Controversial Religious Issues for Improving Students Critical Thinking Skill in Higher Education [Scholarly Article - International Journal of Instruction, January 2023]

Title:

Controversial Religious Issues for Improving Students Critical Thinking Skills in Higher Education

Authors:

Imam Muslimin

Assoc. Prof., Education Management, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesian

&

Munirul Abidin

Prof., Education Management, UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, Indonesian

Published:

International Journal of Instruction, Volume 16, Number 1, January 2023

https://www.e-iji.net/dosyalar/iji_2023_1_7.pdf

Abstract:

This study investigates whether the application of controversial religious issues in learning impacts increasing students' critical thinking skills. The research conducted quasi-experimental research with a nonequivalent group design. The study applied to students in Malang Islamic University's third-seventh semester. Instruments for collecting the data are in the form of tests, and questionnaires are arranged in multiple-choice and essays conducted before and after treatment. Hypotheses were tested using two-way ANOVA in SPSS 20 version. This study found that implementing controversial religious issues in learning positively improved student critical thinking skills. However, differences in gender and semester groups do not affect differences in student achievement. The study implies that lecturers may apply the controversial religious issues method to students in higher education in any group of gender and semester. Mentally, higher education students are ready to discuss controversial religious issues that will affect students' critical thinking skills and student achievement.

 

Doctor of Education (EDD) dissertation, Lynn University, 2021 - Strengthening and Supporting Photography Education Using an Online Multi-Faceted Approach

Title: 

Strengthening and Supporting Photography Education Using an Online Multi-Faceted Approach  

 

By: 

Isidro Pentzke, Lynn University 

Andrea Suhajcik, Lynn University 

&

Melissa Glynn, Lynn University  

 

Published: 

Lynn University, 2021  

https://spiral.lynn.edu/etds/371/   

 

Abstract: 

The purpose of this study is to fill the void in arts education specifically photography to high school students who cannot take electives during the regular school day. There is a need for free creative online support and education within public high school curriculum. By identifying curriculum gaps in the arts, this study may support high school students with the needed twenty first century skills, such as the 4 C’s to be competitive in the job market after graduation. These critical skills are known as the 4 C’s, and focus on Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking (Stauffer, 2020).  Participants will be solicited through convenient sampling, and social media sites known to art professionals and art educators. An email (Appendix A) will be sent by the researchers to working art professionals and art educators to evaluate the online photography platform. In addition, a flyer (Appendix B) will be posted on social media sites geared toward art education. The survey (Appendix D) will be hosted by secure Google Forms and be distributed by a secure email list obtained through convenient sampling and social media sites known to art professionals and art educators. Participants will first read the informed consent (Appendix C). They must understand and agree to the informed consent in order to continue with the study. By clicking “I agree”, the participants are waiving the signature as consent documentation, and confirm that they are over the age of 18. By clicking “I disagree”, the participants will have access to the free online photography educational website (Appendix E), but confirm that they will not participate in the survey. In addition, a forced field will be in place. Therefore, if a participant does not agree to the informed consent, then the survey will close and the participant thanked. When the participant agrees, they will then be given access to the free online photography educational website (Appendix E). They can then peruse it for as long as they like. After closing the website, they will be directed to the survey questions about the website to answer. Data will then be collected and evaluated after asking the participants to evaluate the free photography online platform. Once the data is evaluated, the researchers will enhance the photography platform based on the data collected.  This investigation will utilize a qualitative case study method design. Data gathered from the anonymous online survey will be analyzed through descriptive statistics of art professional and art educator perception. Likert Scale questions and open ended semi-structured questions answers will be organized into codes and then generated into themes. Inferential statistics will include sample t-tests. The quantitative and qualitative results will then be triangulated to make meaning and inform the study.

 

Building Creative Critical Online Learning Communities through Digital Moments [Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 28 January 2021]

Title:

Building Creative Critical Online Learning Communities through Digital Moments

 

Author:

Wendy Barber

 

Published:

Electronic Journal of e-Learning, Volume 18, Number 5, 28 January 2021 (published)

https://academic-publishing.org/index.php/ejel/article/view/1920

 

Abstract:

This paper is a mixed methods case study measuring student perceptions of a pedagogical strategy called “Digital Moments” (DM) for developing creative interactive online learning communities. The theoretical framework within which this resides is the Fully Online Learning Community (FOLC) model (vanOostveen et al, 2016), based on a foundation of problem‑based learning, cognitive and social presence, and learner‑centred pedagogies.The article reviews a specific teaching strategy for increasing social presence and student engagement through the use of creative and artistic expression in problem‑based learning spaces. Using “Digital Moments” as a way to build inclusion in two synchronous graduate online courses, the author describes how the teaching strategy increased student participation, developed student ownership of learning, and encouraged collaborative processes between participants. This teaching strategy makes a significant contribution to digital pedagogy. Although the growth of online learning is quite substantial, our ability to develop online communities that inspire critical and creative thinking has not kept pace. Traditional teacher‑centred learning environments do not meet the needs of students in today’s Fourth Industrial Revolution. As such, the FOLC model provides an online learning community model that removes traditional teacher‑learner roles, allows the instructor to act as a facilitator and challenges learners to co‑design and co‑create the learning process. Within this digital space, collaborative disruption is encouraged, and, in fact necessary for the types of critical and creative thinking to emerge that are central to the FOLC model. Digital Moments, is one example of a pedagogical strategy that enables learners to co‑create and own the digital learning space, within a fully online learning community.

 

Pedagogies for critical thinking at universities in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana: the importance of a collective ‘teaching culture' [Scholarly Article - Teaching in Higher Education, 15 December 2020]

Title:

Pedagogies for critical thinking at universities in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana: the importance of a collective ‘teaching culture'

 

Authors:

Rebecca Schendel,Tristan McCowan,Caine Rolleston,Christine Adu-Yeboah, Mary Omingo & Richard Tabulawa

 

Published:

Teaching in Higher Education, 15 December 2020

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2020.1852204?src=

 

Abstract:

While critical thinking is widely regarded as a key outcome of higher education, research has shown that in practice it is only developed when certain conditions are in place, relating to the pedagogical approach, the nature of the curriculum and the level of challenge, amongst other factors. This article reports on findings from a four-year mixed methods study in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya, aiming to investigate the factors underpinning the successful development of critical thinking amongst undergraduate students. A two-stage critical thinking assessment was conducted with students in 15 sites, showing that only some of the institutions were ensuring significant gains in students’ critical thinking, even when endorsing learner-centred methods. The study points to the central importance of teaching orientations amongst lecturers, involving a deep shift in approaches to knowledge, and a facilitation rather than a transmission approach.

Scholarly Article (Dec 2019): Critical Thinking as a Predictor of Self-Esteem of University Students

Title:
Critical Thinking as a Predictor of Self-Esteem of University Students

Author:
Seyithan Demirdag

Published:
Alberta Journal of Educational Research, volume 65, number 4 (December 2019).
More information:  
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/article/view/56587

From the abstract:
This study aimed to examine the predictive role of critical thinking on university students’ self-esteem. 

Cette étude avait comme objectif d’examiner le rôle prédictif de la pensée critique sur l’estime de soi des étudiants à l’université.