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Passive No More: Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms

Passive No More: Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms. Rita L. Halasz LDR 622 Student Development Siena Heights University 11-11-2012. Critical Thinking. Reasoning, analysis, skepticism, evaluation, problem solving A desire to understand (Reinstein & Lander, 2008)

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Passive No More: Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms

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  1. Passive No More:Fostering Creative Thinking in Higher Education Classrooms Rita L. Halasz LDR 622 Student Development Siena Heights University 11-11-2012

  2. 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)

  3. Critical Thinking is Cultivated “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).

  4. Today’s Employers Expect Critical Thinkers Employers’ Top Desired Outcomes in Graduates (Hart Research Associates, 2010), p. 2)

  5. Is Higher Education Producing Higher Order Thinking? 45% of college students show no appreciable increases in higher order learningafter two years of college After four years . . . 36% show no significant improvement in learning (Arum, Roksa, & Cho, 2011)

  6. Classroom Barriers (Browne & Freeman, 2000; Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)

  7. Student Development & Critical Thinking (Evans, et al., 2010)

  8. Developmental Model Integration Kegan Perry Knefelkamp High degree of personalism, structure, and experiential learning in the classroom Safety Order 2 - Rules Need for authority Self-centered Decreasing structure & personalism. Increased risk taking, complexity of tasks Order 3 - Socialized Mind Acceptance > Conflict High diversity of assignments: complexity and volume High risk environment Order 4 – Self-authored Responsible for own beliefs Independent (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010)

  9. The Developmental Dissonance of the Classroom 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. (Evans et al., 2010)

  10. Attributes of Critical Thinking Classrooms Developmental Tension (Browne & Freeman, 2000)

  11. Significantly improved higher order thinking when students are engaged in: Diversity Fostered Critical Thinking Significantly higher benefits were recognized when employed with First Year Students Cross-racial or ethnicity relationships Diversity & cultural workshops Discussions with those of opposing/different views of: Politics Social issues Philosophy Values Religion Ethnicity & Race (Pascarella, Palmer, Moye, & Pierson, 2001)

  12. Each group of students takes a Hat and analyzes the position, proposal, belief, or conclusion from the Hat’s perspective. Values & benefits Why it will work Action plans Managing processes Potential problems Why it will not work Six Thinking Hats- Looking at all views New ideas Creativity & possibilities Gut instinct Feelings & intuition Facts & information: Known or needed (Geissler, Wayland & Jane, 2012; What are the six thinking hats?, 2009)

  13. Diverse interactions, relationships, and meaningful discussions Thorough analysis Looking at all views Demand for evidence Enthusiasm for truth and its pursuit The New 21st Century Classroom, for the 21st Century’s Students

  14. Perhaps most importantly in today’s information age, thinking skills are viewed as crucial for educated persons to cope with 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)

  15. References Arum, 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

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