Critical Thinking Perspective Research Articles

Reviews on an Article of “Why Do I Support Interns for Suspension of Schooling” from Critical Thinking Perspective

An article of "why do I support interns for suspension of schooling" by a well-known social media figure, Mi Meng, has sparked a heated debate on the Internet. There are both pros and cons. However, all kinds of comments are based on their standpoint, where the perceptual is surplus, and the rational is insufficient. Standing in an objective and neutral position, we will make rational comments on this article from the perspective of critical thinking in this paper.

Reviews on an Article of Chinese Railway Network Commentator from Critical Thinking Perspective

Reviews on an Article of Chinese Railway Network Commentator from Critical Thinking Perspective

The Research on Construction Function of Critical Thinking

This paper has long been misunderstood for some critical thinking exist, such as critical thinking is negative and destructive problems such as the evolution from the essence and the development of critical thinking to define the trajectory; critical thinking in creative work, the role of construction and social cultural functions in the perspective of critical thinking, discusses the construction of function. The purpose is to promote the comprehensive and accurate understanding of critical thinking, to promote the development of critical thinking education in our country, and to play the role of critical thinking.

READING THE WORLD WITH MATHEMATICS: A CRITICAL MATHEMATICS LITERACY CURRICULUM IN TAIWAN

This study aims to go into co-constructive approaches to teaching and learning in a junior high classroom in Taiwan. It studies co-construction of curriculum from the perspectives of a mathematics teacher and the students, as the teacher and the students attempted to co-construct aspects of the Classroom Level curriculum with each other. This 3-year study focuses on exploring the practices and understandings of the co-construction process between the teacher and the students when they conduct curriculum decision-making at the Classroom Level. In addition, in current curriculum reform contexts in Taiwan as well as in an active globalizing world, this study also tries to understand how the teacher and the students conduct reflective practices and what they have achieved when co-constructing curriculum at the Classroom Level. This kind of interpretive study is rarely seen in Taiwan’s junior high school classrooms. Multiple methods are used to collect research data, including participant observation, interviews and document analysis. Results of this study are as follows: I. The co-construction of curriculum at the Classroom Level initiatively focused on the selection and organization of curricular experiences, including course content, learning activities, and subject matter: accuracy, precision, clarity, consistency, relevance, and good reasoning. Nevertheless, around the final year of the study, the mathematics teacher and the students gradually infused a critical thinking perspective into the co-construction of curriculum. That is, they started trying to examine those structures or elements of thought implicit in all the reasoning: purpose, question-at-issue, assumptions, concepts, reasoning leading to conclusions, empirical grounding, objectiveness from alternative viewpoints, and implications and consequences. II. The co-construction of curriculum initiatives at the Classroom Level was achieved through continuous negotiation between the mathematics teacher and the students. In order to deal with the simultaneous but incompatible opposition of opinions between the two parties, the teacher and students gradually stayed in a module as below: (1) learn a few negotiation strategies; (2) try to find out key tactics for success; (3) create a contract; (4) perform and reflect. III. The co-construction of curriculum initiatives at Classroom Level inspired the mathematics teacher and the students to adopt a range of approaches to upgrade their reflective practice level and the tools were a starting point. The theme of the students’ reflective practice often focused on mathematics problem-solving strategies and the best effective way in calculation. On the other hand, the mathematics teacher’s reflective practice often focused on personal philosophy clarification. IV. The co-construction of curriculum initiatives at Classroom Level facilitated the empowerment of the mathematics teacher and the students as well the quality-improvement of curriculum deliberation. Based on the long collaborative process, the teacher and the students not only used the present resources inside the classroom, but also tried to seek outside resources from School Level, Municipal Level and National Level through techniques and application of network relationship management. Keywords: Co-construction, Critical Literacy, Reflective Practice, Network Relationship Management.

A Proposed Teaching Strategy and Its Effect on Some Body Movements Difficulties, Performance Level of Skill and Cognitive Level in Rhythmic Exercises (From the Perspective of Critical Thinking)

A Proposed Teaching Strategy and Its Effect on Some Body Movements Difficulties, Performance Level of Skill and Cognitive Level in Rhythmic Exercises (From the Perspective of Critical Thinking)

Best Buy and Showrooming: A Critical Thinking Case Exercise Based upon Service Dominant Logic and Value Co-creation

This article shows how a critical thinking perspective in teaching business cases can create value for students and educators. We introduce a free, online case emphasizing value co-creation in a consumer retail setting that was co-developed by marketing faculty at Illinois State University, Best Buy and IBM. The case focuses on the problems of showrooming (i.e., evaluating products in a physical store, but purchasing products via another channel such as online) and webrooming (i.e., researching products online, but purchasing the products in physical stores) that currently challenge many traditional retailers. The extent of the information created through the case videos of involved managers and other means encourage critical thinking which supports the achievement of higher order thinking skills in students’ business decision-making. The case further adds an additional value by (a) providing current summaries of the emerging marketing literature related to service dominant logic, value co-creation and customer engagement, and (b) engendering greater student engagement in learning. The case is freely distributed, and can be found at http://business.illinoisstate.edu/bestbuy/ . Suggestions for extending and/or improving the case are encouraged.

Language Learning Context, Learning Style and Iranian EFL Students’ Essay Writing Performance: A Critical Thinking Perspective in a Web. 2.0 Environment

This study attempted to identify and check how language learning context, and learning style in a web 2.0 environment could affect Iranian EFL students’ essay writing performance from a critical thinking perspective. To this end, 90 male and female EFL learners at the upper intermediate level of language proficiency from Payamnoor University selected and were divided into two equal group; first the experimental which received web based teaching method through Wiki space on the internet and second the control group with traditional method of writing in class. The selected material for both group was Researching Second Language Classroom by Sandra Lee M.C. Kay, published in 2008. Both groups received the material during 10 sessions of 120 minutes. The data collected through pretest/ posttest assessment and analyzed t-test procedure by using statistic package of social science (SPSS) demonstrated that experimental group had a better performance in writing than the control group. Confirming the benefits of using web2.0 in writing, the research findings are helpful to improving the writing ability of Iranian English learners.

Teacher-Student Interaction in EFL Reading Comprehension Contexts at University Level: A Critical Thinking Perspective

1. M. Reza Talebinejad[1][1] 2. Zahra Matou[1][1] 1. 1Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran 1. M. Reza Talebinejad, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Email: rtalebinezhad{at}yahoo.com In line with previous studies in English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) contexts confirming the positive correlation between critical thinking and reading comprehension, this study was conducted to determine how frequently critical thinking is used in EFL reading comprehension contexts at the tertiary level in one Iranian university. To this end, all question types associated with general and Critical Reading Questions (CRQs), Vocabulary in Context (VIC), Literal Comprehension (LC), and Extended Reasoning (ER) were identified. The principal focus of the study was on ER questions leading to critical thinking. To classify the questions formulated by teachers and students for CRQs, Peterson’s model was used. To specify critical thinking question types, a framework proposed by Academic Skills Unit was used as another model. To collect the data, the researchers observed all reading comprehension courses in one of the universities in Isfahan Province. They recorded 30% of the total number of sessions using two mini-size MP4 wireless recorders during the second semester of the 2010-2011 academic year. The findings seem to suggest that teachers’ focus on each CRQ type strongly influences students’ attention when reading different passages. It was noted that students had serious problems with textually implicit information included in reading passages. Given this finding and the fact that the observations illustrated most teachers devote the bulk of their attention to other CRQs, this study highlights the need for raising teachers’ awareness of ER-based reading comprehension questions. Moreover, the findings have implications for researchers and teachers in EFL settings. [1]: #aff-1

Evaluation of General English Coursebooks in Iranian Universities: A Critical Thinking Perspective

The present study aimed at providing an evaluation of General English coursebooks used at universities in Iran. To this end, a retrospective evaluation was designed to examine the reading comprehension questions of a single sample of such coursebooks in terms of the degree to which they foster critical thinking. Each question was analyzed based on Facione’s (2011) critical thinking model (consisting of 6 features); then, the data were analyzed and occurrence percentage of each feature was calculated. The results revealed the extent to which the coursebook matched the criteria in fostering critical thinking. Furthermore, the findings of the study seem to suggest that Iranian university students could not be expected to become critical thinkers through the study of such coursebooks.

Critical thinking education

In the twenty-first century knowledge is increasingly being viewed as a consumable, a commodity; a product to be traded locally and in the world market to expand business and increase profit margins. Individuals, too, have come to be viewed as commodities - indicated by the term `human resources'. This article addresses the implications of this perspective, arguing that pedagogy (and what it means to be educated) should be viewed from a critical thinking perspective to stem the veritable tsunami of `common sense' ideologies that underpin the view that tertiary institutions are powerhouses of delivery of the type of product that can be used to sustain an insatiable world economy, particularly since the demands on South African education to heed this rhetoric are intensifying.

THE CONCEPTION OF CONTEMPORARY HYPERCIVILIZATION: J. BAUDRILLARD

The article deals with the conception of hypercivilization that was developed by contemporary French media philosopher Jean Baudrillard and discusses its originality, innovation and philosophical‐sociological validity. It is compared with the classical conception of Western civilization, highlighting their basic similarities and differences. The author investigates the relationships between classical Western civilization and traditional metaphysics and between contemporary hypercivilization and pataphysics. The first section of the article is introduced to the meaning and problematicity of the concept of civilization, analyzing the connections between the concepts of civilization and culture. The second section discusses traditional French concept of civilization. The third section analyzes and interprets the conception of hypercivilization of Baudrillard. The last one from a critical thinking perspective discusses the philosophical‐sociological validity of the conception of hypercivilization of Baudrillard, seeking for possible parallels with the conception of classical Western civilization.

Integrating critical thinking and systems thinking: from premises to causal loops

AbstractThis article demonstrates how to construct a policy argument from the perspective of critical thinking and how to convert this into a causal loop diagram utilising the tools of systems thinking and system dynamics. It is based on the authors' recent work on the Demonstrating Values project with the New Zealand Customs Service, which involved integrating critical thinking and systems thinking into the policy development process. Critical thinking is used in this context to reconstruct a rationale for a given policy. This helped us to isolate key concepts and desired outcomes. The concepts were then used to construct a conceptual diagram. Based on this, the key concepts were operationalised to form a causal loop diagram including the main variables of interest in the system. The causal loop diagram can then be used as the basis for further policy interventions and analysis. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Understanding the process of grieving and loss: A critical social thinking perspective

Critical social thinking is an effective approach to exploring the process of grieving and loss from an individual's lived experience and challenges the nurse to look beyond the obvious to potential oppressive forces, such as the social, political, or economic circumstances affecting the individual. The critical thinking perspective includes four basic concepts: identifying assumptions; checking the accuracy and validity of these assumptions; considering alternative perspectives; and taking informed actions. The process of grieving and loss is influenced by factors beyond the obvious issues identified by the nursing process. This article explores some of the dimensions of grieving and loss as they relate to the conceptual framework of critical social thinking and the nursing process.

Understanding the Process of Grieving and Loss: A Critical Social Thinking Perspective

Critical social thinking is an effective approach to exploring the process of grieving and loss from an individual's lived experience and challenges the nurse to look beyond the obvious to potential oppressive forces, such as the social; political, or economic circumstances affecting the individual The critical thinking perspective includesfour basic concepts: identifying assumptions; checking the accuracy and validity of these assumptions; considering alternative perspectives; and taking informed actions. The process of grieving and loss is influenced by factors beyond the obvious issues identified by the nursing process. This article explores some of the dimensions of grieving and loss as they relate to the conceptual framework of critical social thinking and the nursing process.

Assessment design issues for evaluating critical thinking in nursing.

The assessment of graduating students' critical thinking skills and habits of mind challenges and rewards those who approach the task from a critical thinking perspective. The article identifies and discusses issues in the design of authentic assessments of critical thinking as an educational outcome predictive of competent professional judgment in nursing practice. Authentic assessment implies a multiple methods design that addresses the diverse contexts within which judgments must be made by professional nurses. Most important, it implies a concern for validity and reliability of measurement, selection of appropriate data points, and attention to a number of logistic and practical concerns.