California Teacher Preparation for Instruction in Critical Thinking: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations.

This report examines a study on the extent to which California's teacher preparation programs were preparing candidates for teaching critical thinking and problem-solving skills in elementary and secondary schools. Researchers conducted interviews with education and subject matter faculty in private and public colleges and universities. Results indicated that few faculty members in teacher preparation had in-depth exposure to research on the concept, and most had only a vague understanding of what critical thinking was and what was involved in bringing it successfully into instruction. Follow-up interviews with participants who had strong responses asked about classroom teaching practices and found that this group (with initially strong responses) had some depth of understanding. Interviews with faculty members who had undergone professional development on critical thinking found that these faculty members were better able to give detailed and plausible accounts of how they approached critical thinking in the classroom. Selections from work turned in at a Critical Thinking workshop for postsecondary faculty members are included. The report presents five policy recommendations that address information dissemination, postsecondary faculty professional development, accreditation standards focused on critical thinking, career-long preparation and reinforcement, and candidate accountability in performance examinations. (Contains 13 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.