The author believes that happiness equals success. Which is why, at age 50, the author fears retirement. The author believes that he may have found the fountain of youth for his spirit: the joy of teaching children, living in his community, and getting to witness learning. The author loves what he does. By asking he got to this point, he hopes the…

Creating concept maps is considered to be a powerful means for learning. It requires students to systematically organize and integrate their knowledge, which can foster meaningful learning. However, students scarcely spontaneously engage in the (meta)cognitive processes necessary for effective knowledge integration, such as reflection, which can…

Internships provide space for both undergraduate and graduate students to apply theory to practice through real-world experiences to prepare individuals for a world of work. In this article, the authors share how this preparation occurs during the Shippensburg University's Department of Counselor Education's rigorous internship experience and…

The goals of this article are three-pronged. The first is to consider the perspectives and insights collectively offered by the four contributions to this special issue dealing with higher-order, critical, and critical-analytic thinking. The second is to build on the content of those contributions and on the literature from philosophy and…

Qualitative researchers in school psychology are asked to reflect on how their identities, goals, and backgrounds influence their research studies, and to disclose these influences in their manuscripts. Given that reflexivity is a process and not an event, it can be challenging to decide what and how much about oneself, or selves, to disclose in a…

Purpose: Reflexivity involves critical reflection by the qualitative researcher as to the influence of the researcher's culture, history and belief on the conduct and outcome of the research. It is often seen as a practice exercised in the analysis of results in order to attempt to objectify the research. The purpose of this paper is to argue that…

The "Excellence in Assessment" (EIA) designation's purpose has been to recognize institutions of higher education that demonstrate an ability to integrate assessment practices throughout the institution, provide evidence of student learning outcomes, and use assessment results to guide decision-making and improve student performance.…

This account of practice tells the story of how engaging in a critical action learning set helped us address problems with student engagement in a postgraduate module. On the surface, this seems fairly straightforward following Revans' model (1971). However, what we actually have are multiple layers of self-reflection, a visual metaphor and its…

When engaging in community-based research, it is important to consider ethical research practices throughout the project. While current research practices require many investigators to obtain approval from an ethics review board before starting a project, more is required to ensure that ethical principles are applied once the investigations begin…

Being happy both at home and at work means we are not just cheerier, but more clear-eyed and effective at what we do. But happiness takes practice and ongoing contemplation. In this inventive new book--part professional development resource, part personal journal--educator, author, and podcaster Suzanne Dailey contends that "small shifts…

Pre-service teachers play a crucial role in fostering critical thinking among students to enhance their effectiveness in the 21st century. This systematic review examines 43 empirical studies to gain deeper insights into the concept of critical thinking in teacher education. We identified two primary definitions of critical thinking: the logical…

Curriculum matters far more than most people realize. In this booklet the author shares foundational and fundamental curriculum concerns that teachers should consider and build upon in the hope that they can regain their rightful position of curricular experts. Practice-oriented versions of scholarly matters (not watered-down ones) are what…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore self-reported growth areas during Fall 2020 in a sample of undergraduate juniors and seniors. Participants and methods: Undergraduate students (N = 124, 65% female, 78% white) completed an online survey responding to the following question, "Reflecting back on Fall 2020, how have you grown…

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…

An imaginary divide exists between academic affairs and student affairs, fueled by disagreements over responsibility for the educational mission of a university. Some in academic affairs doubt the capability of student affairs professionals to promote rigorous learning, because student affairs is often viewed as the realm outside of the classroom.…