertaken and the methods and conceptions of teaching likely to inhibit and enhance critical thinking are outlined, as well as what is required to improve students' thinking skills. Ways forward in teaching critical thinking, and in helping students to learn to think well and for themselves, are described and discussed.     

Exploring the teacher-student relationship in graduate education: a constructivist grounded theory

Despite its significance, the teacher-student relationship in higher education remains an under-researched field. The current study used constructivist grounded theory, in order to enrich the relevant discussion. More specifically, it aimed at exploring how the teacher-student relationship in graduate education develops (and gradually evolves) based on the perceptions and experiences of the parties involved. Data was collected through intensive interviewing with twenty teacher educators and by five focus groups with twenty-five graduate students in Educational Sciences. Based on the combined constant comparative analysis of the teachers’ and students’ perceptions and experiences, the teacher-student relationship in higher education surfaced as a complex dynamic process. Despite the teachers’ hierarchical superiority, it is characterised by reciprocating in all its manifestations: mutually wanting to relate, developing characteristics of a meaningful relationship, overcoming obstacles, maintaining boundaries and experiencing the positive outcomes.     

高师公共教育学课程中批判性思维的培养

素质教育的重点是培养学生的创新精神和实践能力,这离不开批判性思维的教学,因此需要教师具有批判性精神和批判性思维。在"高师公共教育学"中注重师范生批判性思维的培养,有助于他们学以致用,创新教学,适应课程改革的需要。     

Critical thinking in distance education: Developing critical communities in an audio teleconference context

Distance education has long been associated with independent study and delivery of prepackaged learning materials. These characteristics effectively deny distance education students the opportunity to participate in communities of inquiry and, perhaps, opportunities to develop their critical thinking skills. This paper reviews the theoretical impact of socially situated learning, critical thinking and their implications for distance education. It then presents the results from a study of learners' perception while enrolled in two different models of audio teleconferenced, university courses. The study reports quantitative results from a mail survey of these students and the qualitative results from interviews and classroom observations. The impact of the instructional design used by the delivering institution resulted in two distinct models of audio teleconference delivery with significant qualitative and quantitative differences in student perception. The paper concludes that learning communities, which support the development of critical thinking skills, can be created at a distance and that they provide a mechanism for improving the quality of higher level distance education.     

Peer tutoring in reading in Scotland: thinking big

A large‐scale randomised‐controlled trial of reading tutoring in 80 schools in Scotland used the Paired Reading (PR) technique. On long‐term evaluation, cross‐age PR was significantly better than regular teaching, but same‐age was not. On short‐term evaluation, PR pupils did significantly better than control pupils in both years, and cross‐age and same‐age were similarly effective. Low socio‐economic pupils, lower reading ability pupils, girls and reading with maths tutoring groups did significantly better. Implementation was good in parts, but some important aspects of technique were rare. Reading gains were significantly greater for those with mistakes about every 2 minutes and those who stopped reading to talk every 5 to 7 minutes. Significant gains in self‐esteem were seen in same‐age and cross‐age groups, and for tutees and tutors, but not for controls. The relationship of achievement gain to quality of technique and socio‐emotional gains is discussed, with implications for practice.     

Peer assessment as a learning tool for enhancing student teachers' preparation

This study investigates how peer assessment contributes to enhancing student teachers' preparation during field experience. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 72 student teachers. The findings showed that the student teachers have positive beliefs about peer assessment. They think that it can be beneficial if some changes are made in the way it is employed in teacher education programs. In light of the study findings, the researchers put forth a number of suggestions and recommendations for employing peer assessment in teacher education programs in Jordan.     

道德想象:一种新的德育方法论

想象作为一种方法论,是人对道德与真理的沉思和探险,是道德教化赖以实现的心灵基础与内在根基。想象不是道德教育的具体方法,而是道德教育的世界观和方法论。作为一种教化哲学,道德想象使我们的道德教育价值观和思维方式发生了改变,并提示了另一种教化传统和逻辑。在这一视野中,那种过于实在、过分依赖于生活实践的教化信念受到了质疑。在新的教化哲学之下,道德教育获得了更为广阔的伦理资源和教育视野,它使人们有可能将道德想象和艺术审美引入教化实践之中。而更为重要的是,它让我们看到在道德教育中那种超越性的高级生活对于提升人的精神世界所具有的价值,使我们能够拓展对道德规范的认识和理解,进而有可能借助道德想象的力量,构建一种由理想信念通往生活实践的教化逻辑。     

Challenges to improving higher education students' critical thinking capacity in China

Drawing on data from the 2016 National Assessment of Collegiate Capacity in China, the study on which this article reports explored the value-added effects of critical thinking capacity in higher education. Specifically, the analysis was developed using the difference in residuals model based on the Hierarchical Linear Modelling approach. The results show that, first, critical thinking capacity is malleable and can be improved through undergraduate education. Second, the results demonstrate that the value-added effects of undergraduate education on college students' critical thinking capacity are heterogeneous. Only half of the value-added effects achieved in higher education in China were positive. Third, the size of value-added effects was not fully aligned with the level of the institutions. High-ranking universities did not always perform well in achieving high value-added effects on critical thinking capacity. This study analyses the reasons why some universities in China face insurmountable challenges in efforts to improve college students' critical thinking capacity. Challenges are highlighted from multiple perspectives. Corresponding improvement strategies are proposed in the concluding discussion.