Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Committee Chair

Sydney Brown

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact the integration of critical thinking through Write from the Beginning and Beyond: Response to Literature had on planning, instruction, and assessment. Based on the school’s end-of-grade reading tests scores, educators determined students struggled in reading and designed an action plan using a logic model. The teachers at the intermediate school in the piedmont of North Carolina were previously trained to use the program and determined the program was being implemented as intended. The logic model guided this study to meet medium-term goals. The impact of the program was measured qualitatively using teacher observations, teacher focus-group interviews, and through document analysis of lesson plans and the program guide. Quantitative data were collected using teacher surveys. The results from this study led the researcher to conclude Write from the Beginning and Beyond: Response to Literature is a support system to assist with the integration of critical thinking in the English language arts classroom as recommended by the P21 Framework and positively impacted teachers’ planning, instruction, and assessment. Professional development implemented as PLCs positively developed the teachers’ continued understanding of using the program. Establishing one definition of critical thinking provided guidance and unified understanding for the teachers. Critical thinking integrated through the program was observable in teachers’ planning, instruction, and assessment using Scriven and Paul’s critical thinking action words: conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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