Faculty lecture on critical thinking within educational reform

McKillop Library’s faculty lecture series will host Dr. Elaine Silva Mangiante, associate professor of elementary science, mathematics and engineering design education, on the topic of educational reform on Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 4-5:30 p.m.

Mangiante’s lecture, entitled “Creating a Culture of Critical Thinkers: Novice and Veteran Teachers Embrace Educational Reforms to Foster a Collaborative and Critical Environment,” will discuss the change happening in education around collaborative, evidence-based solutions.

Educational standards in the U.S. have shifted in the last decade to emphasize the promotion of students’ critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving. Students are now expected to be able to construct arguments based on evidence to explain a phenomenon—the focus now is on why and how rather than merely what. Dr. Mangiante’s research reveals how teachers, both prospective and veteran, have embraced innovative pedagogical strategies and educational reforms to create a classroom culture for collaborative problem-solving.

Before arriving at Salve Regina, Dr. Mangiante served as a professional development specialist with The Education Alliance at Brown University for educational reform in high-poverty districts, as well as a science specialist and mathematics curriculum coordinator for a K-8 school where she mentored early career teachers.

Currently, Dr. Mangiante’s research interests include examining how teachers who work in high-poverty school districts plan for reform-based science education and create a collaborative climate for elementary students’ scientific discourse and engineering problem-solving.