Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 108
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-4758-2750-7 • Hardback • December 2016 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
978-1-4758-2751-4 • Paperback • December 2016 • $23.00 • (£17.99)
978-1-4758-2753-8 • eBook • December 2016 • $21.50 • (£16.99)
Nancy Burkhalter, PhD, is the author of many scholarly articles about the cognitive processes of writing and teaching critical thinking. Trained as a linguist, educator, and writer, she teaches academic writing to international students at Seattle University.
Foreword: Michelle Foshee, University of Washington
Preface: Why I Wrote This Book
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: How Culture Colors Cognition
Chapter 2: What is Critical Thinking?
Chapter 3: The Critical Thinking Classroom
Chapter 4: Assessing Critical Thinking
Chapter 5: Teaching Critical Thinking in Other Cultures
Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix 1: Curriculum for Teaching Persuasive Essays to Elementary School Children
Appendix 2: Bloom’s Taxonomy Action Verbs
Appendix 3: To the Moon!
Appendix 4: Annotated Resources
References
About the Author
Index
As someone who has taught in both Singapore and China, I think it is imperative for instructors to become familiar with non-Western teaching methods, especially since more and more foreign students are enrolling in American institutions of higher learning. Dr. Burkhalter’s insights on this topic are invaluable for the instructor with international students as well as any teacher interested in improving his or her teaching.
— David K. Irving, associate professor, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; author of Elements of College Teaching (Atwood Publishing)
Dr. Burkhalter tackles a web of complicated topics: critical thinking, student engagement, faculty development, language learners, and cultural fluency. She correctly identifies language learning and critical thinking as a grossly understudied area that has significant implications beyond that of classroom instruction. This piece sets the groundwork for further scholarship on critical thinking within and across cultural instructional contexts. I find it as inspiring as it is practical.
— Enoch Hale, learning innovation consultant, Communities of Practice, Academic Learning Transformation Lab (ALT Lab), Virginia Commonwealth University
Nancy Burkhalter has written an accessible, practical volume on teaching critical thinking. After giving a brief overview on the different schools of thought, she provides practical definitions of the term. Any educator, whether an elementary instructor, a high school teacher, or a university lecturer, will find the teaching and assessment strategies provided to be involved to be most useful to the reader. She does all of this in an entertaining fashion using strong imagery. For example, read the book and you will find out how critical thinking is like pornography! (Read Chaper 2 to find out how.) Practical considerations aid teachers in reformulating the way they think about testing as well. I will have this book on hand for my next course!
— Julie Scales, lecturer, International and English Language Programs, University of Washington