The Evolution of Critical Thinking Skills in Library Instruction, 1986–2006: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography and Review of Selected Programs

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate students are increasingly being asked to conduct higher-level research in their areas of study. In order to address undergraduate needs, many academic librarians, especially those charged with crafting instruction, take critical thinking as a given in the teaching of information literacy skills. However, this review of the literature has revealed that, though there was some discussion of critical thinking in a library context in the mid 1980s, the concept did not really take hold until the 1990s, when higher education reform began to appear on many campuses. Additionally, the literature regarding critical thinking skills during this period exhibits four themes: (1) a lack of agreement among librarians and others on what critical thinking is and how it can be defined, (2) the importance of subject and course integration in the teaching of critical thinking skills in libraries, (3) the necessity of reaching undergraduate students, and (4) the special challenges of teaching critical thinking skills in an age when technology is changing so rapidly.     

Faculty Employment Trends in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The academic job search process is perhaps one of the most important and stressful events for scholars hoping to gain full‐time employment in academia. The stress that this process induces is due, at least in part, to the fact that candidates are forced to make important, life‐changing decisions with very little information. The goal of the present study is to provide an update on faculty employment trends in criminology and criminal justice by examining faculty position announcements posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) from August 2004 to July 2009. Findings reveal that candidates seeking assistant professor positions will have the most choice, as positions posted at this rank make up the largest category of advertisements. Furthermore, when a specialization was included in the announcement, most departments sought those with a law enforcement focus, followed by generalists.     

Analyzing Educational Policies: A Learning Design Perspective

In this article we describe and illustrate an analytical perspective in which educational policies are viewed as designs for supporting learning. From the learning design perspective, a policy comprises 3 components that we term the what, how, and why of policy: the goals for the learning of members of the group targeted by the policy, the supports for their learning, and an often implicit rationale for why these supports might be effective. We unpack the how of policy by describing 4 types of support for learning: new positions, learning events, new organizational routines, and new tools. Based on our discussion of the rationale for each type of support we conjecture that policies that are effective in supporting consequential professional learning will involve some combination of new positions that provide expert guidance, ongoing intentional learning events in which tools are used to bridge to practice, carefully designed organizational routines carried out with a more knowledgeable other, and the use of new tools whose incorporation into practice is supported. We present an analysis of a policy that was central to an urban district's efforts to support middle school mathematics teachers' development of ambitious instructional practices. The data that we analyzed included audio-recorded interviews conducted with teachers, mathematics coaches, school leaders, and district leaders. The sample analysis illustrates that the learning design perspective is useful both when designing policies and when revising policies after implementation to make them more effective.     

The Usability of Print and Online Video Instructions

This study investigates the usability of print and online video instructions for computer tasks. Usability tests, comprehension tests, and questionnaires were collected from participants, and 4 areas of usability were analyzed: effectiveness, retention, satisfaction, and preference. Findings show marginal differences between the 2 mediums, except in terms of user satisfaction and instruction length. This research helps technical communicators better understand the affordances, or potentials and limitations, of print and video instructions.     

Keeping Both Hands on the Wheel: Integrated Basic Education Skills Training (IBEST) for Commercial Truck Driving

IBEST is an innovative program that integrates English language skills with an intensive vocational training program and culminates in eligibility for a high wage commercial truck-driving career. Participants gain language skills, college credit, and vocational skills. Effective partnerships, scheduling, and instructional approaches are discussed.     

Numerical Minority Status in Middle School and Racial/Ethnic Segregation in Academic Classes

This study examined the effects of racial/ethnic segregation (i.e., overrepresentation) in academic classes on belonging, fairness, intergroup attitudes, and achievement across middle school (n = 4,361; M_ageT1 = 11.33 years), and whether effects depended on numerical minority status in school and race/ethnicity. Latent growth curve models revealed that experiencing more segregation than usual predicted less belonging and fairness than usual for all youth in the numerical minority, and greater in-group preference for numerical minority Whites. Academic classroom segregation throughout middle school predicted less steep declines in in-group preference for adolescents in the numerical minority, and declines in achievement for African American numerical minority youth. Results highlight the need to treat the racial/ethnic context as a structural and dynamic construct.     

The Effect of CHAMP on Physical Activity and Lesson Context in Preschoolers: A Feasibility Study

Purpose: This feasibility study compared the effects of 2 movement programs, traditional and mastery climate (i.e., the Children’s Health Activity Motor Program [CHAMP]), on lesson context and children’s physical activity (PA) levels. A secondary aim was to examine sex differences in PA levels in both programs. Method: Seventy-two preschoolers served as participants and were assigned to a movement program. Physical activity levels and lesson context were assessed with the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time. Results: Preschoolers in CHAMP spent more time walking (p < .05, d = 3.3), more time in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA; p < .05, d = 3.6), and less time standing (p < .05, d = 3.8) compared with those in a traditional movement program. Boys in both programs spent less time standing (p < .05, d = 4.8) and more time in vigorous activity (p < .05, d = 5.8) and MVPA (p < .05, d = 4.4) compared with girls. During CHAMP, children spent less time engaged in management and knowledge (p < .05, d = 1.4, and p < .001, d = 0.9, respectively) and more time in skill practice (p < .05, d = 1.5). Conclusion: The findings support that participation in CHAMP elicits more MVPA in preschool-age children compared with a traditional movement program. The Children’s Health Activity Motor Program provided children with more class time devoted to skill practice. The program appears to be an innovative approach that is beneficial for PA engagement and could contribute positively to children’s health.     

Children's Use of Memory Editing Strategies to Reject Source Misinformation

This is the first reported study of children's use of two metacognitive strategies, recollection rejection and diagnostic monitoring, to reject misinformation. Recollection rejection involves the retrieval of details that disqualify an event, whereas diagnostic monitoring involves the failure to retrieve expected details. First (n = 56, age 7 years) and third graders (n = 52, age 9 years) witnessed a staged classroom interaction involving common and bizarre accidents, were presented with misinformation about the source of these events, and took a memory test. Both age groups used recollection rejection, but third graders were more effective. There was little evidence that diagnostic monitoring influenced responses for bizarre events, potentially because these events were not sufficiently bizarre in the context of the stereotype induction.     

Computational What? Relating Computational Thinking to Teaching

Computational thinking is one of the skills critical for successfully solving problems posed in a technology driven and complex society. The limited opportunities in school settings to help students develop computational thinking skills underscores the need for helping teachers integrate it in their practices. Besides developing the knowledge of technology, content, and pedagogy, teachers need to recognize the relevance of computational thinking to their teaching, a factor influencing their future practice with it. Drawing from the literature on problem-solving and TPACK framework, this paper discusses strategies, including content-specific examples, problem-solving nature of computational thinking, and the methods of teaching problem-solving for enabling teachers to make the connections between computational thinking and their practices.