One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from doing this project is how important reflective practice is, and the effect it can have on your success as a teacher.  The questions that arose during this process might never have made it to paper had I not been working on this pedagogical study.  By making myself really examine not only WHAT I was doing, but WHY…that was the largest gain for me as a teacher.

What has been most valuable about doing research in my classroom?

By doing the research in my very own classroom, on my terms, I was able to ask (and answer) whatever question came to mind.  I really loved the freedom to make this project my own.  I didn’t feel that I was constricted to study or look for something that I wasn’t interested in knowing the answer to.  Since I was the one creating the questions I had a lot more invested in the study.  Additionally I liked being able to talk about the research I was doing with my colleagues.  It wasn’t obvious everyday that I was running a research study in my room, to most it looked like “business as usual”, but when I talked with them about what I was finding……that’s when I really started to literally see a light bulb go off in their heads saying “umm…I wonder what my students would do?”

How has this project affected the way I think about teaching and my teaching practices in the classroom?

This project has definitely affected the way I teach by forcing me to think about WHY I choose to practice certain strategies in the classroom over others and WHY those strategies may or may not be effective.  There are always certain things you feel more comfortable with doing in your own classroom than others, and much of that has to do with personal style.  But I have always believed that teachers should continue to find ways that challenge them as teachers and in return challenges their students.  If you get too comfortable with your methodologies and don’t reflect on what and why you make those decisions then your effectiveness in the classroom dwindles over time.  This project has provided me with a means to view myself as a reflective and now RESEARCH DRIVEN practitioner.  Prior to this project I enjoyed the challenges of everyday teaching, but needed more focus on HOW students were thinking IN MY CLASSROOM as opposed to general instructional strategies geared toward all subjects.

If I could further my research, what would I study?

If I could continue my research, I would use what I’ve seen presented by this focus group of students regarding critical thinking and use it to continue studying critical thinking in other science courses.  One thing I would change is in the direct instruction of the critical thinking model first.  I think it would be very interesting to compare how a group of students, who were explicitly taught the critical thinking model and all of its parts in problem-solving, used the model in practice.  I could then compare the results of those who were taught the model in the classroom to those who were not taught (this year’s focus group) and see what differences and similarities existed between them.  I wonder if by teaching the model as part of the direct instruction in the classroom, would the students be more balanced in the processes of critical thinking they used in chemistry….or would they still favor some of the processes over others?

This is just one of the possible extensions to my research.  But having experienced action research in my own classroom as a result of the ETLP I know that I now possess the tools and knowledge to take on any kind of instructional investigations I may have, and that my own observations and inquiries have a place in education research.

Other notes/findings…..

What are the benefits of critical thinking?

• Only one reference to other subject matter other than science, and one to “real-world” situations…..new question: What areas do student believe critical thinking is MOST valuable?
• Most believe that critical thinking somehow gives you an advantage over others – “get ahead”, “develop your own way”, “increase awareness”, “engage more”, “take tests faster”, “learn more”

Why do you think critical thinking is uncommon?

• NOT ENOUGH TIME
• AREN’T CHALLENGED ENOUGH
• NOT TAUGHT   
• TAKES EXTRA EFFORT…. Extra “time”, “work”, “concentration”
• IT’S NOT EASY TO THINK CRITICALLY
• Interesting….many think that critical thinking is a learned skill (as mentioned in another question) but feel that it isn’t taught well…..and that’s the reason it’s uncommon
• A couple say that it is common, but not for a few
• One said that it is uncommon in the population as a whole, but not is subgroups

Name 4-5 characteristics of a critical thinker:

• I found it interesting that students generally think that critical thinking means to go “above and beyond” in some sense…..yet only a few listed 5 characteristics of a critical thinker, and only stopped at the 4 (minimum asked)
• Most common answers:  OPEN-MINDED, PATIENT, READER, PERCEPTIVE, INTELLIGENT/SMART, FOCUSED, ANALYTICAL

Of the following list of terms, rate each in order of MOST IMPORTANT in critical thinking to LEAST IMPORTANT.  With 1 being MOST IMPORTANT, and 9 being LEAST IMPORTANT.

• Most felt FAIRNESS as LEAST IMPORTANT in critical thinking……what might their interpretation have been?
• Most felt DEPTH and LOGIC to be MOST IMPORTANT in critical thinking

Does school offer enough opportunities for you to grow as a critical thinker?  Explain.

• Emphasized in IB – but spoken from a strictly IB taught group of Juniors (1st year in program)
• Not in other courses
• Overall not high opinion of general education and it’s challenge in having students think critically

What would you like to do better to improve upon your critical thinking skills?

Major themes on what would improve critical thinking skills

• Reading
• Analyzing
• Taking more time in general
• “smarter”

Resources

• University of Southern Australia, John Dewey’s Critical Thinking Model; Author Associate Professor Lynne Barnes and the University of South Australia are the source and copyright owner of the material
• Dr. Linda Elder, Dr. Richard Paul:  The Foundation for Critical Thinking;  www.criticalthinking.org
• Eric Mazar – Harvard; Peer Instruction
• Deonna Kuhn – Teachers College; Education for Thinking
• Scott Simkins – NC A&T State University;  simkinss@ncat.edu
• Group Members – Christie Fitch, Valerie Sellers, Ayesha Delphish, Jeffrey Coker
  
• Project Directors – Peter Felten, Katie King, Kim Pyne, Ben McFadyen
• Beth Costello – USC – Columbia, College of Ed.;  costellp@gwm.sc.edu; 803-777-9963
• Alexa Darby - Elon Professor, Qualitative Educational Research