published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Die Tatigkeit die Leiter der Bildungsanstalten im Anerziehung der aktiven Unterrichtsmetoden.

Promoting Mathematical Understanding Through Open-Ended Tasks; Experiences of an Eighth-Grade Gifted Geometry Class by Carol H. Taylor Gifted students of mathematics served through acceleration often lack the opportunities to engage in challenging, complex investigations involving higher-level thinking. This purpose of this study was to examine the ways mathematically gifted students think about and do mathematics creatively as indicators of deep understanding through collaborative work on four open-ended tasks with high-level cognitive demand. The study focused on the mathematical thinking involved in students’ construction of mathematical understanding through the social interaction of group problem solving. This case study used ethnographic methodology within a social constructivist frame with gifted education and sociocultural contextual influences. Participants were 15 gifted students in an 8th-grade gifted geometry class. Data collection included field notes, student artifacts, student journal entries, audio recordings, and reflections. Transcribed audio recordings were segmented (Tesch, 1990) into phases of interaction, coded by function, then coded by levels of exhibited mathematical thinking from observable cognitive actions (Dreyfus, Hershkowitz, & Schwarz, 2001; Williams, 2000; Wood, Williams, & McNeal, 2006), and analyzed for maintenance or decline of high-level cognitive demand (Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver, 2000). Interpretive data analysis was connected to data analysis of transcribed recordings. Results indicated social interaction among students enabled them to talk through the mathematics to understand mathematical concepts and relationships, to construct more complex meaning, and exhibit mathematical creativity, inventiveness, flexibility, and originality. Students consistently exhibited these characteristics indicating mathematical thinking at the levels of building-with analyzing, building-with synthetic-analyzing, building-with evaluative-analyzing, constructing synthesizing, and occasionally constructing evaluating (Dreyfus et al., 2001; Williams, 2000; Wood et al., 2006). The results of the study support the claim of a relationship between mathematical giftedness and the ability to abstract and generalize (Sriraman, 2003), provide evidence that given the opportunity, students can construct deep mathematical understanding, and indicate the importance of social interaction in the construction of knowledge. This study adds to the body of knowledge needed in research on gifted education, problem solving, small-group interaction, mathematical thinking, and mathematical understanding, through empirically assessed classroom practice (Friedman-Nima et al., 2005; Good, Mulryan, & McCaslin, 1992; Hiebert & Carpenter, 1992; Lester & Kehle, 2003; Phillipson, 2007; Wood, Williams, & McNeal, 2006).

Darbe aptariamas muzikos klausymosi veiklos teorinis aspektas, kritinio mąstymo samprata, muzikos klausymosi veiklos tobulinimo, skatinant kritinio mąstymo ugdymą, galimybės. Bakalauro darbo tikslas – ištirti muzikos klausymosi veiklos gerinimo galimybes, skatinant kritinį mąstymą. Darbo tikslui pasiekti išketi šie uždaviniai: išsiaiškinti muzikos klausymosi veiklos proceso esmę, išsiaiškinti muzikos suvokimo ir muzikinio mąstymo svarbą muzikiniame ugdyme, apžvelgti paauglystės laikotarpio psichologinius ir fiziologinius ypatumus, jų poveikį muzikos klausymuisi, išsiaiškinti kritinio mąstymo sampratą, išsiaiškinti muzikos klausymosi veiklos tobulinimo, skatinant kritinio mąstymo ugdymą, galimybes, ištirti kritinio mąstymo ugdymo apraiškas 7–8 klasių mokinių požiūrio į muzikos klausymosi veiklą tyrimo kontekste. Tyrimo objektas yra muzikos klausymosi veikla kritinio mąstymo ugdymo aspektu. Tyrimas atliktas Šiaulių progimnazijoje. Anketinės apklausos metodu siekta išsiaiškinti kritinio mąstymo ugdymo apraiškas 7–8 klasių mokinių požiūrio į muzikos klausymosi veiklą tyrimo kontekste. / This paper analyses with theoretical aspect of music listening activities, the concept of critical thinking, as well as the possibilities to improve music listening activities in order to develop critical thinking. The objective of this Bachelor thesis is to explore the possibilities of music listening activities in order to develop critical thinking. Aims, set to achieve this objective, are: to identify the essence of music listening process; to explore the importance of musical perception and cogitation in musical education, their influence on listening activities; to identify the concept of critical thinking; to identify the possibilities to improve music listening activities in order to develop critical thinking; to examine the manifestation of critical thinking development in the context of the research dealing with the attitude of 7-8-formers towards the music listening activities. The object of this research is musical listening activities in the aspect of the development of critical thinking. The research was conducted in Šiauliai progymnasium. A questionnaire was used to explore the manifestation of critical thinking development in the context of the research dealing with attitude of 7-8-formers towards the music listening activities.

This dissertation describes an action research study aimed at promoting critical thinking in learners while learning physical science within the South African national curriculum. The data were primarily qualitative in nature, and were collected primarily through participant observation, composed of audio- and video- recorded lessons, interviews, questionnaires, journal entries and written material. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were done in the inductive, cyclic manner of action research. This process was guided by research questions about task characteristics, their position in the teaching sequence, the role of the learning environment, and the need to adjust tasks to fit the needs of different learners, so as to effectively promote critical thinking. A pragmatic approach was used. It was found that it is possible, using particular strategies and tasks, to promote critical thinking while meeting the curriculum outcomes, although the intense syllabus pressure of the curriculum makes this challenging. Task design characteristics and positioning in the teaching sequence, and conditions of the learning environment, were found to affect a task’s effectiveness at promoting critical thinking. Various teaching strategies can improve attainability by a wider range of learners. An instructional model, The Ladder Approach, emerged as being most likely to promote success. This was found to be successful when evaluated against criteria of active engagement and interest by learners, attainability with effort, display of critical thinking traits, and compatibility with the South African curriculum. In this model, an interesting problem is posed at the start of a section, after which direct instruction and learner engagement with the problem run parallel to one another, linked by scaffolding tools which are engaged in individually and collaboratively. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The use of critical thinking is called for in the practise of physiotherapy and has been cited as a learning outcome in the design of the physiotherapy curriculum. Further, the South African Draft White Paper on Higher Education (July,1997) is committed to endow graduates with skills that build the foundation for lifelong learning and included in such skills is that of critical thinking. Although welcomed by the profession, the introduction of critical thinking within the programmes may be premature because of the lack of debate and subsequent understanding about the critical thinking skills necessary for the practise of physiotherapy. Hence critical thinking remains implicit within the context of physiotherapy. Physiotherapy educators are assessing the skill implicitly within the process of clinical reasoning and decision making, without articulating what critical thinking really is, in the context of physiotherapy clinical reasoning. Further one needs to identify the repertoire of component skills that one should possess, in order to be an accomplished critical thinker. Data obtained from interviews with level co-ordinators, and an examination of the course plans within one department at one institution, provided an insight into how critical thinking is understood within the profession. Further, it identified if, and how, critical thinking was currently incorporated into the physiotherapy curriculum. In an attempt to develop a deeper understanding and a guiding framework for critical thinking in Physiotherapy, a workshop was conducted amongst qualified physiotherapists. They were required to model the clinical reasoning and decision making processes that they employ in the clinical area, in the process of working through the clinical problem that was presented. The data that emerged was qualitatively analysed and categorised. This was for the purpose of generating meaning, and for the development of a framework of critical thinking skills, that may be used in conjunction with the process of clinical reasoning to enhance one's clinical judgement. Critical factors emerged from analysis of the data. These included the preponderance of the product over the process method for teaching and assessing, the implicit nature of teaching and assessing for critical thinking in physiotherapy, and the similarities and differences in perception and conception about the meaning of critical thinking and its associated skills. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding and development of critical thinking within the specific context of physiotherapy and inform the development of the physiotherapy curriculum towards the realisation of its intended goals. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Faculty members in many schools of nursing have been urged to include critical thinking in all aspects of the nursing curriculum. The faculty at the Institutes of Nursing in the United Arab Emirates, have adopted in the academic year I998 a case-based curriculum that teaches nursing courses by using case studies, which represent a terrific and non-threatening method to use to teach and learn either critical thinking skills or clinical decision-making (Robinson, 1998; Glendon and Ulrich, 1992, 1997). The development of critical thinking skills in a case-based curriculum was investigated. A randomly selected, cross-sectional sample of nursing students at the Abu Dhabi Institute of Nursing (N= 88) was studied. Three groups (n=30) from each level of a three-level-diploma nursing program were measured for development of critical thinking skills using the Test of Everyday Reasoning (TER). Relationships were investigated between TER scores, the level of the program and other socio-demographic and academic achievement determinants. Critical thinking ability did not change significantly among the three levels during the educational experience in a case-based curriculum; however, the participants in the highest level of the program were able to get a higher mean TER scores from the other two levels. One of the conclusions that could be drawn from this study was that critical thinking might not change as an associated factor with a case-based curriculum at this premature phase of its implementation until some time after the graduates of this program become practicing nurses where clinical decision-making would be in action. The other conclusions focused on the necessity of unfolding the utilized cases in the curriculum and on determining whether the construct of critical thinking has been incorporated in them. / Thesis (M.Cur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

What strategies are effective for clinical nurse instructors to use in developing critical thinking in student nurses? Many clinical strategies have been discussed in, literature, but only a few have been verified through research as to their usefulness.This study used the qualitative research methodology of multiple case studies. Participants were six clinical nurse instructors. Nursing experience ranged from 17-27 years, teaching experience involved 2-24 years. Four instructors had doctorates, one nurse had a masters degree, and the sixth nurse lacked two courses before completing a masters degree. The six instructors were from five areas of nursing: medical/surgical (beginning and intermediate level), maternity, mental health, community health and management.Each instructor was interviewed three times during the same semester, approximately two weeks apart. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Spradley's (1979) domain and taxonomic analyses were used to analyze the data.Data analysis showed that some strategies were used by all instructors, with adaptations made for the specialty. The strategies used by all instructors were questioning, nursing care plans and clinical conferences. More than one instructor used student journals, teaching projects, research articles, milieu assessments, and case studies/scenarios.This research strongly supported the use of questioning to help the student progress in critical thinking. Contrary to some research, the present research found that questioning by the instructors was not detached but was situated in the client setting which helped the student synthesize facts into a whole. The research identified many questions used by the clinical nurse instructors.Instructors identified their role in assisting students toward critical thinking as helper, facilitator, coach and guide. Instructors also identified the following characteristics as necessary to help students: caring attitude, creativity, perseverance, knowledgeable, listener, encourager and learning attitude. The instructors motivated students as they progressed in critical thinking through verbal and nonverbal rewards. Students gained self-confidence as they experienced success in their journey towards critical thinking. Implications for nursing practice are provided. The importance of this research lies in the rich depth of discovering how these strategies, roles, characteristics, and motivators assist nursing students in developing critical thinking skills in different clinical settings.2 / Department of Educational Leadership

Are there differences among freshman, sophomore, junior and senior baccalaureate nursing students in levels of critical thinking skills? What demographic variables are related to critical thinking?Critical thinking was equated with the problem-solving process in the nursing process and defined as the ability to collect and interpret facts, develop problem statements, identify interventions and evaluate the outcomes.A stratified random sample of nursing students (N = 114) from freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes completed the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and a demographic questionnaire.No significant differences were found among the four grade levels in critical thinking skills (F = 2.506, p = .0628). Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) verbal and quantitative scores and grade point averages (r = .55, .30, .41 respectively) were positively correlated to critical thinking (p = .05). Age, total number of credit hours completed, credit hours completed In physical/earth/life sciences, behavior and social sciences, humanities and fine arts, professional nursing and general electives were also statistically significantly related (r < .30, indicates little practical significance) to critical thinking. SAT verbal, grade point average, humanities and fine arts entered a regression equation to collectively account for 41% of the variance in critical thinking (p = < .001).Either (a) critical thinking skills are not increasing, (b) the WGCTA does not measure the critical thinking skills used by nurses or (c) nursing curricula may not develop critical thinking skills in nursing students. using an analysis of the uniqueness of the nursing process, nurse educators should develop an instrument that measures the critical thinking "process" component of the nursing process as well as the "logic" component with items specific to the nursing knowledge base.If critical thinking skills are important to nursing practice, then curriculum content, teaching methodologies and learning experiences should increase critical thinking skills in nursing students. Longitudinal studies need to be conducted to determine what curriculum content, teaching methodologies and learning experiences are most effective in increasing the critical thinking skills in nursing students. / Center for Lifelong Education