Massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer opportunities for professional development of environmental educators globally, yet we lack understanding of participants™ cognitive and social learning processes and of how instructors can enhance these processes. Based on the Community of Inquiry framework, we used a survey and coded participant…

We describe how instructors can integrate the critical thinking skill of examining theoretical assumptions (e.g., determinism and materialism) and implications into psychology courses. In this instructional approach, students formulate questions that help them identify assumptions and implications, use those questions to identify and examine the…

The author shares how she used the Synectics Model in a class she taught on Family and Communication at the undergraduate level. The model encourages students to develop new ideas using their nonrational and emotional states of mind, and is intended to increase creativity, empathy, and problem-solving capacity. (CH)

Reviews selected research, widely-used commercial tests, and recent literature on critical thinking. States that evaluation of critical thinking processes should encompass more than simple tests. Concludes with six guidelines for evaluating critical thinking. (JDH)

This article describes how an introductory sociology course was organized and taught in order to promote students' understanding of sociology as the systematic and critical analysis of modern social structure and its impact on the individual. (JDH)

The emphasis on promoting thinking skills in the classroom has fostered several trends, tendencies, and tensions. This movement has taken three directions: the teaching of thinking, teaching for thinking, and teaching about thinking. In the first, thinking is regarded as a process of developing a set amount of skills. The proponents of this…

Reports the efforts of the California Assessment Program (CAP) to interject critical thinking items into its new statewide social studies tests. Provides definitions of the critical thinking skills tested by the 8th grade social studies CAP test, and lists 100 critical thinking skills vocabulary words. (JDH)

Offers ideas for asking good questions in the classroom. Recommends that key questions be written down prior to class. Questions should clearly cue students to respond specifically and briefly. Presents examples of types of questions that have been found either to encourage or to inhibit thinking. (JS)

The British Columbia Social Studies program approaches the study of man-in-his-world from three perspectives: scientific; situational; and critically reflective knowing. Through each method, students are exposed to various interpretations of how the social world has been constructed. The program, however, emphasizes scientific knowledge. Through…

Summarizes the following differences between adult learners and more "traditional" college age students: (1) chronology; (2) developmental progression; (3) motivation; (4) learning style; and (5) intellectual development. Discusses the debate concerning general education. Discusses the necessity of accommodating the needs of the students and ways…

One of the goals of science education is to foster critical and scientific thinking skills. However, if the meaning of the terms "thinking critically" or "thinking scientifically" is not clear, these phrases will become vacuous slogans beyond translation in teaching methods and curriculum materials. Therefore, the fundamental aspect of these terms…