Contributions are invited for an edited collection of papers for a book on the topic Critical Thinking in Higher Education, to be edited by Emeritus Professor Ronald Barnett (Institute of Education, University of London), Emeritus Professor Robert H. Ennis (University of Illinois), and Associate Professor Martin Davies (University of Melbourne). Papers should be submitted by December 31st 2012. Please note that abstracts for papers (400 words maximum) should be sent to the editors for consideration first (see Submission Procedure below).
The book will include a number of previously published papers and original, previously unpublished papers. Submissions can be comparative reviews, conceptual studies, empirically-based papers, reflective case studies or offer theoretical contributions. The book will combine new papers, commissioned articles, and excerpts from seminal papers in the field.
Contributions for the proposed book can cover, but are not limited to, the following areas:
Philosophical Issues
* What constitutes critical thinking in the higher education context? i.e., what does it mean?
* The nature of critical thinking as a generic or field-embedded skill/attribute, i.e., what does it mean to produce graduates that can "think critically", and how is this best achieved?
* Culture and critical thinking: is critical thinking culturally invariant?
* The generalist-specifist debate in critical thinking: is critical thinking general, subject-specific, or both? What are the implications of this for teaching and learning?
* Is critical thinking necessarily tied to action and, if so, in what ways?
* In what ways might educational aims - such as students as global citizens - be linked to critical thinking?
Educational Practices, Pedagogy
* Critical thinking as a form of inquiry in higher education: what does it mean to expect graduates to demonstrate critical thinking in assignments, theses and term papers?
* How can critical thinking be best embedded in the disciplines, and to what extent is this desirable?
* How can critical thinking best be taught in separate modules or courses?
* How should critical thinking be assessed?
* How can a combination of separate and field-embedded instruction best be organised?
* What is the role of higher education administrations in the promotion of critical thinking?
* What might be cultural or social dimensions of students' construal of, and willingness to develop their own critical thinking? How might the internationalisation of the curriculum bear upon critical thinking?
New technologies and the sciences
* Critical thinking and new technologies, e.g., computer-aided argument mapping. What are the implications for teaching and learning?
* Critical thinking and the cognitive sciences, neurology, artificial intelligence, computer science, etc. What can these disciplines teach us about the educational aspects of critical thinking?
* What new opportunities for the student's acquisition of critical thinking are afforded by e-learning and comparable technologies?
Critical Thinking as a part of Professional Education
* How might critical thinking be linked to education for the professions?
* What is the importance of critical thinking to the professional context, i.e., employment practices, and the work-readiness of graduates?
* How can higher education and the professions interact in the promotion and practice of critical thinking?
* In what ways might higher education help in the formation of critical professionalism?
* How is critical thinking germane to the social and political context, e.g., current economic and environmental debates?
(The above questions are merely indicative of the kinds of issues that contributors might wish to address. The editors would welcome proposals that fall outside of these matters.)
The outline of the proposed book is as follows:
Introduction
1: Critical Thinking, Decision Making and Creativity
2: How Should We Teach Critical Thinking?
3. How Should Critical Thinking be Incorporated into the Higher Education Curriculum?
4: How Should Critical Thinking be Assessed?
5: How can the Cognitive Sciences Inform our Understanding of Critical Thinking?
6: What is the Role of Critical Thinking in the Professions?
7. What Role can Higher Education Play in the Practice and Promotion of Critical Thinking in the Outside World?
Conclusions and Implications for Policy and Pedagogy
Submission Procedure
Abstracts for papers (400 words maximum) should first be submitted by 1st July 2012, to Martin Davies by email: wmdavies@unimelb.edu.au or via ordinary mail to the following address:
Teaching and Learning Unit
Faculty of Business and Economics
Level 5, 198 Berkeley Street, Parkville 3010
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Please Note: Abstracts should be accompanied by a suggestion as to in which section of the volume the paper would best be situated (see above).
Papers should be submitted by December 31st 2012. They should be 5,800-6,000 words inclusive of references and follow the stylistic conventions of the journal Higher Education Research and Development. (See: http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/herd_style_guide-notes-aug-2004.pdf).
All papers will undergo peer review, and if accepted, may be shortened by the editors.
For further information contact:
Associate Professor Martin Davies
Teaching and Learning Unit
Faculty of Business and Economics
Level 5, 198 Berkeley Street, Parkville 3010
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. wmdavies@unimelb.edu.au
