Advancing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Skills in First Year College Students

ABSTRACT

This article provides a case study of recent curriculum development in a freshman skills program which integrates critical thinking and English composition as linked courses at Gonzaga University. Known as “thought and expression” courses, this block of courses, which also includes speech communication, can be taken by students separately or in a linked cohort with the same twenty students in each class. In linked courses, faculty are generally aware of each others' course topics and assignments, and they meet to discuss student progress and look for opportunities for curriculum integration. In this case study, library faculty were included in the instructional team, and information literacy skills that relate to critical thinking were integrated into the goals of the critical thinking and English composition courses. Faculty involved in the courses believe that integrating library skills into course goals adds coherence to the curriculum; it also helps students to achieve the developmental goals of the learning community created by this course model.     

The “Gift” of Time: Documenting Faculty Decisions to Stop the Tenure Clock During a Pandemic

Innovative Higher Education - Anticipating the deleterious effects of pandemic mitigation protocols on faculty’s research and creative work, many universities introduced mechanisms for...     

Electrochemical analysis of the degradation of lead alloy organ-pipes due to acetic acid

Lead is commonly used for making small size organ-pipes instead of using tin alloys. In fact, when the organ-pipes are small enough to avoid collapsing due to room temperature creep, lead can be used instead of other alloys with superior mechanical properties, because it is relatively cheap, it is easy to form into different shapes, the tonality of the obtained sounds are acceptable and the corrosion resistance is quite good. However, organic substances such as organic acids released from the wood made support of the organ-pipes and organic contaminations of the air pumped through the pipes may lead to a rapid degradation of lead. In this study, the effect of organic acids, such as acetic acid, on the degradation of lead-made organ-pipes was investigated. Lead made specimens obtained from real organ-pipes were exposed to organic-acid rich environments and the induced degradation was monitored by means of electrochemical techniques. In literature, it was evidenced that the degradation promoted by the organic acids leads to the formation of lead oxides and carbonates characterized by a very high volume, which promotes a quick degradation of the lead specimens. The effect of different concentrations of acetic acid on the degradation rate of the organ pipes was investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The effect of the acid concentration on the corrosion process occurring on lead surface was evaluated by means of cathodic and anodic polarization measurements in both aerated and degassed conditions. The morphology of the degradation products was investigated by means of SEM during exposure time in the aggressive environment.     

‘Thou shalt not plagiarise’: from self-reported views to recognition and avoidance of plagiarism

Throughout much of the literature on plagiarism in higher education, there is an implicit assumption that students who understand plagiarism, who have high ethical views and declare not to engage in plagiaristic behaviour are able to recognise it and avoid it in practice. Challenging this supposition, this paper contrasts students’ self-reported data with their ability to recognise and avoid plagiarism in a proposed case scenario. A questionnaire was adapted from previous literature and administered to a sample of undergraduate first- and second-year students in an Irish university. Results show that self-reported measures are not a powerful predictor of the students’ ability to recognise the practical case as an academic breach, nor to avoid the breach through referencing. This suggests that students’ understanding and awareness of academic breaches would benefit from experiential learning and that higher education institutions should not merely rely on providing statements and definitions of academic misconduct. Also, the results highlight the potential unsuitability of using self-reported measures to study plagiarism, despite their widespread use.