Critical Thinking in Collaborative Video Annotations

Collaborative video annotation (CVA) combines media affordances to support critical thinking. A discourse analysis of preservice teachers' annotations in the process of a video-mediated observation of expert teaching revealed that critical judgements co-occurred with higher order thinking (HOT); however, criticism correlated less often with HOT than positive judgements of expert teacher practices. One hundred forty-one learners' small group discussions in CVA showed HOT annotations devoid of all judgment were the most frequent, and of HOT annotations that did contain criticism, applications of knowledge co-occurred most often with critical judgments, while analysis co-occurred most often with positive judgements, and intellectual modesty with mixed criticism. Results suggest that designs aimed at supporting critical thinking might benefit from expanded explanations of the purpose of observations and scaffolds to support the withholding of criticism.

Developing Employability Skills in Information System Graduates

It is widely acknowledged that traditional teaching methods such as lectures, textbooks and case study techniques on their own are not adequate to improving the most in-demand employability skills for graduates. The aim of this article is to explore the potential impact that novel learning and teaching methods can have on improving the employability skills of Management Information System (MIS) graduates. To do so, the article reports the results of an experiment that was conducted with MIS students at the Faculty of Business and Economics in Qatar University, that combined lectures, case study-based workshops, flipped classrooms, presentations, problem-based learning and collaborative learning. The findings of this experiment suggest that known methods of classroom-based learning and teaching used for MIS graduates are failing to develop important graduate skills such as, critical thinking, time management and how to conduct research when faced with challenging problems.

Critical Thinking and Design Education in China

“If a science of societies exists, one must certainly not expect it to consist of a mere paraphrase of traditional prejudices. It should rather cause us to see things in a different way from the ordinary man, for the purpose of any science is to make discoveries, and all such discoveries more or less upset accepted opinions” (Durkheim, 1982). The aim of this paper is to describe the surrounding aspects and difficulties for western teachers to teach the important skill of “critical thinking” in China, and to provide a general point of reference about how to do it. Furthermore, this paper's aim is to introduce the development of significant cultural changes in Chinese society in the last twenty-five years. This paper offers a theory of how these changes effect society Critical thinking learning capabilities are deeply related to the community identity and have a relevant influence on many social aspects such as: relationships, behaviour, communication and business. It is also crucial to foster them in design education to promote innovation and the development of emerging nations.

Critical Consciousness and Empowerment Issues in Undergraduate Classrooms

It is important to practice critical skills in the classroom in order to empower learners and to have a critical consciousness, such as critical thinking, dialogue, and problem solving. In the present study, undergraduate students' perceptions (by gender) of the practice of critical consciousness in the classroom at Taif University, Saudi Arabia is investigated. Freire's conceptualization of critical consciousness is used as the study's theoretical framework. That conceptualization is focused on critical thinking, dialogue, and problem-solving. A quantitative approach is utilized with a self-administered questionnaire in collecting data from the respondents. The results of this study indicated that Saudi undergraduate students' perspective was positive about the practice of the three elements of critical consciousness. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences at α = 0.05 among undergraduate students' perspective on the practice of critical consciousness, including dialogue, critical thinking, and the total practice based on their gender. The direction of the differences was a benefit for females.

Critical Thinking, Critical Doing

This chapter outlines five instructional routines utilized by teacher educators to support the development of not only critical thinking but critical doing for future educators. The five routines—collaborative facilitation, behind-the-glass peer reviews, lesson play, virtual peer coaching, and rehearsals—are both described and expanded in a worked example using data from undergraduate coursework for pre-service teachers in literacy education. Individual routines foreground and background particular elements of the teaching process; however, all maintain an emphasis on critical thinking and doing as a core competency. Importantly, these instructional routines were found to be most effective when (1) preservice teachers are given opportunities to engage in multiple iterations of each routine and (2) preservice teacher doing is surrounded by substantial amounts of teacher educator feedback.

PAR and Digital Inclusion, An Analysis Using the Capabilities Approach and Critical Pedagogy

This paper draws upon the capability approach and critical pedagogy to analyse the value of using Problem-posing Education, a participatory action research method, in a digital inclusion initiative in Brazil. First it the capability approach and explains why using critical pedagogy is a valuable way to deal with issues of power, collective conscientisation and adaptive preference. Freire's pedagogy is then presented and conscientisation is explained as a process of raising critical awareness and praxis. The case study, presents empirical work conducted in Campinas, together with a NGO named CDI, which offers free internet access and basic ICT skills using a Freire's inspired methodology. Findings are then explained and discussed using the theoretical framework. This paper concludes that there is great value in using Freire's critical pedagogy for digital inclusion, but that further research is necessary to identify less resource intense solutions that can provide students with both conscientisation and skills.

Pedagogical Orientation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Redesigning higher education is one of the most widely discussed topics among educators, parents, and other community stakeholders. This is due to the current developments in digital technologies and onset of the fourth industrial revolution which is set to alter the way people live and work. This chapter suggests the implementation of the flipped classroom model as an appropriate approach for equipping students with creative abilities, problem solving skills, thinking skills, and lifelong learning skills. Eight in-service teachers pursuing a postgraduate course on a part-time basis participated in a qualitative study. The study was conducted using asynchronous virtual focus group dialogue sessions. The study addressed three main questions: 1) why they adopted a flipped classroom model, 2) how they implemented it, and 3) what fourth industrial revolution skills were developed using this model. On the whole, this approach created an active and collaborative environment which enabled students to demonstrate their creativity and problem solving skills needed for future careers.

Teachers' and Students' Role in the Learner-Centered Classrooms

Prior to Namibia's independence in 1990, the role of the teacher in an educational environment has been defined as the transmission of information to students, and the teacher was regarded as the all-knowing person in the classroom, who slavishly followed the textbook in transmitting the subject matter to the students. In some cases, the teacher did not understand the subject matter that he/she transmitted to students. Therefore, there was no explanation of what was being taught. Students had to sit passively and listen to the teacher; learn by memorization (rote learning), and recall the transmitted information. This study explored perceptions of the role of teachers and students in learner-centered classrooms in a primary school in Namibia. Learner-centered teachers create learning environments that promote students' active engagement with learning and develop critical thinking skills.

Student Teachers' Perceptions of the Use of LMS for Promoting Critical Thinking in Their Future Teaching Career

The chapter examined student teachers' perceptions of the use of Moodle for promoting critical thinking in their future teaching career. The study used a mixed methods approach with a sample of 70 student teachers from three public universities in Tanzania. Data were collected through a survey, focus group discussions, and a review of documents. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed through SPSS 25 and MaxQDA 18, respectively. The findings indicate the potential of Moodle for promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and professional development. Similarly, there were statistically significant differences between pre-service and in-service teachers in perceptions of satisfaction with Moodle and taking LMS-related jobs in the future. Pedagogical implications of the findings and the area for further research have been discussed.

Dino Lab

Dino Lab is a serious game designed to explore the potential of using games in scientific domains to support critical thinking. Through collaborations with educators and scientists at the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU), game designers and learning scientists at the University of Utah, and Title I middle school teachers and students, the authors have developed a beta version of Dino Lab that supports critical thinking through engagement in a simulation-based game. Dino Lab is organized around four key game stages that incorporate high-level goals, domain-specific rule algorithms that govern legal plays and resulting outcomes, embedded reflection questions, and built-in motivational features. Initial play testing has shown positive results, with students highly engaged in strategic game play. Overall, results suggest that games that support critical thinking have strong potential as student-centered, authentic activities that facilitate domain-based engagement and strategic analysis.