Promoting Student Engagement Through a Critical Thinking ...

 PromotingStudentEngagementThroughaCriticalThinkingFrameworkinthe

ElementaryClassroom

By:

CarlySazant

Aresearchpapersubmittedinconformitywiththerequirements ForthedegreeofMasterofTeaching

DepartmentofCurriculum,TeachingandLearning OntarioInstituteforStudiesinEducationoftheUniversityofToronto

CopyrightbyCarlySazant,April2014

CRITICALTHINKINGANDSTUDENTENGAGEMENT

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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

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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.

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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

CRITICALTHINKINGANDSTUDENTENGAGEMENT

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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

CRITICALTHINKINGANDSTUDENTENGAGEMENT

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REFERENCES

47

APPENDICES

50

AppendixA:LetterofConsentforInterview

50

AppendixB:InterviewQuestions

52

Interview#1

52

Interview#2

54

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Howcantheuseofcriticalthinkingmethodologyaffectstudentengagementin elementaryclassrooms?

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

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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

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