Critical thinking is an essential skill for life-long learning, and, given its increasing importance as a graduate attribute, it is vital to evaluate how educational systems can best improve students' critical thinking through their curricula and classroom practices. This study evaluates the differences in the critical thinking skills of students…

Background: Higher education institutions and universities aim to provide students with a range of transferable skills that enable them to become more thoughtful and effective employees, citizens, and consumers. One of these skills is critical thinking. Objective: The aim of the present research was to examine whether taking a psychology degree is…

The Thinking Folk project introduced Socratic dialogues as a pedagogical construct to develop critical thinking skills by drawing on the lived experiences of learners in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. The resulting conversations were soon described as "real" talk by learners, which, in a process that not only…

The school and college curriculum plays a crucial role in preparing students for higher education, but does it always leave them well equipped? This report, which has been kindly sponsored by the University of Chester, draws on fresh student polling and extensive research to show that, while most undergraduate students feel academically prepared,…

This article explores a form of classroom inquiry linked to postgraduate primary student-teachers' education, whilst on practicum in England. The inquiry model is congruent with Stenhouse's' notions of 'teachers as researchers' undertaking 'systematic' inquiry in a 'naturalistic' environment. Feldman further develops Stenhouse's conception into a…

Online environments are an integral part of the lives of many young people. Surveys indicate that almost half of 10 to 15-year-olds in England and Wales spend three or more hours online on a typical school day (Office for National Statistics [ONS], 2021). Concern about the negative impact of the digital world on young people has increased in…

An educational escape activity was developed, embedding elements of both augmented and immersive virtual reality technologies, in an active learning environment. The mental visualization of abstract concepts can be difficult for students, inhibiting their ability to reason cogently regarding important topics of stereochemistry. Consequently, an…

With school budgets at their tightest and a wealth of choices for teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD), how do senior leaders make the right decisions on training which will deliver real change to classroom practice? CPD must go beyond adding content and resources to an already overwhelmed curriculum but also consider how teachers…

"Dungeons and Dragons" is classified as a table-top role-playing game (TTRPG) and it is not surprising that TTRPGs exist for every genre and period that can possibly be imagined. TTRPGs are, as the name suggests, played around a table and benefit from not relying on some of the potential barriers players may perceive when playing…

The global growth of makerspaces, focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines, supports participatory child-centred learning and fosters essential skills in areas such as creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. We argue that establishing a makerspace pedagogy in schools fosters children's engagement in…

Socio-scientific issues and socially acute questions enable moral judgement through rational, emotional, intuitive and imaginative thinkings. Our research focuses more specifically on the place of the myth in student discussions about controversial issues. We have analysed the mythemes expressed through online exchanges between students from…

Critical thinking is a key attribute for students in British higher education, but there has been little research on how Chinese students develop critical thinking during their studies at British universities. Based on interviews with sixteen Chinese students at a university in England, this paper reports their experiences of developing critical…

This paper explores the implications of children's out-of-school digital multimodal composing practices on learning and teaching in the formal educational context. It adopts a case study approach where publicly accessible "YouTube" video productions of three children around the world are examined. Applying a multimodal discourse analysis…

This paper examines the impact of assessment and instructional practices in a compressed-format physics abroad program for life science students from a large U.S. university system. Using qualitative case study methodology, the study investigated the major pedagogical functions of assessments and their implications on student learning across three…

The development of critical thinking skills forms an important part of many higher education courses and has become increasingly visible in syllabi and assessment criteria. Yet, in spite of this, students often struggle to understand what it is and to demonstrate it in their work. This paper aims to explore how students understand the term…