Promoting Student Engagement Through a Critical Thinking ... · thinking critically and reflecting upon ... new information, solve problems and think critically. ... instruments.

PromotingStudentEngagementThroughaCriticalThinkingFrameworkinthe

ElementaryClassroom

By:

CarlySazant

AresearchpapersubmittedinconformitywiththerequirementsForthedegreeofMasterofTeaching

DepartmentofCurriculum,TeachingandLearningOntarioInstituteforStudiesinEducationoftheUniversityofToronto

CopyrightbyCarlySazant,April2014

CRITICALTHINKINGANDSTUDENTENGAGEMENT 2

Abstract

Studentengagementisanimportantpredecessorofstudentachievement

andsocialandcognitivedevelopment;however,studiesoverthepasttwodecades

showthattherehasbeenaseverelackofstudentengagementinschools.This

qualitativeresearchstudyexplorestheeffectsthatacriticalthinkingmethodology

hasonstudentengagementintheclassroomsetting.Creatingaclassroom

environmentinwhichstudentsareencouragedtomakemeaningfulconnections,by

thinkingcriticallyandreflectingupontheirexperiencesmayhelpengagetoday’s

younglearners.Dataforthisstudywascollectedthroughtwosemi‐structured,one‐

on‐oneinterviewswithaclassroomteacherandschooladministratorwithina

schoolboardintheGreaterTorontoArea.Thefindingsofthisresearchsuggestthat:

1)criticalthinkinghasapositiveeffectonstudentandteacherengagementwithin

theclassroom;2)criticalthinkinghasotherbenefits,includingapositiveimpacton

studentachievementandstudents’higher‐orderthinkingskills,andhelpsmeetthe

needsofalltypesoflearners;3)effectivestrategiesmustbeusedtoinviteand

promotecriticalthinking;4)therearechallengestoimplementingcriticalthinking

inaclassroom;5)teachersandadministratorsneedsupportinordertosuccessfully

integratecriticalthinkingintoteachingpractices.

KeyWords:CriticalThinking,StudentEngagement,CriticalChallenges


Acknowledgements

Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankanumberofindividualswhohave

supportedmethroughoutmyresearchstudyandmyjourneytobecomingan

educator.Firstly,Iextendmysincerestthankstomyresearchsupervisor,Garfield

Gini‐Newman,foreducatingmeonthetopicofCriticalThinkingandsupportingme

throughoutthisentireprocess.Yourknowledgeandvaluableinsighthavetruly

beenaninspiration.Iwouldalsoliketothankmycourseinstructor,Dr.Susan

Schwartz,forherconstantsupport,feedbackandgenerosity.Iamsothankfulto

havehadyoubymysidethroughoutthisprocess,andtoknowthatyouwerealways

onlyane‐mailawayprovidedmewithaconstantsenseofcomfort.Yourloveof

teachingandyourdevotiontoyourstudentsisinspiringandwillcontinueto

motivatemethroughoutmyteachingcareer.Tomyresearchparticipants–this

researchstudywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutyou.Thankyousomuchfor

sharingyourtime,expertiseandmanyexperienceswithme.Next,Iwouldliketo

extendaheartfeltthankyoutomyclassmatesforremainingasteadysourceof

supportformeoverthepasttwoyears.Youhavebeentherethroughthelaughter

andthetears,andhaveshownmethetrueimportancethatrelationshipsand

collaborationholdwithintheteachingprofession.Finally,Iowemydeepest

gratitudetomyfamilyfortheirendlessloveandencouragement.Youhavealways

advisedmetofollowmydreamsandIthankyouforhelpingmerealizemyfull

potentialasastudentandasaneducator.


TableofContents

Chapter Page

Abstract 2

Acknowledgements 3

1.INTRODUCTION 7

IntroductiontotheResearchStudy 7

PurposeoftheStudy 8

ResearchTopic/Questions 8

BackgroundoftheResearcher 9

Overview 10

2.LITERATUREREVIEW ` 11

DefinitionofTerms 11

TheAbsenceofStudentEngagementWithinElementaryClassrooms 12

UsingCriticalThinkingStrategiestoEngageStudents 12

PreparingStudentsForTheWorkforce 13

BarrierstoCriticalThinking 15

HowtoImplementCriticalThinkingStrategiesinTheClassroom 16

3.METHODOLOGY 19

Procedure 19

InstrumentsofDataCollection 19

Participants 20

DataCollectionandAnalysis 21


EthicalReviewProcedures 22

Limitations 23

4.FINDINGS 24

PositiveEffectonStudentandTeacherEngagement 26

StudentEngagement 26

TeacherEngagement 27

OtherBenefitsofCriticalThinking 28

StudentAchievement 28

Higher‐orderThinking 29

MeetstheNeedsofallTypesofLearners 31

EffectiveStrategiesUsedtoPromoteCriticalThinking 31

EffectiveQuestioningandCriticalChallenges 32

ClassroomSetup 33

ChallengestoCriticalThinking 34

TeacherUnwillingnessandLackofTraining 34

StudentHesitations 36

ParentConcerns 36

TeacherSupports 37

5.DISCUSSION 40

Reflections 40

ImplicationsandRecommendations 42

LimitationsandFurtherStudy 45

Conclusion 46


REFERENCES 47

APPENDICES 50

AppendixA:LetterofConsentforInterview 50

AppendixB:InterviewQuestions 52

Interview#1 52

Interview#2 54


Howcantheuseofcriticalthinkingmethodologyaffectstudentengagementinelementaryclassrooms?

Chapter1:INTRODUCTION

IntroductiontotheResearchStudy

Studentengagementisanimportantpredecessorofstudentachievement

andsocialandcognitivedevelopment;however,thelackofstudentengagementin

schoolshasbecomeanepidemicissuethathasbeengrowingforthepasttwo

decades(Marks,2000).Studentshavebeencheckingoutofschoolbecausetheyare

nolongerinterestedinwhatschoolsareoffering.Yazzie‐Mintz(2006)reportedthat

50%ofstudentsareboredeverydayinclassandapproximately17%ofstudents

areboredineveryclasstheyattend.Amere2%ofyoutheachyearreportnever

beingbored.Withthedramasofreallife,cellphones,electronicgames,andinthe

ageoftheInternet,howcaneducatorscapturestudents’attentionandprovidean

engaginglearningenvironment(Caram&Davis,2005)?

Studentsengageinlearningwhentheyareintrinsicallymotivatedby

curiosity,interestandenjoymentorwhentheywanttofulfillpersonalgoals(as

citedinCaram&Davis,2005).Whenfacedwithlearningthattheyperceiveas

meaningful,studentsbecomeincreasinglyeagertoextendtheirknowledge.Mutual

inquiry,theinvestigationofopen‐endedquestionsandhavingateachertakeonthe

roleoffacilitator,areimportantelementsinvolvedinfosteringsuccessfulstudent

engagement(Caram&Davis,2005).

Fredricks,Blumenfeld&Paris(2004)suggestthatthislackofstudent

engagementisbecomingapparentatanalarmingtime.Today’sfast‐paced,global

economyrequiresworkerswhoarenotonlyeducatedintheirfield,butarealsoable


tocreateandevaluatenewinformation,solveproblemsandthinkcritically.Creating

aclassroomenvironmentinwhichstudentsareencouragedtomakemeaningful

connections,bythinkingcriticallyandreflectingupontheirexperiencesmayhelp

engagetheyounglearnersintoday’sclassrooms.

PurposeoftheStudy

Throughmyresearch,Iwanttounderstandhowteachingthroughacritical

thinkingframeworkaffectsstudentengagementinelementaryclassrooms.Iwantto

deeplyexploreeducators’personalexperiencesandbeliefsregardingcritical

thinking,anddiscoverthetruebenefitsthatstemfromutilizingthismethodology

withintheconfinesoftheclassroom.Thoughtheideaofcriticalthinkingis

recognizedandvaluedbymany,itisinadequatelyaddressedintheclassroom(Case,

2005).Ihopetolearnfromexperiencededucatorsanddeveloprecommendations

forfuturepractice.Ifwewanttoprepareourstudentsforthe21stcentury,wemust

starttoengagetheminrelevantandmeaningfullearning.

ResearchQuestions

Themainresearchquestionforthisstudyis:Howcantheuseofcriticalthinking

methodologyaffectstudentengagementinelementaryclassrooms?

Thesub‐questionsare:

1. Whatarethepossiblebenefitsforstudentlearningthatresultfromintegrating

criticalthinkingintoclassroomteaching?

2. Whatspecificintellectualtoolsandstrategiesdoteachersusetoencourage

criticalthinkingandstudentengagementintheirclassrooms?

3. Whatchallengesdoteachersfaceinencouragingcriticalthinkingintheir


classrooms?

4. Whatsupportdoteachershavetoimplementcriticalthinkingintheir

classrooms?

BackgroundoftheResearcher

Asanelementaryschoolstudent,Irecallmostofmyteachersusing

transmissionastheirprimarymethodofteaching,asopposedtoaconstructivist

teachingapproachorstudent‐centredapproach.Theteacherwouldstandatthe

frontoftheclass,feedthestudentsrulesandinformationandthensitbackaswe

solvedalistofquestionsfromthetextbook.Throughmyelementaryandsecondary

schooling,IalwaysfeltasifIwasastudentwho‘fellthroughthecracks’ofthe

educationsystem.Iwasdisengagedanduninterested,andmygradessufferedasa

result.However,sinceIwasneverabehaviouralstudent,andourteacherstaughtat

us,asopposedtowithus,mychallengeswentunnoticedfromyeartoyear.

Whileatmyfirstpracticumschoolduringobservationweek,myassociate

teacher(AT)introducedmetoanewwaveofteachingthatseveralschoolswithin

theirschoolboardweretryingtoimplementforthe2012‐2013schoolyear.Their

focuswastoprovide“effective,engaginginstructionacrossthecurriculum,tohelp

studentsdemonstrateanimprovementintheirabilitytothinkcritically”.Iobserved

myATassheaskedgradeonestudentsthought‐provokingquestions,suchas:“how

didyougettothatanswer?”,“whatwasyourthoughtprocess?”,and“whatareyour

criteria(reasonswhy)?”Shepresentedherstudentswithcriticalchallengesona

dailybasis,andIfoundittohaveapositiveimpactontheirengagementintheclass.

Thismethodofteachingwasverydifferentthantheteacher‐centredinstructionI


rememberedexperiencingasastudent.Itmademewonderhowthisapproachto

teachingaffectsstudentengagementandifitpresentsotherbenefitstostudent

learning.

Myresearchwillexplorewhysomeeducatorsandschoolboardshavechosen

toembracecriticalthinkingintheirschoolsandclassrooms.Iwanttolearnthe

benefitsthatstemfromacriticalthinkingmethodology,andthepossiblechallenges

thatteachers,studentsandparentsmayfacethroughitsimplementation.Overthe

courseofmyresearchstudyIhopetodiscovertheimpactthatcriticalthinkinghas

onstudentengagementintheclassroom.Ibelievethatprovidingouryounglearners

withmeaningfulandrelevantlearningopportunitieswillbetterpreparethemto

becomeacommunityof21stcenturycriticalandcreativethinkers.

Overview

Chapter1includestheintroductionandpurposeofthestudy,theresearch

questions,aswellashowIcametobeinvolvedinthistopicandstudy.Chapter2

containsareviewoftherelevantliteraturefocusingontheeffectsofcriticalthinking

onstudentengagement.Chapter3providesthemethodologyandprocedurethat

willbeusedinthisstudyincludinginformationaboutthesampleparticipantsand

datacollectioninstruments.Chapter4describesthecollecteddatathematically,asit

addressestheresearchquestion.Chapter5includesreflections,implicationsand

recommendationsforpractice,aswellaslimitations,areasforfuturestudy,and

conclusions.Referencesandalistofappendixesfollowattheend.


Chapter2:LiteratureReview

DefinitionofTerms

Throughoutthisresearchproject,Iwillbediscussingtheconceptofcritical

thinkingandtheeffectsthatithasonstudentengagementinelementary

classrooms.However,itisevidentfrommyresearchcollection,thatthereare

countlessdefinitionsofcriticalthinkingandthewayitisdefinedhaschanged

somewhatovertime.In1986,Chancedescribedcriticalthinkingas“theabilityto

analyzefacts,generateandorganizeideas,defendopinions,makecomparisons,

drawinferences,evaluateargumentsandsolveproblems”(p.6).In1987,The

CriticalThinkingCommunitysimilarlydefinedcriticalthinkingas“theintellectually

disciplinedprocessofactivelyandskillfullyconceptualizing,applying,analyzing,

synthesizing,and/orevaluatinginformationgatheredfrom,orgeneratedby,

observation,experience,reflection,reasoning,orcommunication,asaguidetobelief

andaction”(Scriven&Paul,2007).Forthepurposeofthispaper,IwilluseJohn

Chaffee’sdefinitionofcriticalthinking,whichisthefollowing:“apurposeful,

organizedcognitiveprocessthatweusetounderstandtheworldandmake

informeddecisions”(Chaffee,2006).

Iwillalsobediscussingstudentengagementthroughoutthisstudy.Forthe

purposeofthispaper,IwilladoptHelenMarks’definitionofengagement.

“Engagementisconceptualizedasapsychologicalprocess,particularlythe

attention,interest,investment,andeffortstudentsexpendduringlearning.”This

definitionimpliesbothaffectiveandbehaviouralparticipationinthelearning

experience(Marks,2000).


TheAbsenceofStudentEngagementwithinElementaryClassrooms

Inordertobeengagedinthelearningprocess,studentsmustbeinterestedin

schoolandbeintrinsicallymotivatedtolearn(Marks,2000).Thelackofstudent

engagementinschoolshasbecomeanepidemicissuethathasbeengrowingsince

the1980s(Marks,2000).Studiesfromthatdecadeshowunenthusiasticteachers

anddisengagedstudents“goingthroughthemotions”,whilenegotiatingan

extensiveandfragmentedcurriculum.Themajorityofeducatorsfollowedthe

transmissionmodelofteachingandinducedpassivenessandboredomamong

students,asaresult(Marks,2000).

Studentshavebeencheckingoutofschoolbecausetheyarenolonger

interestedinwhatschoolsareoffering.Yazzie‐Mintz(2006)reportedthat50%of

studentsareboredeverydayinclassandapproximately17%ofstudentsarebored

ineveryclasstheyattend.Amere2%ofyouth,eachyear,reportneverbeingbored.

Aconsiderableamountofresearchattributesthelackofstudentengagementin

schoolstocurriculumfragmentation,weakinstructionbyeducatorsandlow

expectationsforstudentlearning(Marks,2000).Inaddition,manyelementary

schoolshavebeenaccusedofprovidingstudentswithmeaninglessinstructional

activitiesthatfailtoillustratetostudentstheusefulnessofschoolandthe

importanceoftheirattendance(Finn,1993).Norman(1981)noted,“Itisstrange

thatweexpectstudentstolearn,yetseldomteachthemanythingaboutlearning”.

UsingCriticalThinkingStrategiestoEngageStudents

Creatingaclassroomenvironmentinwhichstudentsareencouragedtomake

meaningfulconnections,bythinkingcriticallyandreflectingupontheirexperiences


mayhelpengagetheyounglearnersintoday’sclassrooms.Theideaofcritical

thinkinghasbeenaroundformanyyearsandhasbeenrecognizedasanimportant

educationalgoal.Criticalthinkingismentionedineverycurriculumdocument

acrossOntarioanditisinuniversalagreementthatitisnecessarytomake

thoughtfuljudgmentsinvirtuallyallaspectsoflife(Case,2005).

Whenfacedwithlearningthattheyperceiveasmeaningful,studentsbecome

increasinglyeagertoextendtheirknowledge.Mutualinquiry,theinvestigationof

open‐endedquestionsandhavingateachertakeontheroleoffacilitator,are

importantelementsinvolvedinfosteringsuccessfulstudentengagement(Caram&

Davis,2005).Theinfusionofcriticalthinkingrequiresdeep,thoughtful,andwell

understoodsubjectmatterinstructioninwhichstudentsareencouragedtothink

criticallyinthesubject(Abramietal.,2008).

PreparingStudentsfortheWorkforce

Studentsoftodaywillbegraduatingintoaworldthatisbasedonanew

knowledgeeconomy.Theywillrequiretheskill‐setto“deconstruct,construct,co‐

constructandreconstructmeaningefficientlyandeffectively”(TheLiteracyand

NumeracySecretariat,2008,p.1).Inorderforstudentstothriveinthe21stcentury

andtomakelasting,positivecontributionstotheirworld,theywillrequireasolid

foundationofliteracyandnumeracyskills,aswellasaneducationthatisdeeply

rootedinthinkingandaction(TheLiteracyandNumeracySecretariat,2008).

Tishman(2008)wrote:

Therearemanyreasonswhystudentsmustlearntothinkskillfully;sotheycanmakethoughtfullifedecisions,solveproblemscreatively,andunderstandandanalyzeknowledgeinandacrossdisciplines.Todoanyof


thesethingswell,studentsneedtobecomeadeptatthinkingthingsthrough.(p.46)Tooofteninschoolsdoeducatorsteachfromthetextbookandindoingso,

robstudentsofproblemsolvingandcriticalthinkingskills.Usingthisapproachto

teachingmakesstudentsbelievethatthereisonecorrectanswertoaquestion,or

onerightapproachtosuccessfullysolveaproblem.Asaresult,studentsrarely

attempttounderstandproblems,anddevelopmethodstomemorizefactsand

processesinstead(Rathsetal.,1967).Thistypeoflearningandinstructionlendsno

connectiontorealworldexperiencesandwhenstudentsleavetheclassroom,they

arenotequippedtohandleproblemsthatariseintherealworld(Teele,2006).

Afterannouncingthathewouldbereleasingadiscussionpaperlookingat

“waystointegratehigherorderthinkingskillsintoOntario’scurriculum”,Premier

DaltonMcGuintypostedthefollowingstatementonhisFacebookpage,

Weneedtogobeyondhighstandardsinreading,writingandmath.Weneedtoreachhigherbyfullyembracinghigherorderskills,likecreativity,criticalthinking,problemsolving,passion,empathyandleadership.We'llbelookingatnewwaystointegratehigherorderskillsintoOntario'scurriculum.Ourkidswillneedtobehighlyproficientinalltheseskillsiftheyaretofindthesuccessandhappinesswehopeforthem…Withsomanytechnologicalandinformationaladvancementsinrecentyears,

beingknowledgeablewillnolongerbeenoughtosucceedintheworkplace.Tobe

successfulinthefuture,studentswillrequiretheabilitytocreateandevaluate

information,solveproblemsandmakeeffectivedecisions;inotherwords,inwillbe

necessaryforthemtothinkcritically(Fredricksetal.2004;Snyder&Snyder,2008).

Thefutureworkplacewillcallfor“multiliteracies”,whichinvolveself‐regulatingand


monitoring,understandingandempathizing,analyzingandevaluating—allofwhich

are“tiedtogetherbythecoreconstructofthinking”(Schneider,2002,p.1).

BarrierstoCriticalThinking

Thecurrenttrendamongstmanyeducationalinstitutionsistostandardize

curriculaandconcentrateontestscores(Wong,2007).Thisapproachtoteaching

undermineseducators’abilitytoaddresscriticalthinkingintheclassroom.When

thereisanemphasison“teachingtothetest”andgettingthroughthecontent,

students’learningprocessesarehindered.Wheneducatorsshifttheemphasisto

learning,studentsaregiventhelibertyandtheresponsibilitytoexplorethecontent,

analyzeresourcesandapplyinformation(Snyder&Snyder,2008).

SnyderandSnyder(2008)contendthatitisunfortunatethatthemajorityof

studentsarenottaughttothinkorlearnindependentlyintheclassroom,andthese

studentsrarelypickuptheseskillsontheirown.Whilethereareasmallnumberof

studentswhomaybenaturallyinquisitive,theystillrequiretrainingtobecome

analytical,fairandopenmindedintheirpursuitoflearning.Contrarytosome

people’sbeliefs,criticalthinkingisnotaninnateabilitybutalearnedskillthat

requiresguidanceandpractice.

Thereareseveralbarriersthateducatorsfaceinimplementingcritical

thinkingstrategiesintotheirclassroom.FourbarriersinwhichSnyder&Snyder

(2008)discussare:1)alackoftraining;2)lackofinformation;3)personalbeliefs

andpreconceptions;and4)timeconstraints.Manyexperiencedteachersarenot

trainedincriticalthinkingmethodology.Theyreceivetraininginmethodsof

instruction;however,littleornoneofthetrainingdevotesanytimetocritical


thinkingskillsandhowtoteachthem.Thesecondbarrierisalackofinformation.

Thereareamultitudeofstudiesthatstatethebenefitsofcriticalthinkingskills;

howeverfewinstructionalmaterialsprovideanycriticalthinkingresources(Scriven

&Paul,2007).Thirdly,manyeducatorshavepreconceptionsaboutthecontentin

thecurriculumandhowtoteachit,whichprohibitstheirabilitytothinkcritically

aboutthematerial.Itisdifficultforsometeacherstoadoptanewstyleofteaching

ortobelievethatthereisamoreeffective,engagingwaytoteachthecurriculum.

Finally,manyteachersfacetimeconstraintswhenitcomestocoveringallthe

necessarycontentinthecurriculum.Whenteachersfocuson“covering”the

curriculum,lecturesandobjectivetestsbecomestandardteachingpractice.Itis

fastertolecturetoagroupofstudentsthanhavethemactivelyparticipatein

project‐basedlearningopportunities.Also,ittakeslesstimetowriteandgradean

objectivetestthanamoresubjectiveassessment.However,studiesshowthat

lecturingisnotthemosteffectivemethodofinstruction,andobjectivetestsarenot

themosteffectiveformofassessment(Broadbear,2003).

HowtoImplementCriticalThinkingStrategiesinTheClassroom Teachersareresponsibleforequippingstudentswiththeskillsand

strategiestothinkcriticallyandsolveproblems.Thechallengethatmanyeducators

faceishowtoputthisideaintopracticeanddevelopappropriate,engaging

activitiesthattheycanintegrateintothecurriculum.Thismayseemdifficult;

however,implementationoftheseobjectivesoftenrequiresonlyaslightshiftin

one’sapproachtoteaching(Schneider,2002).


Researchshowsthatcriticalthinkinginstructionisnoteffectivewhentaught

inisolation.Itissuggestedthatitbeintegratedintoeverycomponentofthe

classroom.Topromotecriticalthinking,itisessentialtofosteracriticalcommunity

withintheclassroom,inwhichtheteacherandstudentsinteractinmutually

supportiveways.Thiswillhelpcounteractthenotionofthinkingasasolitary

activity.Thoughweencouragestudentstobeindependentmindedandtomakeup

theirownminds,weaseducatorsshouldnotexpectthemtodothisentirelyontheir

own,orallofthetime.Goodcriticalthinkerstypicallyconversewithothersinorder

toextendtheirknowledge,testtheirideasandbeliefs,andreceivealternate

perspectives(Case&Daniels,2008).Thiscanonlytakeplacethroughparticipation

inacriticallearningcommunity.

Thetoolsneededtothinkcriticallyarebestlearnedintheformofa

curriculum‐embeddedchallenge.Itisimportanttoprovidestudentswithcopious

opportunitiestoworkthroughmeaningfulproblem‐solvingsituations(Case&

Daniels,2008).Teachersshouldnotpresentstudentswithpre‐packaged

informationmeantformentalstorage,butassiststudentsininternalizing,

questioningandutilizinginformation(Case,2008).Ifaquestionisposedthatonly

hasoneplausiblecorrectanswer,thenthequestionisnotacriticalchallenge,and

doesnotpromotecriticalthinking(Case&Daniels,2008).

Inordertodevelopascriticalthinkers,studentsshouldbeintroducedtothe

toolsrequiredtocompletecriticalthinkingtasks.Criticalthinkersmustpossess(1)

backgroundknowledgeaboutthetopicbeingexaminedthroughthecritical

challenge.Theymustunderstandthe(2)criteriaforjudgment,whicharethe


appropriatecriteriaorgroundsfordecidingonarationalresponsetoacritical

question.Studentsmustalsobefamiliarwith(3)criticalthinkingvocabulary.

Understandingtheconceptsthatfacilitatecriticalthinkinganddifferentiating

amongtheterminologywillbebeneficialtostudentsintheirdevelopmentascritical

thinkers.Goodcriticalthinkersshouldknowanduseavarietyof(4)thinking

strategies,tacticsorsupportstoworktheirwaythroughcriticalchallenges.There

arethousandsofstrategies,includingprocedures,models,graphicorganizersand

heuristicsthatguideinstudents’workingthroughaposedchallenge.Studentswho

thinkcriticallycometopossesscertainattitudesandvalues,whicharealsoknown

as(5)habitsofmind.Tonameafew,theyareopentonewideas,questionideas,and

arenotafraidtotakeanunpopularstand.However,theyarealsoflexibleandcan

appreciateothers’pointsofview.Itissaidthatcriticalthinkingislargelyamatterof

attitude(Case,2008).

Itisimportanttonotethatteachingthetoolstothinkcriticallyisnot

sufficient.Sinceteacherssignaltostudentswhatisimportantthroughthenumber

ofmarksataskisworth,itisessentialtoalsoassessforcriticalthinking.Ifstudents

arenotassessedontheircriticalchallenges,thentheywillbeunawareoftheir

growthandwillbelefttoassumethatcriticalthinkingisnotimportant(Case,2008).


Chapter3:METHODOLOGY

Procedure

Qualitativeinnature,thisresearchstudieshowtheuseofcriticalthinking

methodologyaffectsstudentengagementintheelementaryclassroom.Theresearch

wasconductedbycollectingthefollowingdata:valuableandrelevantresearchfrom

currentliteratureandtwoindividual,face‐to‐faceinterviewswithexperienced

elementaryschooleducators.Thequalitativedatacollectedfromthesetwocarefully

selectededucatorsreflecttheirpersonalbeliefsandteachingpractices.Following

theinterviews,theobtaineddatawastranscribed,analyzed,codedandsynthesized

inordertouncoverpatterns,similaritiesandrelevancetothereviewedliterature

andresearchquestions.Thepastresearchthatwasdiscussedintheliterature

reviewprovidedbackgroundinformationonthetopicofimplementingcritical

thinkingintheclassroomandtheeffectsthatitmayhaveonstudentengagement.

Theremainderofthemethodologyconsistsoftheinstrumentsofdatacollection,

participants,dataanalysis,ethicalreviewprocedures,andthelimitationsofthe

study.

InstrumentsofDataCollection:

Theprimarysourceofdatacollectionforthisresearchstudycamefromtwo

semi‐structuredorguidedinterviews.Theintervieweeswereexperienced

educatorsintheGreaterTorontoArea,whobothincorporatedcriticalthinkinginto

theirdailyteachingpractices.Byusingsemi‐structuredinterviewstocollectdata,

therewasflexibilityintheconstructionoftheinterviewandrapportwasdeveloped

betweentheintervieweesandmyself.Thisallowedmetoaskfollow‐upquestions


basedonparticipantsresponsestoasetofpre‐constructedquestions(Turner,

2010).

Acomprehensivelistof17interviewquestionswasconstructedin

preparationfortheinterviewprocess(seeAppendixA).Ipreparedtwosetsof

questionsfortheinterviewees,asmyparticipantspossessseparatepositionswithin

theeducationsystem.However,thetopicsdiscussedthroughouttheinterviews

wereanalogoustooneanother.Bothparticipantswereaskedarangeofquestions

thatdealtwiththeirunderstandingofcriticalthinking,whattheybelievestudent

engagementlookslikeintheclassroom,theirpersonalteachingphilosophiesand

practicesregardingcriticalthinking,whatsupportstheyreceiveintheareaof

criticalthinking,aswellasthepossiblechallengestheyfaceintermsof

implementingcriticalthinking.

Forthepurposeofthisresearchstudy,participantswereinterviewed

individuallyandface‐to‐face.Theinterviewslastedapproximately25minuteseach.

TheywererecordeddigitallyusingarecordingandeditingsoftwarecalledGarage

Band,andthentranscribedinentiretybytheresearcher.

Participants

Inordertoconductthisresearchstudy,itwasnecessarytofindinterview

participantswhowereknowledgeableonthetopicofcriticalthinkingandeither

implementedorwitnessedthismethodologybeingimplementedwithinthe

classroomonaregularbasis.Itwasnecessaryforbothparticipantstobecurrent

facultymemberswithinanelementaryschool,andIwashopingtofindparticipants

withtwodifferentperspectivesontheareaofresearch.Forthisreason,Ichoseto


interviewanexperiencedclassroomteacher,aswellasanelementaryschool

administrator.

Ihadaprofessionalrelationshipwithbothresearchparticipants,andhadthe

opportunitytoobservebotheducators’teachingprogramspriortothisstudy.The

firstresearchparticipant,Julie,isanexperiencedelementaryschoolteacher,

currentlyteachingthefirstgrade.Thesecondparticipant,Gary,isaschool

administratorandformerclassroomteacher.Bothparticipantsworkwithinthe

sameschoolboardintheGreaterTorontoArea.Sincebothparticipantsvaluethe

useofcriticalthinkingacrossthecurriculumandaimtocultivatetheabilitytothink

criticallyinalloftheirstudents,Iwasconfidentthattheirbeliefsandexperiences

regardingthistopicwouldberelevantandenlightening.

DataCollectionandAnalysis

Priortothedataanalysisstage,IspentmanyhourstranscribingthedataI

hadcollectedfromthetwointerviewsIheldwiththeparticipants.Throughthis

process,Ihadtheopportunitytolistentothecollecteddatanumeroustimesand

mentallyprocessitwhileIwastranscribing.OnceIhadfinishedthetranscribing

stageofmyresearchproject,IwasalreadyveryfamiliarwiththedataIhad

collected.Iwasabletoseevariouspatternsformingamongstthedata,andhad

beginningnotionsofthemesthatwereemerging.

Inordertoorganizethedataandstartthecodingprocess,Ibeganbycreating

atable,andinsertedintoittheinterviewquestionsalongwithparticipants’

responses.InanarticlebyWellington(2000),heidentifiesdatadisplayasthe

secondstageofdataanalysis,inwhichdataareorganizedandassembledandthen


displayedinpictorial,diagrammatic,orvisualform.Thisallowstheresearcherto

gettheirheadaroundthedatasothattheycanmovetowardsinterpretationand

conclusiondrawing(Wellington,2000).OnceIsawapatternimmerge,Ihighlighted

thedataandmadeanoteofthethemethatwasemerging.ThefirstthemethatI

noticedwasthebenefitsofutilizingcriticalthinkingintheclassroom.Iwent

throughthedataandhighlightedtherelevantpiecesofinformationinacommon

colour.Ithenreadthroughthedataasecondtimeandnoticedanotherpattern

emerge,whichwerethechallengesassociatedwithacriticalthinkingmethodology.

Again,Ireadthroughtheremainingdataandhighlightedeveryinstanceinwhicha

participantmentionedachallengeregardingtheimplementationofcriticalthinking.

Iwentthroughthisprocessmanytimesandfoundatotalof5themesemergefrom

thedata.Fromthere,Ibegantorecognizecommonalitieswithineachtheme,which

thenbecamethesubthemes.Thefindingsthatemergedfromthedataanalysiswere

examinedandwillbediscussedinchapters4and5.

EthicalReviewProcedures

Priortoengagingintheinterviewprocess,theresearchparticipantswere

givenlettersofinformedconsent(seeAppendixA).Theseletterswerereviewed

andsignedbybothparticipants,whichindicatedtheirwillingnesstoparticipateand

contributeintheresearchstudy.Thelettersofconsentoutlinedtheparticipants’

righttowithdrawfromthestudyatanypointintime,andtheirrighttorefrainfrom

answeringspecificquestionsiftheychosetodoso.Participantswerealsoassured

thattheiridentitieswouldremainanonymousthroughouttheresearchstudyand

thattheinformationwouldbekeptconfidential.Theintervieweesweregiventhe


opportunitytoposequestionsregardingthenatureandprocessofthestudypriorto

commencingtheinterview.Theparticipantseachkeptacopyoftheconsentform

fortheirrecords.

Limitations

Giventhenarrowscopeofthisresearchproject,theprimarylimitationofthe

studyisthesmallsamplesizeofparticipantsinterviewedandtherestrictedtime

frame.Iwasonlyabletointerviewtwoparticipants,bothofwhomworkwithinthe

sameschoolboard.Thislimitationhindersthestudy’sreliabilityanddoesnotallow

findingstobegeneralizedtoallelementaryclassrooms.Mypersonalbiasesand

preconceptionsregardingtheuseofcriticalthinkingintheclassroomanditseffects

onstudentengagementalsopresentlimitationstothisresearchstudy.Itis

importanttonotethatallresearchfindingsaresubjecttotheresearcher’sown

perceptionsofthedatacollectedandassumptionsregardingthetopicatlarge.

Despitetheselimitations,Ibelievethisstudycaninformclassroompracticeand

futureresearch.


Chapter4:FINDINGS

Thischapteroutlinesmyinterpretationofdatacollectedduringtwoindepth

interviewsthatwereconductedwithexperiencedteachingprofessionals.Both

interviewsexploredteachers’personalexperiencesandoutlooktowardstheuseof

criticalthinkinginelementaryclassroomsandhowiteffectsstudentengagement.

Participantswerewillingtospeakauthenticallyoftheirattitudesandexperiences

andofferedvaluableinsightsgroundedintheirprofessionalexperiences.

Provisionshavebeentakeninordertoensuretheanonymityofboth

participants.Consequently,thenamesoftheindividualsandinstitutionsatwhich

theyareemployedhavebeenalteredandkeptanonymous.Thefollowingchapter

willpresentathoughtfuloverviewofthecollecteddata.Iwillprovideabrief

backgroundofeachoftheparticipantsandwillsubsequentlyrevealthekeyfindings

ofthisresearch.

BackgroundInformationofParticipants

Thefirstparticipant,Julie,isanexperiencedelementaryschoolteacherina

schooldistrictintheGreaterTorontoArea.Juliecurrentlyteachesthefirstgrade

andhasbeenanelementaryschoolteacherintheboardforapproximately14years.

Sheexplainedcriticalthinkingasarecentinitiativethattheschoolboardandthe

administrationwithinherschoolhavebeensupportinganddoingtheirbestto

implementschool‐wide.Juliedisplaysastrongcommitmenttowardscritical

thinkingandpromotescriticalthinkingwithinherclassroomacrossthecurriculum

andonadailybasis.


Thesecondparticipant,Gary,iscurrentlyanadministratorinanelementary

schoolintheGreaterTorontoArea.Hehasbeenworkingasanadministratorforthe

past14years,andwasformerlyemployedasaclassroomteacherfor8years.Gary

taughtallgradesattheelementarylevel,rangingfromgrades1to8.Though,he

mentionedthatheworkedpredominantlywithintermediatestudentsingrades7

and8.Havingbeenemployedbytheboardforapproximately22tears,Garyhadthe

opportunitytowitnesstheinitialintroductionofcriticalthinkingwithinschools.His

dedicationtocriticalthinkingwithintheconfinesofhisschoolisevidentandhis

rangeofexpertiseonthisareaofresearchisimmense.

KeyFindings

Thefindingsofthisresearchwereextractedfromthedataobtainedfrom

theseparticipantsbytheresearcher.Thefollowingchapterwillbeorganizedby

themeandarrangedusingheadingsandsubheadings.Themainthemesthat

emergedfromtheinterviewsincludethefollowing:

Theme1:Criticalthinkinghasapositiveeffectonstudentandteacher

engagementwithintheclassroom.

Theme2:Somebenefitsthatcanresultfromintegratingcriticalthinkinginto

classroomteachinginclude:a)anincreaseinstudentachievement;b)an

increaseinstudents’higherorderthinking;andc)teachersbettermeetthe

needsofalltypesoflearners.

Theme3:Therearenumerousstrategiesusedintheclassroomtopromote

criticalthinking,includingafocusona)effectivequestioningandcritical

challenges;andb)classroomsetup.


Theme4:Somechallengesthatmightexistwhenimplementingcritical

thinkinginclassroomteachinginclude:a)teacherunwillingnessandlackof

training;b)studenthesitations;andc)parentconcerns

Theme5:Teachersandadministratorsneedsupportinordertopromoteand

integratecriticalthinkingintotheirteachingpractices.

Criticalthinkinghasapositiveeffectonstudentandteacherengagement

withintheclassroom.

StudentEngagement

Bothparticipantsarebigadvocatesofcriticalthinking,astheyfeelthatithas

astrongpositiveimpactonstudentengagement.Juliedescribedstudent

engagementinherclassroomas“thathummingsound,wheneveryoneisdoing

something…it’sontaskandit’spurposeful.Studentsareexcitedaboutwhatthey’re

doingandthey’reinvolvedinthetask.Theyfeelliketheyaresucceedingandthat

theyhaveapurpose.”Whenyouprovidestudentswithacriticalthinkingchallenge,

Juliebelieves“there’snorightorwronganswer.”Youareencouragingstudentsto

activatetheirpriorknowledgeandusewhattheyarelearningtorespondtoa

questionusingasetofcriteria.Julieexplainsthatshefrequentlylikestoaskthe

students“howdoyouknow?”Thisencouragesthemtoreferbacktowhatever

criteriatheyhaveco‐createdinordertofigureoutiftheirworksampleorresponse

isastrongone.Inherexperience,thesekindofthoughtprovokingquestionshave

beenextremelyengagingforhergradeonestudents.Thissentimentismirroredin

theliterature.Mutualinquiry,theinvestigationofopen‐endedquestionsandhaving

ateachertakeontheroleoffacilitator,areimportantelementsinvolvedinfostering


studentengagementwithintheclassroom(Caram&Davis,2005).

DuringmydiscussionwithJulie,shementionedherrecentdiscoveryofthe

‘cascadingcurriculum’,whichGarfieldGini‐Newman(2014)definesas“anew

approachtodesigningandimplementingcurriculumthatframeslearningaround

invitationstothinkcriticallyandblendsthebestofdesign‐downplanning,effective

assessment,andsoundinstruction.”Julieexplainsthatbybeingfamiliarwiththe

curriculum,andbyknowingherstudents,sheattemptstoframestudentlearning

aroundabigideathatwillbemeaningfulandrelevanttotheirlives.Juliefurther

explainsthat“wecan’tchangethecurriculum,andwecan’tchangetheexpectations,

butyoucanchangeandbefluidwithhowyouaregoingtobringstudentstowhat

theyneedtoknow.”Byframingnewideasinawaythatareinterestingand

relevant,studentsbecomeinvolvedinthelearningprocess,whichGaryidentifiesas

anintegralpredecessorofstudentengagement.Designingrelevantchallenges

basedontargetexpectationswithinthecurriculumcreatesalearningenvironment

inwhichstudentsareexcitedaboutlearningandwanttoexpressorshowthe

teacherwhattheyhavelearned.Garyexplainsthatwhenhedoeswalk‐throughs,a

classthatpromotescriticalthinkingtypicallylooksdifferentthanonethatdoesnot.

Intheformer,studentsappearmoreengagedandtobethinkingmoredeeply.They

areworkingtowardsachallengebytalkingamongstthemselvesandusing

resourcesandmanipulativesaroundtheclassroomasopposedtobeinglecturedat

bytheteacheratthefrontoftheclass.

TeacherEngagement

Bothresearchparticipantsadmittedanincreaseintheirpersonal


engagementthroughouttheworkdaywhentheyimplementedcriticalthinkinginto

theirteachingpractices.Garystatedthatwiththeintroductionofcriticalthinkingin

theschoolhenowhasstudentsthatareengaged,aswellasteachersthatare

engaged.“Ihaveastaffthatwantstocontinuetolearnandimprovetheirown

instructionaltechniquesandrepertoireinordertobuildonwhatthey’redoingin

theclassroom.It’sexciting–Ihavetoadmit,becauseit’sanenergy;it’sadifferent

wayofdoingthings.”

JuliereiteratedGary’ssentimentregardingtheimplementationofcritical

thinkinginherteachingpractices.“There’salwaysapossibilityandthere’salways

somethingdifferentthatcanhappen.Thereisalwaysadifferentanswerandyou

neverknowwhat’sgoingtocomeup.”Whenstudentsareinvolvedintheirown

learningandstartquestioningwhatisbeingtaught,itisdifficulttopredicttherange

ofcommentsorquestionsthatmayarisewithinanygivenlesson.“It’sinvigorating…

IkeeplearningbecauseIconstantlyhavethoseahamoments.It’snotthe‘turnthe

page,todaywe’redoingthis–check,check,check’typeofteaching.It’snotsolinear

anymoreandIloveit!”Juliecontinues.

Somebenefitsthatcanresultfromintegratingcriticalthinkingintoclassroom

teachinginclude:a)anincreaseinstudentachievement;b)anincreasein

students’higherorderthinking;andc)teachersbettermeettheneedsofall

typesoflearners.

Increaseinstudentachievement

Myanalysisoftheinterviewresponsesrevealedthatcriticalthinkinghasa

positiveeffectonstudentachievement.Bothparticipantsagreedonthisstatement;


however,theirresponsesdifferedintermsoftheextentthattheybelievecritical

thinkinghasapositiveimpactonstudentachievement.Asagradeonehomeroom

teacher,Juliebelievesthatcriticalthinking“helpsachievement”,thoughshewas

unsureoftheimpactinlatergrades.Sheacknowledgedafearthatifcriticalthinking

wasonlyimplementedintheoldergrades,andstudentswereunfamiliarwiththis

methodoflearning,thattheremightbesomewhatofalearningcurve.“Ithinkifyou

roleitoutingradeone,andthey[students]don’tknowanydifferently…Isayit

certainlysupportsachievement.”

Asanexperiencedadministrator,Garywasabletoconfidentlydisclosethat

“asapartofourschoolimprovementplan,ithasshownavastincreaseinEQAO

scores,inanecdotaldata,inboarddata,andinstudentreportcardsbecauseofwhat

wehavedonewithcriticalthinking.”Headdedthatcriticalthinkinghasbecomea

conversationwiththeparentcommunityatcouncilmeetingsandthatparentshave

wantedtoputtogetherandparticipateinacriticalthinkingeveninginorderto

learnmoreaboutit.Hebelievesthatonceparentsbecomemoreawareofthisshift

inlearning,theywillbeabletobettersupporttheirchildrenandstudent

achievementwillincreasefurther.

Increaseinhigherorderthinking Asaschooladministrator,Garynotedthattheyareconstantlybrainstorming

waysinwhichstudentscanmoveforwardandexpandonthequalityoftheir

thinking,andinturn,theirlearning.Hesaysthattheadministrationhasworked

tirelesslyoverthepastthreeyearstotryandfigureoutwhatmoretheycandoto

buildonstudentthinkingandhelpenhancestudentlearningandachievement,and


theybelievethattheimplementationofcriticalthinkingandinquiry‐basedlearning

intoeducators’teachingpracticeshasclosedthatgap.Garyrevealedthat“themain

goalistohavestudentsmovebeyondthatrotelearning”andinsteadbecomea

communityofthinkers.Hewentontoexplainhowcriticalthinkingexpandsstudent

thinking.

Inaschoolcontext,whenwetalkaboutcriticalthinking…weknowthatourkidsdoingwhattheyhavetypicallydonewillalwaysgetthoselevel3s.Webelievethatcriticalthinkingmovesthestudentsalongthecontinuumtothatlevel4,wheretheyareworkingwiththebigideasandmovingtothatnextlevelintheirthinking.

Thenotionofbuildingonstudents’thinkingskillswasreferredtointheliterature.It

wasmentionedthatinorderforstudentstothriveinthe21stcenturyandtomake

lasting,positivecontributionstotheirworld,theywillrequireasolidfoundationof

literacyandnumeracyskills,aswellasaneducationthatisdeeplyrootedin

thinkingandaction(TheLiteracyandNumeracySecretariat,2008).Ifnot,students

willbelessequippedtohandleproblemsthatariseintherealworld(Teele,2006).

WhenIinquiredabouttheeffectthatutilizingcriticalthinkingstrategieshas

onstudentengagement,Julierespondedwithasimpleword–curiosity.She

elaboratedfurtherbystating“curiosityandstamina…becausethere’snogivingup.

Thereisno‘thisisboring’,youknow,thestudentshaveachallengeandeveryone

feelsliketheycansucceed,andeveryonewantstoknoworshowsomething.”This

findingwasalsoconfirmedintheliterature.Studentsengageinlearningwhenthey

areintrinsicallymotivatedbycuriosity,interestandenjoymentorwhentheywant

tofulfillpersonalgoals.Whenfacedwithlearningthattheyperceiveasmeaningful,

studentsbecomeincreasinglyeagertoextendtheirknowledge(Caram&Davis,


2005).

Criticalthinkinghelpsmeettheneedsofalltypesoflearners

Bothresearchparticipantsagreedthatimplementingopportunitiesfor

criticalthinkingwithinthelearningcontexthelpedmeettheneedsofalltypesof

learnersintheclassroom,includingthosewithspecialneedsandEnglishlanguage

learners(ELLs).Garyexplainedthathebelievescriticalthinkingallowsfor

differentiationofinstructionandthatithelpsmeettheneedsofstudentswhofallall

alongthecontinuum.“Whenyoulookatstudentswhohavebeenidentified,orkids

thatareELLorESL,averyprescribedprogramdoesn’tnecessarilymakethemfeel

comfortablebecausetheymaylacksomeoftheskillsthatareexpectedofthem.”He

mentionedthatwhetherastudenthasaprocessingdisorderoralanguagedeficit,

criticalthinkingchallengesmightgivethemanopportunitytoapproachthelearning

inadifferentway.“Itmakesthemfeelliketheyareapartofwhat’sgoingoninthe

classroom.They’rebeingreflectedmore,versusbeingisolatedorremovedforaSSC

[studentsupportcentre]program.Ithinkit[criticalthinking]hasagreatimpactto

behonest.”Julieadded,“giventherighttimeandtherightsupportallstudentswill

succeed.”

Therearenumerousstrategiesusedintheclassroomtopromotecritical

thinking,includingafocusona)effectivequestioningandcriticalchallenges;

andb)classroomsetup.

Bothresearchparticipantshaveextensiveknowledgeandexperience

regardingtheuseofcriticalthinkingintheclassroomsetting.Intervieweeshave

beeninvolvedintheteachingprofessionlongenoughthattheybothwitnessedthe


initialintroductionofcriticalthinkingasaninitiativewithintheteaching

community.Aswell,theyhavebothhadtheopportunitytopromoteandintegrate

criticalthinkingintotheirownindividualteachingpractices,andstrivetodosoona

dailybasisusingavarietyofstrategies.

EffectiveQuestioningandCriticalChallenges

Bothparticipantsmentioneffectivequestioningasausefulstrategyin

promotinghigher‐orderthinkingskillsandcriticalthinkingamongststudents.They

speakofmovingawayfromsimpleyesornotypequestionsandtowardsquestions

thataskthestudentswhy?;howcome?;andhowdoyouknow?Juliesharedarecent

instanceinwhichshemanagedtogetthestudentstothinkdeeperaboutwhatthey

werelearning.

We’recurrentlylearningproceduralwritinginliteracyandwe’relearningaboutstructuresinscience.Inclasswetalkedaboutmaterialsinstructuresaswellasmaterialsinproceduralwriting.Wetalkedaboutwhyit’sthesameword,andwhatdoesthatmean,andsotheycanhavesomesortofbetterunderstandingoftheword‘material’.It’lldeepentheirunderstandinginbothwritingandinscience.

Goingbeyondthecurriculumandhavingthestudentsquestionwhattheyare

learningandwhattheteacherissayingwasmentionedduringconversationswith

bothresearchparticipants.Garyexplains,“It[criticalthinking]isthekidsengaged

inactivitieswheretheyarethinkingbeyondjusttwotimestwoequalsfour.They’re

lookingathowelsetheycangettofour...whethertheymakefourgroupsofone,or

whateveritmightbe.”Hecontinuesthatwhencriticalthinkingisintegratedintoa

classroomsetting,therearelotsofconversationsbetweenstudentsandtheteacher

andwhattheteachersaysisnottheendallandbeall,asitoncewasineducation.

Garyadds,“Thekidsstartquestioningandsaying“sowhat?”andtheteacherstarts


saying“sowhat?”andencouragesthestudentstoexpandonitall.”Thisfindingis

mirroredintheliterature.Criticalthinkersareopentonewideas,questionideas,

andarenotafraidtotakeanunpopularstand;however,theyarealsoflexibleand

areabletoseeanother’spointofview(Case,2008).

Julieexplainsthatintheconfinesofhergradeoneclass,criticalthinkingis

implementedthroughabasicquestionorchallengethatisposedtothestudents.

Herclasswasworkingondatamanagementinmathematics,andthestudents

collectedinformationaboutshoes.Thequestionsshepresentedtothestudents

movedbeyondwhichkindofshoetheysawthemostandwhichtypeofshoewas

representedtheleast.Rather,theclassdiscussedwhowouldbenefitmostbyhaving

thisinformationandwhy.Julieexplainedthataseducatorswemustassiststudents

inmakingsenseoftheirworldbasedonwhattheyknow,byincorporatingtheir

priorlearning.Sheexplainedthatpresentingstudentswithcriticalchallengesona

dailybasisprovidesstudentswithmanyopportunitiestothinkdeeplyandcritically

throughamultitudeofmeaningfulproblems.Julie’saccountissimilarlystatedinthe

literature.Case(2008)saysthatteachersshouldnotpresentstudentswithpre‐

packagedinformationmeantformentalstorage,butassiststudentsininternalizing,

questioningandutilizinginformationtoworkthroughcriticalchallenges.

ClassroomSetup

Bothintervieweesexpressedacommonvisionofwhattheimplementationof

criticalthinkinglookslikewithinaclassroom.Theyexplainedaclassroominwhich

theteacherisnolongerthemasterofknowledgethatstandsatthefrontoftheclass,

astheyalwayshaveinthepast.Conversely,bothparticipantstalkedaboutthe


teachertakingontheroleoffacilitatorwhostandstothesideoratthebackof

today’sclassrooms.Garyreveals,

It’sadifferentfeelingintheclassroom…it’sadifferentnoiselevelintheclassroom.It’slikewe’vegonefromtheteacherbeingatthefrontoftheroomtobeingatthebackontheroom,whilethekidsareengagedinacriticalthinkingorinquiry‐basedactivity.It’sjustadifferentlookintheclassroomtotally.

Insteadofthestudentsbeingpassivelearnersintheclassroomcontext,theynow

constructtheirownknowledgeandareheldmoreaccountableovertheirown

learning.Learningintentionsandsuccesscriteriashouldbeco‐constructedbetween

theteacherandthestudents.Aswell,studentscanhaveleadershiproleswithinthe

classroomcontextthatallowsthemtofeelliketheyhaveanimpactonwhatgoeson

intheclassroom.Thisideaismentionedintheliterature.Case&Daniels(2008)

notethatinordertopromotecriticalthinking,itisessentialtofosteracritical

communitywithintheclassroom,inwhichtheteacherandstudentsinteractin

mutuallysupportiveways.

Bothparticipantsmentionedthatinorderforacriticalthinkingmethodology

toberealizedintheclassroom,theteachermustcreateanenvironmentthat

supportsthinkingandlearning.Theydiscussedhavingtheclassroomsetupin

groupsofdesks,insteadofrows.Thisallowsstudentstheopportunitytotalkand

discussconceptsamongstthemselves.Thisideaisechoedintheliterature.Good

criticalthinkerstypicallyconversewithothersinordertoextendtheirknowledge,

testtheirideasandbeliefs,andreceivealternateperspectives(Case&Daniels,

2008).


Somechallengesthatmightexistwhenimplementingcriticalthinkingin

classroomteachinginclude:a)teacherunwillingnessandlackoftraining;b)

studenthesitations;andc)parentconcerns.

TeacherUnwillingnessandLackofTraining

Bothparticipantsspokeofsomeinstances,inwhichanumberofeducators

haveresistedimplementingcriticalthinkingintheirclassrooms,simplybecause

theybelievethattherotetypeteachingthattheyareusedtohasproveneffectivein

thepastandthatitisaneasierinstructionalpractice.Thisfindingwasmirroredin

theliterature:Manyeducatorshavepreconceptionsaboutthecontentinthe

curriculumandhowtoteachit,whichprohibitstheirabilitytothinkcriticallyabout

thematerial.Itisdifficultforsometeacherstoadoptanewstyleofteachingorto

believethatthereisamoreeffective,engagingwaytoteachthecurriculum(Snyder

&Snyder,2008).

GaryandJuliealsomentionedthemanyeducatorswhowishtoimplement

criticalthinkingwithintheirteachingpractices,buthavenotbeentaughthowtodo

soinaneffectiveway.“Wecanthinkthatwe’reworkinginacriticalthinking

framework,wheninrealitywearejusttakingouroldpatternsanddoingtheexact

samethingaswe’vealwaysdone,”Garyrevealed.Recentliteraturehasalsonoted

lackofteachertrainingasabarriertothesuccessofcriticalthinking.Snyderand

Snyder(2008)explainedthatmanyexperiencedteachersarenottrainedincritical

thinkingmethodology.Theyreceivetraininginmethodsofinstruction;however,

littleornoneofthetrainingtheyreceivedevotesanytimetocriticalthinkingskills

andhowtoteachthem.


Garyadmittedthateveryteacherwithinhisschooliscurrentlyattemptingto

teachwithinacriticalthinkingframework,however,theyrangeinhoweffectively

theyhavebeenabletoimplementit.“Dependingonhowwemeasuresuccess…we

stillhaveteachersthatareatalevel1and2[intermsofeffectivelyincorporating

criticalthinkingintotheirteachingpractices],whileotherstaffareatalevel4+.”

Garyexpressedtheobstacleinwhichnewteachersbringtotheconsistencyof

effectivecriticalthinkingwithintheclassrooms.“Itisachallenge–Iadmitit;

becauseeveryoneisallover.Also,withtheconstantshiftinteachers…youbring

someonenewinandyouneedtostartthemofffromthebeginning,versus

continuingtomoveforward.”Hecontinuedbyexplainingthatthischallengegrows

whenyouthinkaboutbeingapartofalargeschoolboardintheGTAandeveryone

beingatvariousentrypointswithinit.

Wehavespentfouryearsmovingfromarotelearningtypeenvironmenttoverymuchaninquiry‐based,criticalthinkingclassroomcontext.Problemsarisewithallthenewteacherscominginandthedifferentfocusescominginfromtheboard.But,everyoneseemstobeveryeagertochange,asweneedtochange,inordertosupportourstudentstocontinuetoimprove.

Juliestressesthatasaclassroomteacher,youdonotneedtothrowoutwhat

youhaveintermsofresources,materialsandpreviouslessonplans.“It’sabouthow

youtakewhatyouhaveandrealignitsothatstudentsareabletothinkandlearn

moredeeply.You’reworkingwiththekidsatco‐constructing,co‐reflecting,and

buildingoninstructionalpracticesthatsupportstudentsinlearning.”

StudentHesitations

Participantsnotedthatstudenthesitationsmightbeachallenge,assome

studentswouldhavetobecomeaccustomedtoanewapproachtothinkingand


learninginschool.Julieemphasizedthatshedoesnotseecriticalthinkingasa

challengeinhergrade1class,asstudentsdon’tknowanydifferently.“Iamguessing

itcouldbesomewhatofachallengetoimplement[criticalthinking]inthelater

gradesifstudentshadn’tbeenexposedtoit.”Shealsodiscussedhowcritical

thinkingcouldbedifficultforcertainstudentsbasedontheirlearningstyle.“You

know,there’salwaysastudentintheclasswhowantstogetit[aquestion]right.To

them,it[learning]isveryblackandwhite.”Julieexplainsthatthechallengethen,is

fortheteachertoshowstudentsthatworkingwithinacriticalthinkingframework

isawayofthinkingandawayoflearningfordeeperunderstanding.

ParentConcerns

Participantsdescribedparentalconcernsasbeingaprimechallengetothe

fullimplementationofcriticalthinking,astheyarenotaccustomedtothewaysin

whichtheirchildrenarelearningandbeingassessedintheclassroom.Additionally,

bothJulieandGaryworkinverymulticulturalschoolenvironments.“Mostofthe

parentscomefromaneducationalsystemwheretheyexpecttheirchildtolearna

newskill,writeatestandthenhavethetestcomehome,”Garystated.Headmits

thatitisverydifficultforparentstoacceptthatthisisnolongerhowweteachor

assessstudentswithinourschools.Julieaddedthatatestmaybepartofastudent’s

overallgrade,howeverstudentsaregivenmanyotheropportunitiestoshowwhat

theyknow.Garyexpressedthedifficultyofteachingandassessingwithinacritical

thinkingframeworkinaveryimmigrantcommunity.Fortheseparents,“it’sa

paradigmshift.”


Teachersandadministratorsneedsupportinordertopromoteandintegrate

criticalthinking

Throughinterviewswithbothresearchparticipants,itbecameclearthat

teachersandadministratorsrequiresupportsinordertoeffectivelyimplement

criticalthinkingintotheirteachingpractices.Asanadministrator,Gary

acknowledgedthetimeconstraintsthatexistonprofessionaldevelopmentfor

teachersonthetopicofcriticalthinking.“Weneedtoconsiderhowtocontinueto

buildtheskillsandconfidenceoftheteacherswithworkinginthatcriticalthinking

domain[withintheschool].”Heexpandedbyexplainingthatathisschool,the

teachersworkinaconstructofleadershipteams.

Wehavetwocurriculumleads,onepositiveclimateforlearningleadandseveralengagementleads.Astheyearmovesforward,thecurriculumleadsattendsessionsoncriticalthinkingandlearnhowtoembeditintoateachingprogram.Thentheycomebackanddiscusstheirnewknowledgewiththecompleteleadershipteamwithintheschool.Fromthere,theleadershipteamlooksatnextsteps.

Garysaysthatonceamonththeyembeddivisionaltimeandprofessional

development(PD)intotheirstaffmeetings.Hepointedoutthatthisgivesteachers

timetoworkcollaborativelywithgradepartnersordivisionalpartnerstodevelop

unitsorlessonsthatembedcriticalthinkingwithinthem.

Julieattributedherabilitytoimplementcriticalthinkingwithinthe

classroomtoavarietyofdifferentsupports.Sherevealedthatherpersonal

commitmenttolifelonglearninghasdefinitelybeenafactorwhendeterminingher

abilityanddesiretoteachwithinacriticalthinkingframework.Juliementionedthe

professionaldevelopmentsessionsthatshehasattendedandthemanyresources

availabletoeducatorsontheboardwebsite,suchasTCsquared.“Therewerealot


ofdifferentavenuesthatwereavailabletome,thatIcertainlytookadvantageof.”

Shealsoemphasizedtheexperiencesshehashad“co‐teaching,co‐learning,co‐

reflectingandco‐debriefingwithotherteachers.”Bothparticipantsfeltstrongly

abouttheimplementationofcriticalthinkingwithinteachingpracticesandthat

supportswerenecessaryinordertodosoeffectively;however,Iwassurprisedby

thelackofprofessionaldevelopmenttheysaidwasavailabletoteachers.

Garytalkedaboutfourdivisionactionplansthathisschoolhascreatedbased

onspecificneedsofstudentsineachgrade.Headdsthatembeddedwithineach

divisionplaniscriticalthinking.

Withtheimplementationoffull‐dayKindergarten,wehavebeenthinkingabouthowwecouldembedcriticalthinkingintoaplay‐basedprogram.Ingrades1‐3,ourdatashowsreadingasaweakness,sowehaveconsideredwaysinwhichwecanembedcriticalthinkinginimprovingstudentsreadingskills.Inthejuniordivision,weaknessesliewithintheareaofmathematics.Howdowebuildoncriticalthinkingandusethree‐partmathlessonstoassistourstudentswithmath?Ingrades7and8,wearefocusingontheglobalinternationalthinker.Wewantourstudentstothinkcriticallyabouthow,asoneperson,theycanhaveanimpactonthebiggerglobalpicture.So,wehavelookedatourdataandlookedathowwecanembedcriticalthinkingintothespecificneedsofourstudents.

Theideaofembeddingcriticalthinkingthroughoutvariousareasofthecurriculum

isechoedintheliterature.ResearchbyCaseandDaniels(2008)showsthatcritical

thinkinginstructionisnoteffectivewhentaughtinisolationandshouldbe

integratedintoeverycomponentofthecurriculum.


Chapter5:DISCUSSION

Reflections Conductingthisresearchintheareaofcriticalthinkingmethodologyhas

givenmeanopportunitytodeeplyreflectonmyownknowledgeandpracticeasa

beginningteacher.Criticalthinkinghasmanybenefits,includingthatofstudent

engagementwithinaclassroom.Case(2005)revealsinhisresearchthattheideaof

criticalthinkinghasbeenaroundformanyyearsandhasbeenrecognizedasan

importanteducationalgoal.However,throughmyfindingsInoticedthatagapstill

exitsbetweenthesebeliefsandclassroomimplementation.Theimportanceof

criticalthinkingismentionedineverycurriculumdocumentacrossOntario,andyet

itseemsasthoughthemajorityofeducatorshavenotfiguredouthowtoeffectively

embeditintotheirownteachingpracticesandmoreimportantly,havenotbeen

taught.Whilereviewingandanalyzingmydata,Inoticedthatsomeofmyfindings

wereexpectedandothersunexpected.Nevertheless,theyprovidedmanyvaluable

insightsintomyareaofresearch.Myfindingsraisedanumberofquestionsthatwill

beexaminedfurtherinthissectionoftheresearchproject.

First,bothresearchparticipantsspokeabouttheirbeliefsregardingcritical

thinkingandhowtheyeitherimplementorseeitbeingimplementedinthe

classroom.IwasnotsurprisedthatbothGaryandJuliesupportedtheideaof

teachingwithinacriticalthinkingframework.Theymentionedtheschoolboard’s

initiativetohavestudentsthinkcritically,andthestepsthattheyarebothtakingto

ensureit’seffectiveembedmentintoteachers’andadministrators’practices.Both

participantssawtheneedtopushstudentsforwardintermsoftheirthinkingandI


personallysharethissentimentaswell.Ibelievethatwhenimplementedeffectively

intoone’steachingpractices,criticalthinkingcanhaveamazingbenefitsthatgo

beyondstudentengagement.Myresearchsupportedthisthought,asIfoundthat

whenusedeffectivelycriticalthinkinghadpositiveeffectsonstudentachievement,

studentengagement,deepeningstudents’higher‐orderthinkingskillsand

differentiatinginstructionforalltypesoflearners.Therefore,Iincorporatedcritical

thinkingchallengesintomyteachingthroughoutmypracticumexperiences.

Itisevidentthatmanyteachersandadministratorslackaclearvisionof

whatcriticalthinkingisandwhatitshouldlikewithinaclassroomcontext.

Furthermore,manyeducatorslackthenecessarytrainingthatwouldbeneededto

gainaclearunderstandingofthestrategiesthatcouldbeusedinorderto

implementiteffectively.

Somethingthatsurprisedmeintheprocessofmyresearchstudywasthe

amountofchallengesthatwerediscussedregardingtheimplementationofcritical

thinking.Priortothisstudy,Ihadonlythoughtofthebenefitsofcriticalthinking

andnevertrulyconsideredtheobstaclesthatexistformanyteachersand

administrators.Twochallengesthatwererevealedthroughmyfindingswere

parentalconcernsaswellasaccustomingstudentstoanewwayoflearning.

Additionally,bothparticipantsmentionedalackoftrainingasachallenge,asmany

teachersdonotattendPDsessionsoncriticalthinkingduetotimeconstraints.Asa

result,theyknowthatcriticalthinkingisinthecurriculum,andareawareofits

benefits,butdonotknowhowtoimplementitsuccessfullyintotheirprogram.The

benefitsofcriticalthinkingwillnotbeachievedbysimplymandatingthatitbeused


inclassrooms.Teachersneedtobetaughthowtoimplementcriticalthinkingtothe

pointwheretheyfeelconfidentcreatingtheconditionsthatarerequiredtohave

studentsthinkdeeplyforunderstanding.

ImplicationsandRecommendations

Thisresearchstudyhasseveralimplicationsformeasabeginningteacher.

Learningfromtwoexperiencededucatorswhosupportandintegratecritical

thinkingmethodologyintotheirprogramprovidespracticaladviceformeasa

teacherwhoaspirestocreateacommunityofthinkersinmyfutureclassrooms.

First,IunderstandthatIneedtoremainpassionateaboutimplementingcritical

thinkingintomyteaching,asImayfacechallengesintheprocess.Itwilltake

initiativeandadvocacyonmypartinordertoattendprofessionaldevelopment

sessionsoncriticalthinking,astheyarenotrequiredorreadilyavailableto

teachers.Ialsounderstandthatevenifmyschoolandboardsupportcritical

thinkingintheclassroom,Iwillstillhavetoseekoutlearningopportunitiesinorder

toimplementiteffectivelyandsuccessfullywithinmyprogram.

ThroughmyresearchIlearnedthatthereareopportunitiesandchallenges

thatcomealongwithembeddingcriticalthinkingintoone’steachingpractices.Ifwe

hopetorealizethebenefitsofcriticalthinking,therearecertainchallengesthat

needtobeattendedto.Ilearnedthatsimplyprovidingstudentswithacritical

thinkingchallengeorquestionisnotenoughtodeveloptheirabilitytothinkdeeply

forunderstanding.Ifwehopetonurturecriticallythoughtfullearners,wemust

createanenvironmentthatsupportsthinking,providemanyopportunitiesfor

thinking,focusinstructionondevelopingtheintellectualtoolsthatsupportthinking,


andassessthequalityofstudentthinking(Gini‐Newman&Case,2014).Failureto

developoneofthesevariablesmaygeneratedisappointingresults.So,thereis

tremendouspotentialifcriticalthinkingisimplementedeffectively,buteducators

needtobeinformedonhowtodoso.Ifteachersarenotinformed,theymayprovide

studentswithmorerigoroustasksbutwillnotbeprovidingstudentswiththetools

andstrategiestheyneedtodothethinking.

IntermsofhowIwillcontinuemyprofessionallearning,Iwillseekoutevery

opportunitytofurthermyunderstandingofcriticalthinkingandhowtoeffectively

implementitthroughoutmyprogram.IintendtoparticipateinPDsessions,learn

fromothereducatorsandexperimentwithinmyclassroom.Itwasinmyfirst

practicumschoolthatIwasintroducedtotheideaofcriticalthinking,andteaching

fordeepunderstanding.Sincethen,criticalthinkinghasbeendiscussedinanumber

ofmycoursesinmyteachereducationprogramandIhavetakenituponmyselfto

furthermyknowledgeonthetopic.IunderstandGary’scommentsregarding

teachersdesiretosticktothatrotetypeoflearning,asitmaybeeasierandlesstime

consuming.However,throughmyresearchIhavecometorealizehowprofoundthe

benefitsofcriticalthinkingcanbe,ifimplementedsuccessfullyandifseenasone’s

foundationforteachingandlearning.Iunderstandtheimportanceofeducating21st

centurylearners,andmysentimentsregardingcriticalthinkinginclassroomshas

onlygrownstrongerthroughdiscussionswithbothresearchparticipants.After

havingtheopportunitytolearnfromtwoexperiencededucatorsregardingthe

benefitscriticalthinkingcanhaveonstudents,Iamevenmoreeagertointegratea

criticalthinkingmethodologyintomyteachingpractice.


Asaresultofmyresearch,Ihavedevelopedsomeadvicefortheeducational

communitytoconsider.Myrecommendationsincludethefollowingmainpoints:

‐ Inpre‐serviceeducation,beginningteachersshouldhavearequiredcourse

thatoutlineswhatcriticalthinkingisandhowitcanbesuccessfully

implementedintoone’steachingpractices.Beginningteachersshouldsee

examplesofclassroomsinwhichteachingandlearningisachievedthrougha

criticalthinkingframeworksothattheycanexperiencefirst‐handthe

benefitsofdoingso.

‐ Practicingteachersshouldattempttocreateaclassroomcultureinwhich

criticalthinkingisembracedasamethodologyratherthananisolatedgoal.It

mustbeusedacrossthecurriculum,througheverycourseandallsubject

matter.Aseducators,wemustinviteourlearnerstothinkcritically,and

providethemwiththenecessarytoolsandstrategiestodoso.Indoingthis,

weareundoubtedlyimprovingstudents’chancesoflearningand

understandingtherequiredcontentonadeeperlevel.

‐ Schoolboardsandadministratorsneedtoprovideteacherswithmore

opportunitiestoattendandparticipateinprofessionaldevelopment

regardingtheimplementationofcriticalthinkingintheclassroom.Many

educatorspossessavagueideaastowhatcriticalthinkingmeansandthe

benefitsthatitcanhaveinourclassrooms.Furthermore,theylackthe

trainingtobeabletoembedcriticalthinkingintheirteachingpractices,even

iftheyhadadesiretodoso.


LimitationsandFurtherStudy

Iacknowledgethatthereareanumberoflimitationstomyresearchstudy.

Tore‐iterate,thesamplesizewaslimitedtotwoparticipantsfromthesameschool

board.Therefore,thefindingsarenoteasilygeneralizedtotheteachingcommunity

atlarge.Iwouldbeinterestedtohearaboutandlearnfromthepracticeofmany

moreteacherswhoincorporatecriticalthinkingfromavarietyofdifferentschool

boards.Additionally,bothparticipantsworkwithinschoolsthatencourageand

expectteacherstoimplementcriticalthinkingintoclassroompractices.Though

criticalthinkingismentionedineverycurriculumdocumentinOntario,itwouldbe

interestingtostudytheexperiencesofteacherswhoincorporatecriticalthinking

withoutthesupportoftheirfellowteachersandadministration.Mypersonalbiases

andpreconceptionsregardingtheuseofcriticalthinkingintheclassroomandthe

effectsthatithasonstudentengagementalsopresentlimitationstothisresearch

study.

Somefutureresearchstudiesmaydeveloparoundthefollowingquestions:

‐ Howcanteachereducationprogramsstructuretheirprogramstoinfluence

futureteacherstoeffectivelyintegratecriticalthinkingintheclassroom?

‐ Howcanschoolsprovidesupporttoteacherswhoareunsurehowto

implementcriticalthinkingintotheirdailyteaching?

‐ Howcanschooladministratorsinfluencecurrentandfutureteachersto

incorporateacriticalthinkingframeworkintheirteachingpractices?

‐ Howdostudentsperceivecriticalthinkingandhowdotheyvalueitasan

instructionalframeworkinwhichtheythinktolearn?


Conclusion Afterhavinganopportunitytoreflectuponmyfindings,Ihavecometo

understandthevalueinwhichcriticalthinkingholdswithintheconfinesofa

classroom.Iappreciatethepowerfulbenefitsthatcriticalthinkingcanhaveif

approachedandimplementedeffectively.However,Ihavealsocometorecognize

themanychallengesthatexistininfusingthisinstructionalapproachintoone’s

teachingpractices.Mygoalasaneducatoristoengagestudentsinmeaningfuland

authenticlearning,byprovidingthemwiththeopportunitiesandnecessarytoolsto

engageinqualitythinking,andinturn,qualitylearning.


REFERENCES

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(2008).Instructionalinterventionsaffectingcriticalthinkingskillsand

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1102‐1134.

Broadbear,J.T.(2003).Essentialelementsoflessonsdesignedtopromotecritical

thinking.JournalofScholarshipofTeachingandLearning,3(3),1–8.

Caram,C.A.,&Davis,P.B.(2005).Invitingstudentengagementwithquestioning.

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Case,R.(2008).Beyondinertfacts:Teachingforunderstandinginelementarysocial

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Case,R.,&Daniels,L.(2008).Teachingthetoolstothinkcritically.Theanthologyof

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Chance,P.(1986).Thinkingintheclassroom:Asurveyofprograms.NewYork:

TeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity.

Chickering,A.W.,&Gamson,Z.F.(1987).Sevenprinciplesforgoodpracticein

undergraduateeducation.AAHEBulletin,3‐7.

Finn,J.D.(1993).Schoolengagementandstudentsatrisk.Washington,DC:National

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Fredricks,J.A.,Blumenfeld,P.C.,&Paris,A.H.(2004).Schoolengagement:Potential

fortheconcept,stateoftheevidence.ReviewofEducationalResearch,74(1),

59–83.RetrievedfromAcademicSearchPremierdatabase.

Hooks,B.(2010).Teachingcriticalthinking:Practicalwisdom.NewYork:Routledge.

Marks,H.(2000).StudentEngagementinInstructionalActivity:Patternsinthe

Elementary,Middle,andHighSchoolYears.AmericanEducationalResearch

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theoryandapplication.Columbus,OH:CharlesMerrill.

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achievement.(Unpublisheddoctoraldissertation).

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APPENDICES

AppendixA:LetterofConsentforInterview

Date:November19th,2013IamagraduatestudentatOISE,UniversityofToronto,andamcurrentlyenrolledasaMasterofTeachingcandidate.Iamstudyingcriticalthinkingandstudentengagementforthepurposesofinvestigatinganeducationaltopicasamajorassignmentforourprogram.Ithinkthatyourknowledgeandexperiencewillprovideinsightsintothistopic.IamwritingareportonthisstudyasarequirementoftheMasterofTeachingProgram.MycourseinstructorwhoisprovidingsupportfortheprocessthisyearisDr.SusanSchwartz.MyresearchsupervisorisDr.GarfieldGini‐Newman.Thepurposeofthisrequirementistoallowustobecomefamiliarwithavarietyofwaystodoresearch.Mydatacollectionconsistsofa40minuteinterviewthatwillbetape‐recorded.Iwouldbegratefulifyouwouldallowmetointerviewyouataplaceandtimeconvenienttoyou.Icanconducttheinterviewatyourofficeorworkplace,inapublicplace,oranywhereelsethatyoumightprefer.Thecontentsofthisinterviewwillbeusedformyassignment,whichwillincludeafinalpaper,aswellasinformalpresentationstomyclassmatesand/orpotentiallyataconferenceorpublication.Iwillnotuseyournameoranythingelsethatmightidentifyyouinmywrittenwork,oralpresentations,orpublications.Thisinformationremainsconfidential.Theonlypeoplewhowillhaveaccesstomyassignmentworkwillbemyresearchsupervisorandmycourseinstructor.Youarefreetochangeyourmindatanytime,andtowithdrawevenafteryouhaveconsentedtoparticipate.Youmaydeclinetoansweranyspecificquestions.Iwilldestroythetaperecordingafterthepaperhasbeenpresentedand/orpublishedwhichmaytakeuptofiveyearsafterthedatahasbeencollected.Therearenoknownrisksorbenefitstoyouforassistingintheproject,andIwillsharewithyouacopyofmynotestoensureaccuracy.Pleasesigntheattachedform,ifyouagreetobeinterviewed.Thesecondcopyisforyourrecords.Thankyouverymuchforyourhelp.Yourssincerely,Researchname:CarlySazant


Phonenumber,email:416‐786‐7200,[email protected]’sName:Dr.SusanSchwartzPhonenumber:(416)978‐0076, Email:[email protected]’sName:Dr.GarfieldGini‐NewmanPhone#:(416)978‐0193,Email:ggininewman.gini.newman@utoronto.caConsentFormIacknowledgethatthetopicofthisinterviewhasbeenexplainedtomeandthatanyquestionsthatIhaveaskedhavebeenansweredtomysatisfaction.IunderstandthatIcanwithdrawatanytimewithoutpenalty.Ihavereadtheletterprovidedtomeby_______________________(nameofresearcher)andagreetoparticipateinaninterviewforthepurposesdescribed.Signature:________________________________________Name(printed):___________________________________Date:______________________


AppendixB:InterviewQuestions

Interview#1–Classroomteacher:

BackgroundInformation

1. Whatgradedoyouteach?

2. Howlonghaveyoubeenteaching?

TeachingPractice

3. Tellmeaboutatypicaldayinyourclassroom?

Understandingofcriticalthinking

4. Whatdoescriticalthinkingmeantoyou?

TeachingPractice/Strategies/Methods

5. Whatisyourpersonalphilosophyregardingtheuseofcriticalthinkinginthe

classroom?

6. Wouldyousaythatyousometimes,regularly,oroftenincorporatecritical

thinkinginyourteachingpractices?

7. Whatmethodsdoyouusetostimulatecriticalthinkinginyourstudents?

UnderstandingofStudentEngagement

8. Howwouldyoudefinestudentengagement?

TeachingPractice/Strategies

9. Whatdoesstudentengagementlooklikeinyourclassroom?

10. Whatisoneofthemosteffectivestrategiesyouhaveusedinyourclassroomto

promotestudentengagement?


StudentOutcomes

11. Inyourexperience,whenyouutilizedcriticalthinkingstrategies,whateffectdid

ithaveonstudentengagement?

12. Whatimpactdoyouthinkcriticalthinkinghasonstudentachievement?

13. Iscriticalthinkingapplicabletoallstudents—includingthosewithspecialneeds,

andEnglishLanguageLearners?Pleaseexplain.

TeacherEngagement

14. Howdoescriticalthinkingaffectyourownpersonalengagementwhileteaching?

PossibleChallenges

15. Whatchallenges,ifany,doyoufaceinencouragingcriticalthinkinginyour

classroom?

ImprovingInstruction

16. Whatsupports,ifany,doyouhaveinimplementingcriticalthinkinginyour

teaching?

Thankyouforyourtimeandinput!


Interview#2–Schooladministrator:

BackgroundInformation

1. Howlonghaveyoubeenaprincipal?

2. Forhowmanyyearswereyouaclassroomteacher?

3. Whatgradesdidyouteach?

UnderstandingofStudentEngagementandCriticalThinking

4. Whatdoyoubelievestudentengagementlookslikeinaclassroom?

5. Whatdoescriticalthinkingmeantoyou?

PersonalPhilosophy

6. Whatisyourpersonalphilosophyregardingtheuseofcriticalthinkinginthe

classroom?

ImplementationofCriticalThinking

7. Whenyouwereateacher,wascriticalthinkingapartofyourphilosophyand

classroomteaching?Pleaseexplain.

8. Iscriticalthinkingapartofyourschoolimprovementplan?

9. Ifyes,howsuccessfuldoyoubelieveteachersareatembeddingcritical

thinkingintotheirroutinepractices?

10. Howoftendoyoufindthatteachersencouragecriticalthinkingintheir

students?(e.g.,sometimes,regularly,often)

ImprovingInstruction

11. Whatprofessionaldevelopmentareyourteachersreceivingintheareaof

criticalthinkingorcriticalliteracy?(Probe:supports,resources,consultants)


StudentOutcomes

12. Howdoyouseecriticalthinkingaffectingthelevelofstudentengagementin

yourschool?

13. Whatimpactdoyouthinkcriticalthinkinghasonstudentachievement?

14. Doyoubelievethatcriticalthinkingisapplicabletoallstudents—including

thosewithspecialneeds,andEnglishLanguageLearners?Pleaseexplain.

15. Whenyoudowalk‐throughs,whatevidencewouldyoulookforintermsof

criticalthinking?

PossibleChallenges

16. Whatchallenges,ifany,doyouandyourstafffaceinutilizingcriticalthinking

inyourschool?

17. Howdoyouthinkthatyouand/oryourstaffcanovercomethesechallenges?

Promoting Student Engagement Through a Critical Thinking ... · thinking critically and reflecting upon ... new information, solve problems and think critically. ... instruments.

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