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Educational Strategies; Learning Strategies; Critical Thinking; Misconceptions; Thinking Skills; Teaching Methods; Teacher Role; Student Participation; Inquiry; Learner Engagement; Relevance (Education); Problem Solving; Science Instruction; Science Teachers; Prior Learning; Questioning Techniques; Inferences; Prediction

Abstract:
Too often, teachers scratch their heads and ask, "What were my students thinking?" then answer, "I don't want to know." But teachers should want to know, and students should question their own thinking, as well. Critical thinking involves not just problem solving, creativity, analysis, and synthesis but also self-awareness of learning and learning strategies. This article offers instructional strategies that teach students to think critically. Fostering critical thinking requires shifting from a teacher-centered classroom to a critical thinking-centered classroom. This involves relinquishing the role of a teacher as the sole disseminator of knowledge and structuring lessons to allow for student inquiry, research, and collaboration. By providing students with inquiry-based, engaging, rigorous, real-world content and teaching them to monitor their own learning, schools can create a generation of learners capable of solving the problems of the 21st century. (Contains 2 figures and 1 online resource.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Instructional Design; Constructivism (Learning); Expertise; Video Games; Inquiry; Critical Thinking; Problem Solving; Learning Processes; Creativity; Science Instruction; Science Education; STEM Education; Educational Technology; Educational Games; Computer Games; Computer Assisted Instruction; Teaching Methods; Learner Engagement; Youth

Abstract:
Researchers and instructional designers are exploring the possibilities of using video games to support STEM education in the U.S., not only because they are a popular media form among youth, but also because well-designed games often leverage the best features of inquiry learning. Those interested in using games in an educational capacity may benefit from an examination of the work of video game designer Will Wright. Wright designs through a constructivist lens and his open-ended, sandbox games ("SimCity," "The Sims," "Spore") present wide "possibility spaces" that allow players to exercise their critical thinking and problem solving skills. His games invoke a delight in discovery that inspire creative acts and interest-driven learning both during and outside of the game. Finally, he reminds us that failure-based learning is a viable strategy for building expertise and understanding. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Learner Engagement; Student Motivation; Earth Science; Research Skills; Science Curriculum; Critical Thinking; Questioning Techniques; Science Instruction; Teaching Methods; Inquiry; Problem Solving; Thinking Skills; Secondary School Science

Abstract:
In this inquiry-based project, student-generated questions became the basis for student-directed individual and group projects that provided practice with problem solving, critical thinking, and research skills while digging deeper into the Earth science curriculum. The author used her students' high-level questions to provide relevance, challenge, and integration; which improved student engagement and motivation in the classroom. (Contains 3 figures and 2 resources.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Learner Engagement; Feedback (Response); Educational Strategies; Concept Mapping; Class Activities; Student Attitudes; Botany; Biology; Thinking Skills; Teaching Methods; Critical Thinking; Student Surveys; Creativity; Problem Solving; Student Participation; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate Study; Lecture Method; Classification; Active Learning

Abstract:
Active-learning techniques have been advocated as a means to promote student engagement in lower-division biology courses. In this case study, mini-lectures in combination with active-learning activities were evaluated as strategies to promote a culture of learning and participation in a required botany course. These activities were designed to develop critical-thinking skills, i.e. Bloom's synthesis, application, and analysis. Student attitudes toward learning, participation, and class activities were assessed with feedback surveys following each activity, at the beginning with a pre-survey and at the end of the semester with a retrospective survey. Students identified concept maps, problem-solving exercises, and the categorizing grid as helpful to their learning. Based on instructor observations, students were especially engaged in activities that allowed them to demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness. Based on the retrospective survey results, students were more conservative in their perception of personal critical-thinking skills at the end of the semester, which may be a reaction to the challenges in developing critical-thinking skills. The incorporation of mini-lectures with class activities helped to promote student engagement in the classroom and thus, was a positive instructional strategy. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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History; Documentaries; Video Technology; Technology Integration; Researchers; Educational Technology; War; Grade 8; Middle School Students; Urban Schools; Learner Engagement; Creative Activities; Student Projects; Teaching Methods; Critical Thinking; Thinking Skills; Inquiry; History Instruction

Abstract:
Over the last several decades, social studies educators' interest and emphasis on integrating technology into teaching has increased significantly. One promising area of inquiry focuses on the benefits of student-produced digital video. A number of researchers assert that student-produced digital videos provide a variety of benefits, including increases in student motivation and engagement, creative classroom opportunities, and opportunities for more authentic learning experiences. Fewer researchers, however, have explored student learning outcomes from documentary projects. In this article, the authors analyzed a set of student-created digital documentary projects constructed in a standards-based, 8th-grade U.S. history classroom. They holistically examined the level of authentic intellectual work evident in students' projects throughout each stage of the process. The authors found that the students demonstrated a moderate-to-significant degree of authentic intellectual work in creating their own documentary films. (Contains 9 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Thinking Skills; Assignments; Photography; Critical Thinking; Health Sciences; Learner Engagement; Creativity; Problem Solving; Teaching Methods; Web 2.0 Technologies; Instructional Effectiveness; Consciousness Raising; Technology Uses in Education; Educational Practices

Abstract:
Increasing student critical thinking and active engagement with course content is an ongoing challenge in tertiary education. The present article explores the use of photography in two health sciences courses as a catalyst for the encouragement of critical thinking, creativity, engagement, and problem solving. The authors adapted photography assignments based on Photovoice and photo elicitation which are described in detail along with the benefits and challenges of utilizing nontraditional assignment formats. The immediate impact of these assignments appears to have challenged students' thinking about the health culture in their lived environments and has allowed them to critically investigate and interpret their photos and the photos of their classmates. (Contains 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Writing Instruction; Writing Skills; Undergraduate Students; College Libraries; Social Networks; Web 2.0 Technologies; Critical Thinking; Writing Assignments; Introductory Courses; Teaching Methods; Educational Strategies; Social Capital; Performance Factors; Writing Improvement; Electronic Publishing; Learner Engagement

Abstract:
Undergraduates' use of social networking sites has been well documented in both the popular press and in academic publications. Research suggests that students spend, on average, 30 minutes a day engaged in a predictable routine of social networking. Correspondingly, on the first author's previous campus, she had frequently observed many of the students in her own introductory writing class spending time in the Highlands College library enthusiastically communicating on Facebook. In this article, the first author harnesses her Highlands College students' enthusiasm for social networking to increase their feelings of connectedness and improve critical thinking and writing skills through Facebook assignments. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Mathematics Instruction; Teaching Methods; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Curriculum; Thinking Skills; Cognitive Processes; Educational Strategies; Task Analysis; Problem Solving; Mathematics Teachers; Mathematics Activities; Learner Engagement; Females; Middle Schools; Elementary Secondary Education

Abstract:
John Dewey discussed the dry school curriculum a century ago. One of the "evils" was a simplified curriculum having an outward appearance of mathematics. Dewey posited that such a simplified curriculum deprived students of opportunities to experience the thought-provoking character of the accumulated wisdom found in human knowledge. Dewey's concern about the simplified curriculum and teaching practice is still valid in many mathematics classrooms and among the general public. The practice of making mathematics easy by explaining every single detail and providing students with procedural directions can impede learning. By setting the stage and doing their thinking, teachers require minimal cognitive effort from students. This article presents two scenarios that show how teachers provide too much help and thus downgrade the cognitive level of mathematical explorations. What follows are strategies for maintaining quality mathematical tasks and engaging students in activities that call for significant cognitive effort. The purpose is to promote the art of being "less helpful" in teaching. (Contains 7 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Thinking Skills; Learner Engagement; Teaching Methods; Engineering; Learning Strategies; Foreign Countries; Problem Solving; Learning Processes; Educational Innovation; Engineering Education; Comprehension; Scientific Concepts; Cognitive Structures; Student Surveys

Abstract:
Problem solving skills and abilities are critical in life and more specifically in the engineering field. Unfortunately, significant numbers of South African students who are accessing higher education lack problem solving skills and this results in poor academic performance jeopardizing their progress especially from first to second year. On the other hand, teaching problem solving to under-prepared first year learners is a challenge to academics that are required to think in innovative ways about teaching and learning strategies in order to respond in an efficient manner to South Africa's high demand for quality engineering graduates. This article discusses two successful sample lessons of how higher-order thinking skills can be integrated into the content of a so called "bottle-neck" subject namely Electrical Engineering 1 (EE1) with the goal of enhancing problem solving skills and consequently improve under-prepared learners' performance. The importance of developing active student engagement practice as well as conceptual understanding is highlighted. (Contains 4 tables and 8 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Sociology; Learning Processes; Inquiry; Reflection; Self Concept; Writing Assignments; Critical Thinking; Thinking Skills; Learner Engagement; Introductory Courses; Teaching Methods; College Students

Abstract:
Inspired by inquiry-guided learning and critical self-reflection as pedagogical approaches, we describe exercises that encourage students to develop critical thinking skills through inquiry and reflective writing. Students compile questions and reflections throughout the course and, at the end of the term, use their writings for a comprehensive analytic self-reflection that examines their intellectual and sociological growth. Following Schwalbe's (2008) urging to emphasize sociological "thinking" over disciplinary nuances in introductory courses, we describe several complementary methods for teaching students how to think like sociologists. We detail five inquiry exercises and three reflection exercises that build up to the final analytic reflection essay. The unique value of these exercises is that students not only engage the course material throughout the course but also learn to examine their own writing as data. In doing so, students learn to value the process of learning, inquiry, and critical self-reflection while acquiring and constructing self-knowledge. (Contains 3 notes, 1 figure, and 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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