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Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.  People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically.   They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.  They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies.  They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking.  They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason.  They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.  They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society.   At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so.  They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others.  They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.  They embody the Socratic principle:  The unexamined life is not worth living, because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world. ~ Linda Elder, September, 2007

integrates active learning environments with authentic learning tasks; fosters a personal connection with the class (teacher-student as well as student-student); and facilitates the process of learning in an online environment.

Integrating peer-to-peer collaboration

Design steps

See also

    The sad fact is that we far too often fail to invest either the time or the necessary resources to reach and build Phase III teachers. My personal experience suggests that on average it takes anywhere from three to five years for wide spread single component teacher behavior changes to be firmly implemented among a building faculty and from three to eight years with the same general educational reform agenda to accomplish anything close to systemic change.

classroom teachers or teacher educators, we must take the time to reflect on our past efforts and make needed mid-course corrections. Looking for patterns within our reform projects and helping teachers see reform as an evolutionary process and not an either/or response, will help all of us grow as professionals and ultimately improve the education of our children.

id not participate as often in departmental activities as residential students,

Connectedness is the sense of belonging and acceptance

that student isolation is one of the major problems for online learners

“people with high levels of connectedness are better able to manage their own needs and emotions through cognitive processes”

are on their own, likely to be anxious, defensive and unwilling to take the risks involved in learning”

groups of people engaged in intellectual interaction for the purpose of learning”

can reduce student dropout rates and “can help meet the quality challenge”

perceives the availability of, and connectedness with, people in his/her educational setting”

social, teaching, and cognitive

learners’ levels of motivation and satisfaction.

work together collaboratively can reduce levels of student isolation

artments and instructors need to create safe learning environments (Stelzer & Vogelzangs, 1994) in which learners feel comfortable and are encouraged to participate without fear of persecution.

they are more likely to limit their interactions with an instructor and peers or less likely to ask for support

Given this reality, emotion must be considered, if not a central factor, at least as a ubiquitous, influential part of learning—online and otherwise (Plutchick, 2003; Stets & Turner, 2006; Wosnitza & Volet, 2005). Therefore, emotions expressed in the online experience, as explained by the CoI model (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000), indicate that emotional presence exists in social, cognitive, and teaching presence.

ey to online environments is to acknowledge and discuss emotional tenor as much communicative information is lost without tone of voice and facial expressions— emoticons excepted. The exploration of emotional states that are not present— hidden yet influential—needs attention.