Introducing first-year college students to complex thinking is often complicated by their reliance on external authority. A key task for educators is identifying the nature of experiences that offer academic challenge yet are accompanied with sufficient support for students to engage these challenges meaningfully. The authors report the nature of…

In this monograph, the authors identify milestones in the journey toward self-authorship based on the theoretical work of Kegan (1982, 1994) and Baxter Magolda (2001b, 2008, 2009a), as well as the empirical findings from Baxter Magolda's longitudinal study (2001b, 2009a) and the qualitative longitudinal portion of the Wabash National Study of…

Traces the evolution of college students' assumptions about knowledge and how it is gained, and examines how their judgment can be enhanced through teaching. Summarizes seven stages of reflective judgment, including three stages of prereflective thinking, two stages of quasi-reflective thinking, and two stages of reflective thinking. Suggests ways…

Introduces the Reflective Judgment model of intellectual development which illustrates how reasoning skills develop in adulthood and relates this to multicultural education at the college level. The model can inform instruction and help students think about complex issues from different perspectives. (MJP)