Passive No More: Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms
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Transcript of Passive No More: Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms
Passive No More:Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms
Rita L. HalaszLDR 622 Student DevelopmentSiena Heights University11-11-2012
Critical Thinking
Reasoning, analysis, skepticism, evaluation, problem solving
A desire to understand(Reinstein & Lander, 2008)
Using rational criteria in evaluation(Browne & Freeman,
2000)
Analyzing conclusions for their basis in truth
(Sumner, 1906)
“It is a mental habit and power. It is a prime
condition of human welfare that men and women should be trained in it” (Sumner, 1906, p. 633).
“Excellence in thought, however, must be
systematically cultivated” (Defining critical thinking, 2011, para. 9).
Critical Thinking is Cultivated
Today’s Employers Expect Critical Thinkers
• The ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing (89%)
• Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills (81%)
• The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through internships or other hands-on experiences (79%)
• The ability to connect choices and actions to ethical decisions (75%)
• The ability to analyze and solve complex problems (75%)
The Ability To:
Employers’ Top Desired
Outcomes in
Graduates
(Hart Research Associates, 2010), p. 2)
Is Higher Education Producing Higher Order Thinking?
45% of college students show noappreciable increases in higher order
learning after two years of college
After four years . . .
36% show no significant improvement in learning
(Arum, Roksa, & Cho, 2011)
Classroom Barriers
Immature Student
Development
Passive Learnin
g
Lack of Engagement
No Joy of
Discovery
(Browne & Freeman, 2000; Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)
Kegan• 5 Orders• Cognitive
Development
• Path to Self-Authorship
Perry• 9 Positions• Intellectual
& Ethical Development
• 3 Forms of Processing
Knefelkamp• 4
Methodologies
• Fitted to Student Development
• Classroom Based
Student Development & Critical Thinking
(Evans, et al., 2010)
Developmental Model Integration
Multiplistic
Equal value to others
DualisticFiniteB & W
Relativistic
Desire for evidence
Kegan Perry Knefelkamp
Order 2 - RulesNeed for authority Self-centered
Order 3 - Socialized MindAcceptance > Conflict
Order 4 – Self-authoredResponsible for own beliefsIndependent
High degree of personalism, structure, and experiential learning in the classroom
Safety
Decreasing structure & personalism. Increased risk taking, complexity of tasks
High diversity of assignments: complexity
and volumeHigh risk environment
(Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)
Kegan noted: that college instruction tends
to use Order 4
methodologies,
while students tend to function in
Order 3.
The classroom needs to possess the attributes of critical
thinking to ensure that all students can bridge the gap.
The Developmental Dissonance of the Classroom
(Evans et al., 2010)
Attributes of Critical Thinking Classrooms
Fascination with the
Contingency of Conclusions
Evalua-tive
Ques-tions
Active Learn-
ing
Developmental Tension
(Browne & Freeman, 2000)
Diversity Fostered Critical ThinkingSignificantly improved higher order thinking when students are engaged in:
• Cross-racial or ethnicity relationships
• Diversity & cultural workshops
• Discussions with those of opposing/different views of:
Politics Social issuesPhilosophy ValuesReligion
Ethnicity & Race
Significantly higher
benefits were
recognized when
employed with First
Year Students
(Pascarella, Palmer, Moye, & Pierson, 2001)
Six Thinking Hats- Looking at all views
Action plans
Managing processes
Potential problems
Why it will not work
Values & benefits
Why it will work
Gut instinct
Feelings &
intuition
New ideas
Creativity &
possibilities
Each group of students takes a Hat and analyzes
the position, proposal,
belief, or
conclusion from
the Hat’s perspecti
ve.
Facts & information
:
Known or needed
(Geissler, Wayland & Jane, 2012; What are the six thinking hats?, 2009)
The New 21st Century Classroom,
for the
21st Century’s Students
Diverse interactio
ns, relationships, and
meaningful
discussions
Thorough analysis
Looking at all views
Demand for
evidence
Enthusiasm for
truth and its pursuit
Perhaps most importantly in today’s information age, thinking skills are viewed as crucial for educated persons to copewith a rapidly changing world.
Many educators believe that specific knowledge will not be as important to tomorrow’s workers and citizens as the ability to learn and make sense of new information.
(Gough’s Thinking about thinking, as cited in Cotton, 1991, p. 1)
ReferencesArum, R., Roksa, J., & Cho, E. (2011). Improving undergraduate learning: Findings and policy recommendations from the SSRC-CLA longitudinal project. Retrieved from Social Science Research Council website:http://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/D06178BE-3823-E011-ADEF-001CC477EC84/
Browne, M. N., Freeman, K. (2000). Distinguishing features of critical thinking classrooms. Teaching in Higher Education, 5(3), 301. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu:2048/docview/223219527/13A34049C303DE35869/1?accountid=28644
Cotton, K. (1991, November). Close-up #11: Teaching thinking skills. School Improvement Research Series. Retrieved from: http://educationnorthwest.org/webfm_send/502
Defining critical thinking. (2011). Foundation for Critical Thinking. Retrieved from: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D., & Renn, K.A. (2010). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Geissler, G. L., Wayland, S. W., Jane, P. (2012). Improving students’ critical thinking, creativity, and communications skills. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 8, 1-11. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.sienaheights.edu:2048/docview/1020694208/13A4E0396244DE20D45/1?accountid=28644#
Hart Research Associates. (2010). Raising the bar: Employers’ views on college learning in the wake of the economic downturn: A survey among employers conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved [originally] from: http://www.aacu.org
Pascarella, E.T., Palmer, B., Moye, M., & Pierson, C.T. (2001). Do diversity experiences influence the development of critical thinking? Journal of College Student Development, 42(3), 257-257. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/195181857/fulltext/13A4DD6AA67190F77E2/1?accountid=28644#
Reinstein, A., & Lander, G. H. (2008). Developing critical thinking in college programs. Research in Higher Education Journal, 1, 78-94. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/760989878?accountid=28644##
Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways: A study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals [Google Books]. Boston, MA: Ginn.
What are the six thinking hats? (2009). Retrieved from http://www.debonoconsulting.com/what-are-the-six-thinking-hats.asp