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