Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Techniques for inserting critical thinking instruction into content while teaching specific subjects have been discussed in the educational literature pertaining to critical thinking and instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if inserting a brief critical thinking lesson related to course content into a culinary arts laboratory course which provides a setting for career oriented active learning would lead to gains in critical thinking ability. The general structure of the methodology was adapted from work completed by Rose (1997). An experimental, pretest-posttest control group design was employed (Campbell & Stanley, 1963) to determine treatment effects on the variables identified. Participants were randomly selected and consisted of an experimental group of 14 students and a control group of 13 students. A culinary arts laboratory course was chosen for the stud y. The course operated nine consecutive six-hour days for a total of 54 hours of instruction. Experimental group participants received a 45-minute lesson on critical thinking during the second hour of the first class day, after the pretest was administered. Control group participants received normal instruction and did not receive the infused critical thinking lesson. At the end of the class during the 54th hour both groups completed the posttest. All participants' critical thinking skills were assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (Faciane, 1991), form A (pretest) and form B (post test). Multiple Analyses of Variance (repeated measures) were conducted on overall CCTST scores as well as scores on the subscale items of analysis, evaluation and inference to determine whether there were significant differences on the dependent variable (post-test CCTST B scores) according to the independent variable of method of instruction. An alpha level of p <.05 was employed to assist in preventing a Type I error. Analysis of overall scores and the scores on the subscale items of analysis, evaluation and inference yielded no significant findings. These results suggest that inserting a brief critical thinking lesson into course content is not an effective instructional strategy for teaching critical thinking. Further research on inserting critical thinking instruction into active learning environments using a longer intervention is suggested along with broader research in formulating more authentic measures of critical thinking ability to better determine if inserted instruction is effective or ineffective. / 2031-01-01

This thesis is a contribution to Perry Scheme studies that have described and rated the intellectual and ethical development of students and others. The population of evangelical seminary students among three institutional types of seminaries is the unique contribution of this work. Seminary students are preparing for a career that requires critical thinking skills and the ability to discern solutions to complex problems. Developing thinking that is able to recognize and weigh divergent views is of the utmost concern. This qualitative research project was conducted through a semi-structured interview of seminary students, using open-ended questions and follow-up probes designed to elicit the students’ understanding of the nature and justification of knowledge. The Center for the Study of Intellectual Development rated these according to the scheme developed by William Perry. The interviews were also analyzed by the researcher according to John David Trentham’s categories of epistemological priorities and competencies.

M.Comm.

No description available.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

This qualitative case study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the obstacles that students from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia face when learning English in a writing course that implements critical thinking and writing process pedagogy. The study took place over five months at the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute in spring 2012. While ten participants--six female and four male Saudi Arabian ESL students--participated in this study, these findings focus primarily on one male and one female student. The aim of this focus was to give a rich and in-depth description of the two students. Two main queries guided this study: 1) How do sex differences affect Saudi students' perception of their teachers' and peers' authority? 2) How do those perceptions affect their development as writers and critical thinkers when learning in an intensive writing course at the high intermediate level? The researcher documented data through three sources: classroom observation, interviews with ESL students and teachers, and student writing samples. / Ph. D.

Education literature is replete with articles on critical thinking in secondary and post secondary education. However, the bulk of this literature focuses on the process from the educators perspective of student performance and understanding of critical thinking. Very little research seems to have been done to uncover what the students themselves may think. <p>This thesis attempts to address this lack of enquiry into student perceptions by illuminating how a group of pre-service teachers (and one long service master teacher) have experienced critical thinking in their education, and how they define and understand it. The thesis consists of a literature review that briefly examines the history of critical thinking in education, and how student understandings of critical thinking are perceived by professors and others at the post secondary level.<p>Then, through a series of semi-structured interviews, the thesis examines the perspectives of eleven participants in comparison to those commonly held by writers and educators in the field. The data indicate that most of the participants did not acknowledge encountering critical thinking methodologies or structures during their K-12 education in any significant way, and that K-12 did not prepare them for critical thinking at the University level- and in fact often did not meet the criteria laid out in Saskatchewan Curricula. This finding is in general agreement with the literature. However, in addition, most of the students asserted that their experience indicated that high level critical thinking was not actually required for success at the undergraduate level.<p>The data from this thesis suggest that further study may be useful in understanding how critical thinking may be better taught and encouraged at all levels of education.

Education literature is replete with articles on critical thinking in secondary and post secondary education. However, the bulk of this literature focuses on the process from the educators perspective of student performance and understanding of critical thinking. Very little research seems to have been done to uncover what the students themselves may think. <p>This thesis attempts to address this lack of enquiry into student perceptions by illuminating how a group of pre-service teachers (and one long service master teacher) have experienced critical thinking in their education, and how they define and understand it. The thesis consists of a literature review that briefly examines the history of critical thinking in education, and how student understandings of critical thinking are perceived by professors and others at the post secondary level.<p>Then, through a series of semi-structured interviews, the thesis examines the perspectives of eleven participants in comparison to those commonly held by writers and educators in the field. The data indicate that most of the participants did not acknowledge encountering critical thinking methodologies or structures during their K-12 education in any significant way, and that K-12 did not prepare them for critical thinking at the University level- and in fact often did not meet the criteria laid out in Saskatchewan Curricula. This finding is in general agreement with the literature. However, in addition, most of the students asserted that their experience indicated that high level critical thinking was not actually required for success at the undergraduate level.<p>The data from this thesis suggest that further study may be useful in understanding how critical thinking may be better taught and encouraged at all levels of education.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions of preservice teachers in Taiwan. Critical Thinking Scale and Critical Thinking Disposition Scale were administrated to preservice teachers in Taiwan. A total of 1094 valid samples were obtained for investigating preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities, and 853 valid samples were obtained for investigating preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking dispositions and the relationship between critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA, and canonical correlation. The results showed: (1) the scores of preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions were quite high; (2) female preservice teachers¡¦critical thinking abilities were significantly higher than male preservice teachers¡¦; (3) significant differences of critical thinking abilities across age levels were only found in Interpretation Subscale; (4) there were no significant differences of critical thinking abilities in education levels; (5) critical thinking abilities of preservice teachers at technological and vocational universities were significantly lower than general universities and universities of education; (6)critical thinking abilities of preservice teachers from college of social sciences were significantly lower than those from college of liberal arts and college of science; (7) there were significant differences of critical thinking abilities between those who took philosophical courses and those who did not take philosophical courses; (8) there was no significant relation between preservice teachers¡¦ critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dispositions; (9) preservice teachers¡¦ background, relevant curriculum experiences, and critical thinking dispositions accounted for 13% of critical thinking abilities through two canonical factors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 122-136) Also available in print.