Date Approved

4-15-2004

Embargo Period

4-26-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Johnson, Ted

Subject(s)

Cinnaminson High School (Cinnaminson, N.J.); Critical thinking--Study and teaching (Secondary); Earth sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary); Ninth grade (Education)

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of teaching critical thinking skills through the infusion method as used by the Cinnaminson School District's Science Department. With the changing demands of society there comes a need for change in the preparation of students for the future that will be theirs. The sample population for this study was the one hundred and seven of the two hundred and forty freshman enrolled in Cinnaminson High School in the 2003-2004 school year who were taking college prep level earth science. Students were evaluated based on their performance on six activities designed to measure their ability to apply critical thinking skills to problem solving situations. Students demonstrated inconsistent results on activities requiring critical thinking skills. Statistical analysis, including tests of significance, indicated that there was no statistically significant improvement in their results on activities designed to evaluate student use of critical thinking skills in problem-solving situations. Implications for improving the method of instruction of critical thinking skills are discussed.

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