Discussion 1:
Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Critical Thinking
As future educators, we are preparing students for a future that we do not yet know. Their ability to think critically will almost wholly determine whether they fail or succeed. In a recent study noted in the article Academically Adrift, it was found that 45% of college students did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning during their first two years and 36% fared similarly over four years. Another article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, points out that a significant percentage of adults living at or below the poverty line have college degrees. Lastly, experts now hypothesize that a ‘bad' neighborhood does not necessarily lead to a failed public school, but rather that a failing public school drags its neighborhood down with it. Given this, what does it mean to think critically and how will you model it in this course and foster it with your future students?
Guided response: Before you respond to your peers, please watch and interact with this learning module. The module introduces the Paul and Elder model of critical thinking and will guide you through a scenario in which an Ashford student utilizes the elements of thought to construct a discussion post response to a student who challenged her thinking. Please notice that the discussion forum exchange between Christina and Kurt is in to the top right hand corner of the module titled "R". Reading the forum will assist you in understanding the module. Respond to at least two of your classmates and use the elements of thought discussed in this module to extend your thinking and create a higher level of academic discourse in this class.