1. Sandra C. JohnsonEDUC 8842/7102Principles of Distance EducationFebruary 13, 2011

2. Welcome

3. Development of Critical Thinking Skills in Distance Education

4. Stephen Brookfield

5. Critical Thinking

6. essential aspects
Dispositions Criteria Argument Reasoning Point of View Procedures for Applying Criteria

7. Understanding
Ability to select and monitor that thinking strategies that one uses
Declarative knowledge
Understanding how individual knowledge impacts what other people know

8. Characteristics of Critical Thinking
involves asking questions,
defining a problem,
examining evidence,
analyzing assumptions and biases
avoiding emotional reasoning,
avoiding oversimplification,
considering other interpretations,
tolerating ambiguity.

9. How we use or obtain these skills
Model best practices
Teacher responsibilities
Stimulate thought through extending discussions
Challenge the student to research information
Create a space & time for informal and reflective thought
Provide probing questions

10. Technology used for collaboration
Wiki
Podcast
Discussion Boards
Email
Blogs
Webquest
Video conferencing/Skpe

11. Strategies
Require a course related journal
Positive reinforcement
Assign narrowly focused topics

12. Student responsibilities
Increase social skills
Ask the right questions
Listen to each other
Help each other learn
Build on each others ideas
Construct their own understanding

13. Conclusion
More than a buzz word
Intellectual Process
Takes practice
Thank you: Welcome Steven Broomfield

14. Resources
Arend B. Encouraging Critical thinking in Online Threaded Discussions . Journal of Educators Online 6, Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Interview with Stephen Brookfield. (1994). ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 51(1), 3-17. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Bullen, Mark. (1998). Participation and Critical Thinking in Online University Distance Education. Journal of Distance Education/Revue de l'enseignement distance: 13 , 2.[iuicode: http://www.icaap.org/iuicode?151.13.2.1]

15. Resources
Osborne, R.E., Kriese, P., Tobey, H., Johnson, E. (2009) Putting it All Together: Incorporating SoTL Practices for Teaching Interpersonal and Critical Thinking Skills in an Online Course. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching 445-55 Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Lunney, M. (2008) Facilitating Critical Thinking through Online Courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12(3-4) Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Visser, L (2002) Critical Thinking in distance Education and Traditional Education AECT