Module 5 Application - Reflection

Module 5 Application-Reflection

Cognition and Critical Thinking

New Assumptions Critical Thinking & Attitude

Evidence

The evidence that is most effective are the articles I have read for this class as well as my own additional research.

Attitude and emotions have a larger role in critical thinking.

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Further Inquiry

Further inquiry is needed in regards to the new assumptions. I do not know how to judge the state on one's mind. Ekaterina M., one student in a study, said, "To work out notions is to know how to think" (Akimova et al., 2020). Is a notion a feeling, an emotion, or an intellectual guess? I am not sure; this is one area where further study is required.

New Assumptions: Evidence Check & Professional Practice

Impact

My actions and thinking are different now. I am more likely to talk with my colleauges to define what critical thinking is before designing an assessment (Cillessen et al., 2020) .

The assumption about a teacher's view of critical thinking shaping students' views in not an assumption that I cannot adequately checked.

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Resources

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Evidence

The most accesible evidence for me is my own personal experience. It is that which I judge everything off of even though I know it is flawed. But the other source of evidence that is accessible to me are the resources provided in this course. Another point in regards to evidence is the evidence, outside my own experience, that I take seriously is interviews or stories from other teachers (Cillessen et al., 2020) . In their short reflections, I see my own experiences. Looking at it from someone else's story allows me to be more objective in evaluating it's validity.

Professional Practice

The new assumption about critical thinking being more than just skills fits in with my professional practice. As a teacher my goal is to teach skills to students. "Despite this, education systems in several countries have developed policies and practices [...] that serve to develop the skill set and mindset of critical thinkers" (Ali et al., 2018) . I may need to shift my method of teaching to include mindset. I need to discuss the idea of teaching mindset with my colleagues. If they agree, I will try doing more in my class to teach students how having a certain frame of mind can impact their choices.

Critical Thinking & Attitudes

A new assumption I have is that critical thinking is more than just skills. It is an openness and willingness to use those higher-level thinking skills (Moghadam et al., 2023). This idea that one must have a growth mindset to more fully use the skills of a critical thinker fascinates me. Another assumption I have gained in this course is teachers views and practices of critical thinking shape how a student uses critical thinking skills as well. There was a study done on teachers preceptions of critical thinking (Cillessen et al., 2020); reading this made me realize how wide and diverse teachers beliefs are. It also made me realize that depending on the teacher, a student can have a very different relationship with critical thinking.

Impact

Beyond talking to my colleauges to define what critical thinking skills we are assessing , I can also change the way I model skills for my students. I remember growing up, my teachers were really good at thinking-aloud so I could understand their thought process. I plan to implement more of this in my teaching to demonstrate how I go through the creative process. I will also continue to seek out evidence in my own experience regarding my assumptions. By talking to my colleagues as well, I will be able to ascertain whether critical thinking includes more than just skills.

Resources

Akimova, M. O., Ishchenko, T. N., & Stepanenko, T. A. (2020). Problem-based questions in the development of theoretical thinking. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana, 25, 445–459. Ali, N., Bui, L., Fakirmohammad, R., Fishetti, J., Liu-Smith, Y.-L., Niyozov, S., Reynolds, R., Sellars, M., & Thapliyal, N. (2018). Conversations on critical thinking: Can critical thinking find its way forward as the skill set and mindset of the century? Education Sciences, 8(4), 1–29. Cillessen, A. H. N., Denessen, E., Meijer, P. C., & van der Zanden, P. J. A. C. (2020). Fostering critical thinking skills in secondary education to prepare students for university: Teacher perceptions and practices. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 25(4), 394–419. Moghadam, Z. B., Narafshan, M. H., & Tajadini, M. (2023). The effect of implementing a critical thinking intervention program on English language learners' critical thinking, reading comprehension, and classroom climate. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second & Foreign Language Education, 8(1), p1–18, 18p.