abstract: Federal mandates, such as, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) set high standards, but in reality did little to promote critical thinking instruction and learning in our nation's schools. Race to the Top is our nation's current attempt to improve education and thanks to this legislation there is now a set of common core standards aimed at infusing critical thinking into the curriculum. Districts in Arizona are struggling to provide common core training to prepare teachers to teach these new, rigorous standards. This is a problem because teaching critical thinking is challenging. While grade level teams often get together, little time is devoted to create lessons that are focused on deep learning and little time is set aside to observe lessons and reflect on student engagement. One potential solution to this may be lesson study. Lesson study is a method of professional development that encourages teachers to reflect on their teaching through a cycle of collaborative lesson planning and observation. The lesson study cycle connects with the constructed nature of learning provided by Vygotsky Space. This action research was designed to explore how 10 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers at a K-8 school in Arizona learned how to infuse critical thinking into their lessons. This study took place from July to November of 2011. A mixed methods approach was used to collect data. Quantitative measures included Likert-items on a survey and lesson plans scored with the district rubric. Qualitative measures included open-ended survey items, transcriptions of lesson debriefs, reflective learning logs, and the researcher's personal field notes. Data were analyzed separately and then triangulated to reduce bias. Findings from this study indicate that although it was challenging for the teachers, lesson study enabled them to successfully integrate critical thinking into their lesson plans. The process of lesson study increased the teachers' efficacy to create lessons, and it helped them understand how important critical thinking was for their students. The teachers also came to value the lesson study process as a positive approach to professional development. Based on these findings, implications are made, and further action research cycles suggested. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Leadership and Innovation 2012

Ett samhällsproblem i dagens Sverige är att fler individer i större utsträckning påverkas negativt av sociala medier. Instagram är ett av de största sociala medier som används idag och de bilder som publiceras på Instagram är oftast inriktade på kroppen. Denna kvalitativa fenomenologiska studie har som syfte att utforska och förstå unga individers upplevelse av kroppen vid användandet av Instagram. Studien använder kroppsuppfattning, utseendeideal, social jämförelser, social påverkan och kritiskt tänkande som teoretiska utgångspunkter för att skapa en djupare förståelse kring studiens fenomen och essens. Studien bidrar till en förståelse för det socialpsykologiska perspektivet gällande individens subjektiva upplevelse av kroppen utifrån Instagram-användning. Tio informanter i åldrarna 18–25 år deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades utifrån en tematisk analysmetod. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av informanterna upplevde den egna kroppen negativt vid användandet av Instagram då de upplevde att kroppen som framställs på Instagram är snyggare, smalare och mer vältränad. Jämförelse mellan den egna kroppen och kroppen på Instagram visade sig därför vara av stor betydelse för hur informanterna upplevde kroppen. Resultatet visade även att kritiskt tänkande är en viktig del i hur informanterna upplevde deras kroppsuppfattning vid användandet av Instagram.

Cognitive abilities in the age of adolescence reach a high standard. Critical thinking, an ability of each young individual, offers possible solutions for everyday situations as well as for complex tasks requiring an intellectual engagement. It is crucial to find new ways to support and further develop critical thinking of adolescents. The theoretical section is divided into three subsections. The first of them is based on a specification of the period of adolescence mainly focusing on the cognitive development. The second section is dedicated to critical thinking and in the last section, the academic debate as a method of education is presented. The core of this thesis is to examine the influence of debating on the development of critical thinking of adolescents. The empirical section describes a survey conducted as a part of an international survey project Evaluations. The theoretical baseline has determined three specific tasks to evaluate the gathered data. In these tasks, three groups of participants are observed and compared - debaters beginners, advanced debaters and non-debaters. Keywords: Adolescence, Debating, Cognitive development, Critical thinking.

This study sets out to answer the call for explicit instruction in critical thinking for ELL. Using action research and qualitative methodology, I examine the effect of implementing the cognitive apprenticeship paradigm with ELL studying in a mainstream secondary English class using the American curriculum. I center instruction on authentic texts and scaffold critical literacy and thinking tasks for instructional interventions. The data generated by the study includes written responses and reflections by the participants. This data is analyzed using research into cognitive theory and critical thinking pedagogy. The results support the cognitive apprenticehip model as one means for improving the higher literacy of ELL, regardless of level and background. The findings of this study contribute to the discussion of how to bridge the achievement gap between ELL and their native speaking peers and provide an avenue to advance their academic success. / English Studies / M.A. (with specialisation in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of other languages))

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:03:07Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 razera_jcc_dr_bauru.pdf: 2885804 bytes, checksum: b690fe3be288fc0aba0ba76687fb9a60 (MD5) / Na área de Educação em Ciências encontramos diferentes argumentos que convergem para a necessidade de maior atenção sobre as dimensões axiológicas e atitudinais do processo de ensino e aprendizagem das disciplinas científicas. Essa demanda exige uma contínua ampliação e aprofundamento das investigações sobre o tema, porque envolve conhecimentos de domínios teóricos diversos que ainda são carentes nas discussões da área. À luz da psicologia do desenvolvimento e da ética discursiva, este trabalho põe em foco um relevante componente da dimensão aitudinal-axiológica: o desenvolvimento moral dos alunos em aulas de Ciências. Embasados pelas perspectivas sociomorais das teorias de Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg e Jürgen Habermas, além de outros autores alinhados com esses pressupostos, apresentamos dados teóricos e empíricos que buscam: (i) explorar uma válida e viável correlação de aspectos teórico-práticos laicos e racionais entre as aulas de Ciências e o desenvolvimento moral, permitindo avanços nos conhecimentos sobre formação do pensamento moral, crítico e científico dos estudantes em processo de ensino e aprendizagem de Ciências; (ii) delinear o estado dos trabalhos científicos da área brasileira de Educação em Ciências sobre o assunto desenvolvimento moral. Ao final, o nosso estudo traz evidências de uma interface de contribuições teórico-práticas recíprocas e plausíveis que pode ser delineada entre desenvolvimento moral e aulas de Ciências, mas ainda subestimada nas discussões da área / In the field of Science Education there are many arguments for more attention to the axiological and attitudinal dimensions of the teaching and learning scientific disciplines processes. This demand requires continuous in-depth investigations about this theme because it involves the knowledge of various theoretical fields that have not still attracted the deserved attention. In the light of developmental psychology and discursive ethics, the present study focuses on a relevant component of the attitudinal-axiological dimension: the moral development of students in Science classes. Based on the social and moral perspectives in Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Jürgen Habermas's theories, and on other authors that share these presuppositions, we presented theoretical and empirical data in order to (i) explore a valid and viable correlation of secular and rational theoretical and practical aspects and components between Science classes and moral development, including an analysis of the knowledge about moral, critical and scientific thinking of Students learning Sciences formation; (ii) delineate the status of scientific research and studies of the field of Science Education in Brazil on moral development. Our study demonstrate the existence of an interface of reciprocal and plausible theoretical and practical contributions between moral development and Science classes, which has so far received attention in the Science Education research

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-05-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:22:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rozenfeld_ccf_dr_arafcl.pdf: 2272804 bytes, checksum: 74bd3279bae107482c34024dc2436e98 (MD5) / Esta investigação focaliza a formação inicial de professores de língua estrangeira (alemão e inglês) e lança luzes sobre seus estágios obrigatórios do quarto ano, considerando a possibilidade que os fóruns online de um ambiente virtual oferecem para a manifestação do pensamento crítico dos futuros professores. Inicialmente, buscamos entender de que forma o uso de fóruns pode favorecer esse processo. Em seguida, focalizamos mais especificamente a manifestação do pensamento crítico no trabalho com essa ferramenta. Com esse intento, analisamos mais atentamente os temas abordados e desenvolvidos em tópicos de três fóruns com base em conceitos distintos de pensamento crítico e no modelo de investigação crítica de Garrison, Anderson e Archer (2000; 2001). Para uma melhor compreensão das fases nos tópicos do modelo, identificamos também alguns marcadores discursivos característicos de cada uma delas, com base nos pressupostos da Linguística Sistêmico Funcional, (HALLIDAY, 1994) e nos tipos de movimentos conversacionais (moves) propostos por Eggins e Slade (1997). A partir dos subsídios teóricos selecionados e de nossas análises, foi possível concluir que o fórum online pode ser considerado uma importante ferramenta para a manifestação do pensamento crítico de professores e para uma formação críticoreflexiva, em um contexto marcado por especificidades da sociedade de informação / This research focuses on the initial training of foreign languages teachers (German and English) and it sheds light over the required internships in the fourth year, considering that online forums provide a virtual environment for developing critical thinking of future teachers. Initially, we sought to understand how using forums can support this process. Afterwards we focus more specifically on the development of critical thinking resulted from working with this tool. With this intent, we look more closely at themes treated and developed in topics of three online forums based on different concepts of critical thinking and on the practical model inquiry of Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000; 2001). For a better understanding of the phases in the topics, we have also identified some characteristic discourse elements of each of them, based on the assumptions of systemic functional linguistics (Halliday, 1994) and on the conversational moves types proposed by Eggins and Slade (1997). From the selected theoretical basis and our analysis, we concluded that the online forum can be considered an important tool for developing teachers’ critical thinking and for a critical-reflexive education in a context marked by information society specificities

Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de atividades desenvolvidas, no Colégio Americano, com a oitava série do Ensino Fundamental, a qual aborda a formação de um indivíduo mais crítico, mais consciente e mais comprometido com as questões de seu tempo por intermédio do trabalho com a leitura. Consideramos as especificidades dessa série quanto ao desenvolvimento cognitivo, afetivo e psicológico. Fundamentamos esta pesquisa por meio das contribuições da Análise do Discurso, da Lingüística, da Teoria da Literatura, assim como por meio das contribuições teóricas oriundas da área da Educação. Faremos, aqui, uma descrição apenas das duas propostas que serviram de fonte de dados para realização dessa pesquisa: a primeira constou de um estudo comparativo, com enunciação de juízos, entre a obra Capitães da Areia, do escritor Jorge Amado, e o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente; a segunda, de registro, de impressões, de questionamentos, de reflexões sobre a realidade que circunda o educando, por meio dos diferentes gêneros textuais estudados em aula, como também por meio de fotografias, a fim de os alunos comporem uma revista de leitura de mundo. Com o objetivo de facilitar a aplicabilidade desta proposta e de garantir material viável e acessível a todas as escolas, com bons resultados experimentais, apresentamos uma descrição detalhada dos procedimentos que realizamos. Ainda um fator a ser considerado em nossa pesquisa é a possibilidade de adaptação deste trabalho a diferenciados níveis de ensino, por intermédio do estudo de outras estratégias de leitura e de produção textual. / This work presents a proposal of activities developed, at Colégio Americano with the 8th grade. It focus on the formation of individuals who are more critical, more conscious and more engaged with the questions of their times through reading. We took into consideration the specificities of this school grade as to their cognitive, affective and psychological developments. We based this research on the contributions of the Analysis of Speech, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature as well as on the theoretical contributions of the field of Education. Here we describe only the two propositions that worked as data sources for this research. The first one was a comparative study, with judgment manifestation, between Jorge Amados Capitães da Areia and the Child and Adolescent Statute; the second one, the noting of feelings, questionings, reflections about the reality that surrounds the students, by means of different text styles studied at class as well as pictures, so that students could produce a world reading magazine. In order to facilitate the applicability of this proposal and of guaranteeing useful and accessible material to any school, with good experimental results, we present a detailed description of our procedures. Another point to be considered in our research is the possibility of adapting this work to different grades, by means of studying other reading and text production strategies.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Royce Ann Collins / This exploratory study investigated reflective thinking by professionals in the workplace and relationships between participant demographics and reflective thinking. The Questionnaire for Reflective Thinking (QRT) was used to assess the quality of reflective thinking in a sample (n = 102) of individuals certified by the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) as Certified Performance Technologists (CPT) (N = 697). Business leaders seek employees who practice reflective thinking. Employers and students expect college coursework to provide the needed skills and educators recognize this need. Researchers have developed reliable measures of reflective thinking, but the quality of reflective thinking practiced by professionals in the workplace is not known. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine QRT scores for habitual action, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection, with respect to the demographic variables of gender, age, years of experience, education level, and academic discipline. Significant relationships between age and scores for habitual action, experience and scores for habitual action, education level and scores for understanding, gender and scores for critical reflection, and experience and scores for critical reflection were identified. No other differences in QRT scores based on the independent variable gender, age, experience, education level, or academic discipline were statistically significant.

abstract: ABSTRACT The purpose of this descriptive study was to gain an understanding of the confidence level held by third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers as to their preparedness for teaching the cognitive demands of the Common Core State Standards (Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards) to all students, in particular Hispanic students living in poverty, who occupy close to a third of all classroom seats in Arizona. The achievement gap between Hispanic students living in poverty and non-Hispanic students of non-poverty status is one of the largest achievement gaps in Arizona, which has existed with minimal change for more than 12 years. By gaining an understanding of the teachers' confidence in teaching critical thinking skills, further support and professional development is suggested to link a teacher's knowledge to instructional practice that in turn increases the academic achievement of Arizona's poor Hispanic students. The process of gaining this understanding was by using a multi-dimensional survey with 500 third through fifth grade teachers in two uniquely different, but representative, Arizona school districts. Approximately one-third of those teachers responded to the multi-dimensional survey about teaching the critical thinking (CT) skills of Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts. The survey asked teachers to rate their levels of preparedness for teaching CT to several types of students, to choose a CT definition, describe the relationship of CT and reading, explain how they teach CT to students who are reading below grade level, express the support they need to teach CT to those students, and rate the effectiveness of several CT classroom vignettes for different types of students. Although the questions involved several types of students, the primary focus was on exploring the teachers' position with teaching CT to Low SES Hispanic students. A disconnect was revealed between the teachers' perception that they had the ability and knowledge necessary to teach critical thinking skills and their ability to identify ineffective critical thinking instructional practices. This disconnect may be interfering with the link between the professional development teachers are currently receiving to implement Common Core State Standards and teachers actively engaging in learning what is needed to effectively teach critical thinking skills to their students. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014

abstract: Due to government initiatives, education in the classroom has focused on high stakes test scores measuring student achievement on basic skills. The purpose of this action research study was to augment fourth grade students' knowledge of basic content by teaching greater meaning and depth of understanding--to teach critical thinking using Socratic circles. Using a constructivist approach, a comprehensive plan was designed and implemented that included an age-appropriate platform for argument and inquiry, a process that required critical thinking skills, and allowed the intellectual standards for critical thinking to be developed and measured. Ten students representing the academic levels of the whole class were selected and participated in seven Socratic circles. Over a period of 15 weeks, a mixed methods approach was employed to determine how students were able to apply the intellectual standards to reasoning during Socratic circles, how this innovation provoked participation in student-centered dialogue, and how Socratic circles improved students' evaluation of competing ideas during their reasoned discourse. Results suggested that Comprehensive Socratic Circles increased participation in reasoned discourse. Students' ability to evaluate competing ideas improved, and their application of the intellectual standards for critical thinking to their reasoning increased. Students also increased their use of student-centered dialogue across the sessions. These findings suggest that Socratic circles is a flexible and effective teaching strategy that fosters critical thinking in fourth graders. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2015