published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This study examined the relationships between metacognition, self-regulation and students' critical thinking skills and disposition in online Socratic Seminars for ninth grade World Geography and Culture students. Participants of this study came from six intact pre-AP (Pre-Advanced Placement) classes in a public high school in south central Texas in the United States. They were randomly assigned to two groups: a three class treatment group and a three class comparison group. Students in both groups received training on critical thinking skills, Internet security, "netiquette" and the technological tools involved in the online Socratic Seminars. The experimental group performed two metacognitive tasks. They assigned critical thinking tags in the discussion forum and wrote two structured reflection journals after they finished each of the two Socratic Seminar discussions, while the comparison group performed neither of the two metacognitive tasks. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for the data analysis. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed statistically significant effects of the two metacognitive tasks on students' self-regulation, but not on their critical thinking skills and disposition. The structure equation modeling analysis showed that self-regulation had significant relationships with students' critical thinking disposition, but not with students' critical thinking skills for both the experimental and the comparison groups. The structural equation modeling analysis also revealed an insignificant moderating effect of performing the two metacognitive tasks on the relationship between self-regulation and students' critical thinking. Qualitative data analysis triangulated results from the quantitative analyses. / text

A primary goal of education is not only to inform but to transform learners. As instructors shift their focus from a one-size-fits-all emphasis on content delivery to a flexible, student-centered approach, questions of student engagement and student motivation become key. In many educational settings, instructors are faced with a classroom of students with varying, and often unknown, levels of motivation, ability, and commitment. Effectively addressing the educational needs of such a range of students often requires significant changes to traditional pedagogy. A recent pedagogical design that has been facilitated by the advent of easily accessible and low-cost multimedia technology is the “flipped classroom,” a course structure that asks students to view lectures prior to class and replaces the traditional in-class lecture with collaborative, problem-based instruction. The aim of the present study was to explore the experience of introducing a flipped curriculum into a LSAT (the nationally used entrance exam for admission to law school) preparation classroom. The study used a design research approach to investigate two iterations of the flipped curriculum across three courses. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to describe the experience of a flipped curriculum for both the instructor and the students. When compared to a traditional curriculum, results showed no significant effect on overall test score improvement, but students in the flipped courses did show greater improvement than those in a traditional course on one of the three LSAT section subscores. The results also showed that students in flipped courses had marginally lower overall attendance, greater classroom community, high levels of engagement, and moderately high belief in group effectiveness. / text

The aim of this study was to examine, understand and conceptualise the critical thinking and clinical reasoning adopted by new graduate occupational therapists as they enter the workforce to become newly autonomous practitioners. The study obtained the perspectives of new graduates, their supervisors and service managers on the means by which critical thinking and clinical reasoning develop to meet the expectations of employers. Factors which impeded the transition between new graduate and autonomous practitioner were identified and explored. Ethical approval was obtained to conduct the study. The study adopted a qualitative phenomenological research approach; Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which informed framing, data gathering and analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with new graduates (n=6), supervisors (n=7) and managers (n=7) from multiple sites within one National Health Service Board. Interviews were transcribed verbatim from audio-recordings. The findings indicate that new graduates are expected to develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning in a manner that might challenge traditional conceptualisations of the transitioning process. A phenomenon, historically named the “shock of practice”, was reflected on by therapists in each phase of the study and adaptive and mal-adaptive responses to this in the thinking and behaviour of new graduates was identified. The clinical supervisor-supervisee relationship appeared to be the key source of support, and the supervisor the most significant knowledge resource, for new graduates. This relationship was supplemented by both peer support and Preceptorship. Discharge planning was a significant source of anxiety and development of an algorithm to support this process is proposed. Recommendations for further research and theoretical implications for practice and undergraduate education are discussed.

Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti penktų klasių mokinių tabako ir alkoholio vartojimo prevencijos, panaudojant kritinio mąstymo ugdymą, efektyvumą. Darbe buvo siekiama nustatyti prevencinių užsiėmimų, kuriuos paruošė darbo autorė su darbo vadove doc. dr. I. Pilkauskiene, tinkamumą (pagilinti žinias apie neigiamas tabako ir alkoholio vartojimo pasekmes, sustiprinti neigiamą požiūrį į tabako ir alkoholio vartojimą ir stiprinti motyvaciją nerūkyti ateityje) penktų klasių mokinių tabako ir alkoholio vartojimo prevencijai. Anketomis, paruoštomis darbo autorės kartu su doc. dr. I. Pilkauskiene, buvo vertintas darbo autorės vestų užsiėmimų efektyvumas. Tyrime dalyvavo 108 penktos klasės mokiniai iš dviejų mokyklų. Iš jų 61 berniukas (56,5%) ir 47 mergaitės (43,5%), kurių amžiaus vidurkiai: berniukų – 11,10 m., mergaičių – 11,13 m. Iš jų buvo sudaryta poveikio (54 mokiniai) ir lyginamoji (54 mokiniai) grupės. Poveikio grupėje vyko keturi rūkymo ir alkoholio prevencijos užsiėmimai, panaudojant kritinio mąstymo ugdymą. Gauti rezultatai rodo, kad paruoštų užsiėmimų panaudojimas penktų klasių mokinių tabako ir alkoholio vartojimo prevencijai efektyvus tik iš dalies: šitaip gilinamos ir praplečiamos penktų klasių mokinių žinios apie tabako ir alkoholio vartojimo žalą, nekeičia neigiamo mokinių požiūrio į tabako ir alkoholio vartojimą, tačiau nestiprina motyvacijos nevartoti tabako ir alkoholio ateityje. / The aim of the study was to define the effectiveness of tobacco and alcohol use prevention, using critical thinking education for fifth class pupils. The objective of this work is to define the suitability of prevential activities , which was prepared by the author of this work in common with doc. dr. I. Pilkauskienė (to deepen the knowledge of negative consequences of tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking, to increase the negative attitude towards using of tabacco and alcohol as well as strengthen the motivation not to smoke and drink alcohol in future), for fifth grade pupils. The efectivness of prevential activities was defined acording the variation of questionnaire, which was prepared by the author and doc. dr. I. Pilkauskienė, data, by processing data information with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 15.0 for Windows. 108 pupils of the fifth grade from two comprehensive schools participated in the research. The research included 61 boy (56,6 %) and 47 girls (43,5 %) who the average age were: 11,10 for boys, 11,13 for girls. The pupils from one school were formed into intervention group (54 pupils) and from the other chool - into a comparative group (54 pupils). Smoking and alcohol drinking prevention activities were exercised in intervention group, by using critical thinking education. The results of the research revealed that the usage of prepared exercises for smoking and alcohol drinking prevention is only partly effective: it deepens and widens the... [to full text]

The nurturing of critical thinking skills is one of the cornerstones of Outcomes Based Education (OBE). This study investigated to what extent teachers create classroom climates that nurture the development of critical thinking abilities. A literature study was undertaken to highlight the importance and nature of the development of critical thinking skills, and to establish the relationship between classroom climate and the development of critical thinking abilities. The use of teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, questioning techniques, the role of the teacher and the role of the learner during teaching and learning in the classroom were explored. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study, as well as the framework for designing a questionnaire that was utilized to obtain the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding the opportunities provided by teachers for the development of critical thinking abilities in the classroom. By means of quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey research, a self-constructed questionnaire was administrated to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 9 and Grade 11 teachers (n=241) and learners (n=403) in the Sedibeng West District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The triangulation of learner and teacher data revealed differences and similarities in opinion related to the classroom climates that teachers create for nurturing critical thinking. In essence, the data revealed that teachers are, to some extent, creating classroom climates that nurture critical thinking through their choice of teaching methods and strategies, questioning techniques and the learning activities that they choose. However, the responses did not convincingly indicate to the researcher that the nurturing of critical thinking skills takes place on a regular and frequent basis. According to the learner responses, it appeared that teaching and learning methods and strategies that promote interactive learning, are underutilized by the teachers. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers on how to create classroom climates that promote the development of critical thinking skills. Key words: cognition, cognitive development, critical thinking, classroom climate, teaching methods and strategies, learning activities, questioning techniques. / M.Ed., North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

The quality of education in especially the Further Education and Training phase (FET) is recognised as one of the most significant challenges facing the South African government. Low teacher morale, lack of parental involvement, learners' ignorance in taking responsibility for their own learning and other educational problems are all identified as contributing factors. This study was undertaken to investigate how critical thinking skills can contribute to promoting quality teaching and learning in secondary schools with specific reference to the FET phase. The study also sought to make recommendations that will assist teachers to integrate critical thinking skills into the teaching and learning experiences in the FET phase. The nature of quality teaching and learning, the nature of critical thinking skills and the correlation between the concepts to improve the quality of education were researched by means of a literature study. A quantitative research design followed, using questionnaires as research instrument. From the research conducted it was found that learners in the FET phase do not take responsibility for their learning and therefore many of these learners still do not perceive learning as important. However, effective learning could take place if learners are confident, independent, active participants and explore a variety of learning strategies. Teachers, on the other hand, should adopt particular forms of behaviour to foster certain types of learning. The ability to teach critical thinking skills to learners poses a great challenge as many teachers are not trained to do so. This has a great influence on the exposure of an integrated constructivist method of teaching and learning and therefore inflicts on the delivery of quality teaching and learning in the FET phase of secondary schools in South Africa. / MEd, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

In recent decades, reflective practice has become a key driver and an increasingly influential referent in the professional development of student teachers. Yet, the complex, somewhat elusive boundaries of reflective practice make this phenomenon difficult to define. The purpose of this study was to analyse and synthesise existing literature and research in order to better understand the multi-faceted nature of reflective practice. From an informed platform, a new conceptual framework was designed both to capture and investigate nine dimensions of reflective practice in which student teachers could demonstrate capacity and commitment. Eighty year 4 student teachers, who had undertaken action research projects during their final school experience, and thirteen university lecturers, who had guided the student teachers throughout this enterprise, were participants in this study. Data were gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews that incorporated a series of closed and open-ended responses. Quantitative data were analysed to calculate statistical frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations; and, qualitative data via analytic induction methods to identify common themes and to extract narratives of experience. Findings showed that a majority (>90%) of student teachers perceived their capacity and commitment to engage in six dimensions of reflective practice [and most (>80%) in eight] had influenced their professional development. These perceptions were not wholly congruent with those of dissertation supervisors with variance between supervisors also evident. Qualitative distinctions, in the use of three types of reflective conversation, were found between male and female student teachers and within each gender group. Several constraints in the development of student teachers’ reflective practice also emerged. Further research is recommended into: what evidence and criteria shape judgments about reflective practice; how school-based staff might effectively support student teachers’ development of reflective practice; and, how the framework designed for this study might be replicated and refined to enhance reflective practice in personal professional development across disciplines.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Socratic questioning, an approach that builds critical thinking skills and fosters learning by constructing new knowledge, was an effective tool for improving student perceptions of the writing process. The main research question that was examined in this study was: How can Socratic questioning improve students' perceptions of writing and the writing process? Qualitative research methods were used as a framework for the design of this study as well as purposeful student sampling, triangulation of three data sources, and an extensive coding process. Findings from the study support that Socratic questioning can positively impact students: the first major finding was that student perceptions of the writing process improved, and the second major finding was that student perceptions of their own identities as writers improved as well. After the study, students found that being an effective writer was possible and that evaluation of one's writing was a vital part of becoming a better writer. Most importantly, after participating in this study, students believed themselves to be writers.