Critical thinking is embedded in national university graduate outcomes and included in international bodies' statements on higher education. At the same time, there are tensions surrounding critical thinking in higher education, such as its commodification, Eurocentrism, and relationship to rapidly digitalising cultures. Drawing from the…

In this article we present the results of a study focused on engaging students in argumentation to support their growth as mathematical learners, which in turn strengthens their science learning experiences. We identify five argumentation categories that promote the learning of argumentation skills and enrich mathematical reasoning at the…

"The Most Reasonable Answer" is an innovative and comprehensive guide to engaging students in inquiry dialogue--a type of talk used in text-based classroom discussions. During inquiry dialogue, students collectively search for the most reasonable answers to big, controversial questions, and, as a result, enhance their argumentation…

The study of formal logic helps to improve the process of thinking and tries to refine and improve the thinking ability. The objectives of this study are to know the effectiveness of formal logic course and to determine the critical thinking variables that are effective and that are ineffective. A sample of 214 students is selected from all the…

Solving complicated problems in a contemporary knowledge-based society requires higher-order thinking (HOT). The most productive way to encourage development of HOT in students is through use of the Problem-based Learning (PBL) model. This model organizes learning by solving corresponding problems relative to study courses. Students are directed…

The number of day-to-day challenges has increased at every stage of life, particularly in developing countries, and therefore there is a crying need for a search for solutions. Education plays an important role in providing correct direction, and science education can prove crucial in achieving this goal. Solutions to individual as well as…

An important task for literature teachers is to develop students' capacity for abstract thinking so that it can be employed on problems at will and by choice. The first process of abstract thinking is one which enables a person to see a connection between A and B, including processes of cause/effect, making analogies, or making comparisons.…

In the fall of 1980, a course titled Developing Critical Thinking Skills was approved at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for offering as one of the options in the liberal education category called Communication, Language, and Symbolic Systems. This paper provides a description of the course (designed to provide experiences with methods and…

Discusses the "Philosophy for Children" program developed by Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children at Montclair State College in New Jersey. Explains how the teaching of philosophy can also be incorporated into the teacher education curriculum. (FL)

Classroom teachers frequently use various programs, strategies, and techniques to enhance student thinking, including questioning, writing, and general information processing (meaning construction, encoding, matching, analyzing, representing, and abstracting). The paper notes other strategies not used or underutilized by teachers. (SM)

The paper suggests ways to coordinate basic social studies skills to achieve the goal of developing reasoning ability in elementary and secondary students. The first three sections present a rationale for teaching the reasoning process in the social studies curriculum. The author stresses that in order to be an effective thinker, one should be…

Intended for teachers across grade levels and disciplines, this monograph reviews research on the development of critical thinking skills and introduces a series of these skills that can be incorporated into classroom teaching. Beginning with a definition of critical thinking, the monograph contains two main sections. The first section reviews…

In the light of significant changes in contemporary society that demand high level thinking skills of professional workers, this monograph explores the nature of independent thinking and principles of teaching independent thinking, particularly to college freshmen. A section on independent thinking outlines abstract, creative, and systematic…

A study was conducted to examine whether improved and more intensive teaching of conceptualization and abstract reasoning skills could be a factor in the improvement of reading comprehension. Subjects were 48 high school sophomores reading at or below grade level, evenly divided in experimental and control groups, from four intact classes. A…

This teaching guide provides an integrated framework for teaching thinking skills which involves both teaching thinking in a separate program or course and infusing the teaching of thinking into standard subject area instruction across the curriculum. Individual chapters deal with the following topics: (1) the nature of thinking skills and…