High-quality, experientially based education for high-ability and highly motivated students from diverse backgrounds is an academic mix that not only improves our institutions but can improve our world, globally and locally. Diversity is important as more than an abstract, theoretical concept. Honors education can play a powerful role in teaching…

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast between two theoretical frameworks for addressing nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific issues (SSI) in school science. These frameworks are critical thinking (CT) and argumentation (AR). For the past years, the first and second authors of this paper have pursued research in this area…

Discussions of power and privilege, oppression, and structural inequities in classrooms can produce complex understanding and critical analysis when facilitated effectively. In this article we present the critical conversations model for facilitating conversations that open up space for discussing such issues and encourage the development of…

Developing critical-thinking and scientific reasoning skills are core learning objectives of science education, but little empirical evidence exists regarding the interrelationships between these constructs. Writing effectively fosters students' development of these constructs, and it offers a unique window into studying how they relate. In this…

While all students encounter difficulties in transitioning to college, the experience is more pronounced for first-generation college students (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996). Definitions of "first-generation college student" differ across scholarly studies. Understanding this population's gains in critical…

In this article, the author briefly describes her efforts to explore the lived experiences of teacher candidates (interns) completing an internship in a K-4 Professional Development School (PDS), while engaged in practitioner inquiry. This phenomenological study followed five interns' engagement in practitioner inquiry to investigate how their…

We discuss how making the influence of late capitalism overt not only better enables the integration of academic literacies support and strengthens the development of critical analysis skills, but better enables students to actively participate in the construction of both knowledge and a vibrant, joyful learning community. Drawing on the work of…

Schools' administrators and teachers feel the necessity to apply creative education within their learning environments, despite grappling with understandings of what creativity is and how best teachers can foster it in their students. This qualitative international study spanning the USA, Canada, Singapore, and Australia investigates teachers'…

The University of Reading Learning Gain project is a three-year longitudinal project to test and evaluate a range of available methodologies and to draw conclusions on what might be the right combination of instruments for the measurement of Learning Gain in higher education. This paper analyses the validity of a measure of critical thinking…

This article suggests that using a critical thinking approach in teaching undergraduate courses such as Evidence is not only consistent with education in the liberal arts but offers valuable opportunities to enhance student learning, develop transferable skills, and explore interdisciplinary connections.

Objective: To examine how student midwives in higher education learn to become competent and confident woman-centred practitioners. Design: Participant observation study using a 'buddy' approach. Setting: Bachelor of Midwifery students in one higher education institution in the Netherlands Methods: First-year student midwives followed one woman…

The hermeneutic methodology is an analytical and dialectical approach that is irreplaceable for the development of critical thinking. In the post-truth era, the traditional interpretation of text has given way to more complex interpretative instances in which audiovisual content is the basis of new narratives and new knowledge. Qualitative…

What does it mean to engage in transformational learning with young children? In a time when "technology" is hallowed as all-important, how do we frame young children as empowered, critical thinkers around technologies, instead of just consumers? This article looks closely at a child-centered, emergent curricular process within an early…

In the context of 21st century learning, lecturers encounter complex challenges in optimizing learning processes and outcomes. The previous research reports that teaching method is considered as the right solution to overcome that problem. This quasi-experimental research aims to: (1) explore the difference between Critical Thinking Skills (CTS)…

Students often struggle to comprehend complex text. In response, we conducted an initial, year-long study of Quality Talk, a teacher-facilitated, small-group discussion approach designed to enhance students' basic and high-level comprehension, in two fourth-grade classrooms. Specifically, teachers delivered instructional mini-lessons on discourse…