This study reports the evaluation of a lesson series, developed in collaboration with teachers and experts, to generate a research-based solution for teaching critical thinking through Socratic dialogue in secondary vocational education. The lesson series has been evaluated for feasibility and tailoring to different target groups of students by five citizenship education teachers and 85 students. Data consisted of self-report questionnaires by teachers and students, complemented with observations of lessons. Results show that lessons based on Socratic dialogue for teaching critical thinking to students in secondary vocational education are considered a promising educational intervention. Teachers considered the lessons as feasible and well-tailored to their students and were able to implement the lessons in their classrooms. Students were motivated to participate, and their motivation did not decrease significantly during the lesson series. At the same time, students tended to be more motivated when the value of learning to think critically for their future profession was clearly substantiated. Practical implications from the evaluation of the lesson series were that, in addition to participating in Socratic dialogue, students need clear learning objectives and short assignments to remain active.
I intend to do an action research on how I can improve educating teachers by means of training them in reflective skills through Socratic Dialogue. In order to be able to meet demands posed to student teachers by the recently introduced changes in higher professional education in the Netherlands and also the didactics of new learning introduced at junior vocational education, they need to develop into Self-Directed Learners. We should help them equip themselves with more than just the necessary reflective skills. We should induce and facilitate the birth of genuine need to reflect. They should leave this education able to make justified choices for learning in their professional careers. And they should leave with a genuine curiosity and interest in other ways of thinking than their own. Having realized the importance and value of an open dialogue they will become self-conscious thinkers and practitioners who know how to learn to look and wonder about what they see. In the present situation, the students are asked to reflect on all sorts of items and situations connected with their study career and their school practice. Various models are offered to them (Korthagen, Hendriksen) in the hope that by reflecting, they will learn how to reflect. And they certainly do, to a certain extent. But what this extent is and how long it will be perpetrated after they leave the school is less certain. But the genuine need to reflect remains untouched upon. This can be done by means of training in Socratic Dialogue and training in facilitating one.
In this mini-review I will present a practical way how communication relates to sustainability and how communication can be used in various stages to increase sustainability and to accelerate the energy transition. The model, from A to Sustainability, details the various forms of communication, from information provision, to persuasion to dialogue.
