Today's students are motivated to understand the world around them, and in so doing, they question things that their professors take for granted. Students are naturally drawn to question the world around them, and as they do so, they are developing frameworks to better organize their questions and the answers. The author understands that students…

After a quarter-century with historical thinking skills at the forefront of the history-teaching agenda, the news from history education is not good. In 2012, for example, the American Historical Association (AHA) observed, "the systematic teaching of history had all but ended in elementary schools across the country." In late 2018, the…

The 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath have underscored the extreme polarization of the electorate, the dismissal of people with opposing views, and the widespread acceptance and circulation of one-sided and factually erroneous information. In addition, only a small proportion of those who are eligible actually vote, and a declining…

In April 2013, the "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") launched its "New Directions for Higher Education" series to examine emerging issues, trends, and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs, and practices. In this series feature Philip DiSalvio, dean of the College of…

The public debates on history education that occurred in many countries over the past decades have given rise to the idea that people live in an age of "history wars". While these wars are primarily fought on a national level, they are increasingly looked at as a global phenomenon. In most cases, they are the expression of tensions between the…

In this regular feature of "Educational Technology," Michael F. Shaughnessy and Susan M. Fulgham present their interview with Ryan Watkins, Associate Professor of Educational Technology at the George Washington University and the author of 10 books and more than 95 articles. In this interview, Watkins discusses the following topics:…

In "Fool's Gold: Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library," Mark Herring paints a fairly grim picture of the future of libraries. Basically, he posits that a confluence of events and attitudes have come together to bring about the demise (unless something is done, and soon) of the library as people know it. First, people mistakenly believe…

Like many liberal-arts institutions, Middlebury College, where the author teaches, has a problem: Too many students want to be economics majors. Economics enrollments keep growing, and adding more faculty members to the department seems to only increase the demand. Professors at other liberal-arts colleges confirm that the phenomenon is widespread…

This essay argues that teaching rhetorical leadership, particularly the skill of inherency analysis, is crucial to preparing effective citizen leaders. Using the example of education reforms for children with disabilities, it illustrates the practical value for those interested in public concerns of understanding and using analysis of the…

In this article, we challenge the common liberal assumption that religious schooling undermines the goals of liberal civic education, making it impossible for children to acquire tolerance, critical reasoning skills, or personal autonomy. As a framework for this argument, we respond to some of the claims made by Harry Brighouse in his recent book,…

The major challenge faced by teacher education in an increasingly global society is to prepare teachers who can function effectively in a standards and accountability environment while modeling and inspiring their students to be internationally minded, creative citizens. However, the demographic changes taking place throughout the world,…

Teacher behaviors that enhance critical thinking include room arrangement, questioning, verbal and nonverbal responses, metacognitive labeling, and modeling. Learning strategies include Socratic discussion and short writing assignments, such as summaries and critiques. (SK)

This fastback distills the essential features of critical thinking, as identified by prominent specialists in the field, and presents them in a way that is immediately usable in the classroom. After presenting a definition of critical thinking, the fastback discusses the necessary elements of critical thinking--dispositions, criteria, argument,…

Suggests our society strongly needs thinking that is constructive, generative, and organizing; describes an educational program, CoRT (Cognitive Research Trust), which teaches creative thinking as a skill; and presents reasons for teaching thinking as a specific subject area. (MBR)

Despite the current enthusiasm for teaching critical thinking and the need acknowledged by many educators to improve students' speaking and listening skills, very few schools have actually put critical listening skills into their curricula. One reason listening skills have been so slow in becoming a part of the formal instruction program at most…