First Advisor
Cohen, Michael
Document Type
Dissertation
Date Created
8-2022
Department
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Leadership Policy and Development: Higher Education and P-12 Education, LPD Student Work
Abstract
Principals are teacher evaluators and, therefore, need a clear definition and identification of critical thinking in teacher practices to increase their impact on teacher effectiveness and student critical thinking outcomes. Beyond teacher evaluations, principals are responsible for supporting and developing teachers in their instructional practices (Davis et al., 2005) and for enhancing teachers’ pedagogical skills (Marzano et al., 2011). This instrumental case study explored how 12 principals, who use the Colorado State Model Evaluation System (CSMES) to evaluate critical thinking teacher practices, define critical thinking, and identify critical thinking utilized in teacher practices. Participants were purposefully selected from this Colorado district due to the district strategic action plan that focuses on the traits of a graduate that includes being a critical thinker as one of the top five competencies. Two research questions guided this inquiry: Q1 How do Colorado principals who use the Colorado State Model Evaluation System define critical thinking? Q2 How do Colorado principals who use the Colorado State Model Evaluation System identify the use of critical thinking in teacher practices in the general education classroom? The data collection process included semi-structured interviews that ranged from 15 minutes to 1 hour. Overall, three themes emerged from Research Question Q1. Theme one was critical thinking has many interpretations. Next, theme two was critical thinking includes a wide variety of skills. Lastly, theme three was critical thinking is embedded in education programs. Two themes emerged from Research Question Q2. Theme one was principals identify critical thinking through student engagement; in other words, the level at which students are engaged in student-talk, academic discourse, and critical thinking processes was key to the identification of critical thinking in teacher practices. The second theme in relation to Research Question Q2 was principals identify critical thinking through the teacher’s intentional instructional design of learning. An expanded discussion of the findings, recommendations for practice, policy, and recommendations for further research offer insight unique to this inquiry.
Extent
180 pages
Local Identifiers
Polka_unco_0161D_11025.pdf
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by the author.
Recommended Citation
Polka, Carmen Aumber, "Principals’ Definition and Identification Of Critical Thinking In Teacher Practices" (2022). Dissertations. 849.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/849