This article looks at the perils and promises of standards-based instruction in urban environments. We begin with an outline of the rise of the current standards movement. Then turn to the con position which contends; states, schools and districts do not always implement standards-based ideals effectively, especially in urban settings where…

This paper examines the content of The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (1990). This report is not a statistical review. Instead it brings under scrutiny the content of the exam. This content will be of interest to the general reader, because the issues range from logic to ethics to pedagogy, and to questions of evidential and…

Decision-makers in organizations often make what appear as being intuitively obviously and reasonable decisions, which often turn out to yield unintended outcomes. The cause of such ineffective decisions can be a combination of cognitive biases, poor mental models of complex systems, and errors in thinking provoked by anxiety, all of which tend to…

In this article, I provide a critical feminist analysis of my experience in a public-private partnership of university, government, and industry in New Brunswick. The project served the economic interests of the partners, supported neo-liberal discourses framing the restructuring of public services in the province, and shaped and were shaped by…

This qualitative study, employing an ethnographic research method, investigates how dialogue journal writing, which allows teachers and learners to engage in "written conversation", may provide an opportunity to bring critical pedagogy and foreign language education together in a productive way in the context of a critical literacy…

Pakistan is an underdeveloped country, full of socio-economic problems where a few oppress and exploit many. One of the most significant reasons, in this context, is the high illiteracy rate in the country. However, can high literacy rates guarantee peace, prosperity, and justice in any society? Clearly, not. There are several countries where the…

Intentionally linking the assessment of student learning outcomes of service-learning with reflection allows each to inform and reinforce the other. This paper traces the evolution of a strategy that uses reflection products as data sources to assess and improve both individual student learning and program-wide approaches to reflection. Two tools…

To say an issue is academic can mean it doesn't really matter, not in the real world, anyway. Gary Brown takes a critical look at how higher education has become unreal for many students and what we might do to help re-engage our institutions with the world. (Contains 17 notes.)

As part of a two-year study, Pamela G. Taylor's high school art students constructed hypertext webs that linked the subject matter they studied in class to their own independent research and personal experiences, which in turn encouraged them to think critically about the material. Taylor bases this use of hypertext on the thinking of Paulo Freire…

The cycle of transmission pedagogy that begins in teacher preparation programs--and is supported by "old school" practices in the field--obstructs critical thinking in both arenas. By pedagogically structuring for critical thinking in teacher education courses, teacher educators can disrupt this pattern through exposure to and experience with…

The study investigated the relationships among demographic variables (class grades, school types, major field, parent's education level, etc.), psychological type, thinking style, critical thinking, and creative thinking in senior high school students. The study explored the extent to which students' inclinations and perceived competence to engage…

The focus of this article is to describe a social organization of instruction and identify the conditions and contexts of critical classroom inquiry that are essential components of contemporary teacher education programs. Novice teachers must develop both the need to know and dispositions for knowing in order to move away from…

This experiment was designed to help students improve the critical thinking skills that are required to analyze and discuss the results of an organic chemistry experiment in an effective manner. The initial objective indicated in the prelab handout for this puzzle experiment was the synthesis of methyl 4-bromobenzoate using the Fischer…

The nature of science is a vital part of students' educational experience. It includes understanding what science is and how it works, in accordance with Content Standard G of the "National Science Education Standards" (NRC 1996). Effective science instruction requires incorporation of science content, science processes, and the nature of science.…

If numeracy is about improving students' use of mathematics in life, then numeracy education cannot be restricted to the mathematics classroom: students need to apply the mathematics they learn across the curriculum and beyond the classroom. Hence, there is more that educators need to discover about how well students can use mathematics in…