Society for History Education
Improving Critical Thinking Skills in the United States Survey Course: An Activity for
Teaching the Vietnam War
Author(s): Wilson J. Warren, David M. Memory and Kevin Bolinger
Source: The History Teacher, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Feb., 2004), pp. 193-209
Published by: Society for History Education
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1555652
Accessed: 30-09-2015 15:27 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Society for History Education is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The History Teacher.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills
in the United States Survey Course:
An Activity for Teachingthe VietnamWar
Wilson J. Warren
WesternMichigan University
David M. Memory and Kevin Bolinger
Indiana State University
IMPROVING CRITICALTHINKING-defined by one expert as "reasonablereflectivethinkingfocused on decidingwhatto believe or do"has been a frequenttopic in the writingof historyeducatorsat least since
the early 1970s.2Although articles and papers from the 1970s3through
the 1990s4have suggested that history textbookscan be a suitablefocus
for instructionalactivities on criticalthinking,more often historyeducators have arguedthat source documentsbeyond the textbook and, today,
electronic sources are especially good media for helping students improve their critical thinking abilities.5Indeed, a convincing case can be
made for emphasizingcritical thinkingwhenever the Internetis used in
historyclasses, partlybecauseof the inconsistentreliabilityof the sources
thatcan be easily accessed electronically.6Even if studentsare guided to
reputablesources for research and writing activities in history classes,
Avner Segall has pointedout thatthe currentintellectualclimate, heavily
influenced by critical theory, deconstructionism,and postmodernism,
The History Teacher Volume 37 Number2
February2004
? Society for History Education
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
194
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory, and Kevin Bolinger
makes it importantthathistoryteachersuse instructionalmethodswhich
instill a criticalperspectivein students.7
Although some educatorsare skeptical about the efficacy of critical
thinkinginstructionwith school-aged youth and others see it as a challenge even with college students,8we believe critical thinking can be
taughtsuccessfullyin high school andcollege historyclasses. To be more
precise, we believe progresscan be made in the improvementof critical
thinkingin these classes if instructionalactivities take appropriatelyinto
considerationwhat is known aboutthe determinantsof ability in critical
thinking. In the past twenty years psychologists have become increasingly convinced that cognitive abilities, particularlyhigher-level abilities, are only partiallydeterminedby cognitive processing skills and are
influenced even more by interests and personalityfactors such as attitudes and, most importantly,by knowledge.9
Respectedexpertson improvingcriticalthinkingin high school classes,
such as BarryBeyer, and expertson criticalthinkingat the college level,
such as Diane Halpem, stress that promoting critical thinking is not
simply a matterof teaching critical thinkingskills or operations.10Such
instructionmust foster the dispositions or attitudes supportingcritical
thinking,andit mustensurethatthe studentshave adequateknowledgein
the topic areain which the criticalthinkingis expectedto occur.Tryingto
teach critical thinking skills or operationsin isolation to students who
may see little or no value to learning them is difficult at best. Even if
learningof such skills does occur,the skills arenot likely to be appliedin
real-worldsettings if the studentsdo not have the attitudesand dispositions which make them consider use of the skills important.Moreover,
because trying to make students successful in using cognitive skills or
operationsof critical thinkingon a topic about which they know little is
difficult, recent theory-basedor research-basedarticles on methods for
improvingcriticalthinkingin historydiscuss teachingcognitive skills or
operationsof criticalthinkingwhen historycontentis being taught."IThis
so-called infusion approachcertainly has more supportin the form of
theory and researchthan does the teaching of critical thinking skills in
isolation.12
Indeed,ourown experiencesattemptingto promotecriticalthinkingin
ourclasses andourexperiencesbecomingcriticalthinkersourselveshave
convincedus thatthe psychologistsarecorrect.Attitudesandinterestsdo
supporthigher-levelthinkingand, most importantly,knowledge used in
carryingit out is crucial to the success of critical thinking instruction.
Even if teaching focuses in an admirablysystematic way on cognitive
skills or operationsof critical thinking, the instructionis likely to fall
shortif the teacherdoes not ensure a richness of contentknowledge and
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
195
an atmospherereinforcingthe attitudesand dispositions which motivate
and supportcriticalthinking.The activity we will describefor improving
criticalthinkingin historyclasses is one thatfits into whathas been called
the immersionapproachto improvinghigher-level thinking.13Although
one of the present authorsbegan using a variantof the activity almost
thirtyyears ago, a theoreticaljustification for it is appropriatelyassociated with such educators as Richard Prawat and David Perkins.14In
describingthe activityas a possible elementin the immersionapproachto
critical thinking in a United States history class, we will place the
emphasison ensuringrichness of contentknowledge and an atmosphere
demonstratingthe importanceof critical thinking.We will also suggest
possible materials and methods for teaching specific critical thinking
skills or operationspriorto the main activity, but we will focus primarily
on ways to attendsuccessfully to the attitudinalandknowledgeaspectsof
criticalthinking.
The Vietnam War
We have chosen this topic because:(1) it is acceptableto deal with this
war in depth in a history class, (2) it is advisable to expose studentsto
varied perspectives on the war,15(3) there is a diversity of viewpoints
about the Vietnam War among parents and other adults in the lives of
studentstoday and because many studentswant to make some sense of
that diversity of opinions, and (4) many relevantarticleson the Vietnam
War at a wide range of readabilitylevels are electronically accessible.
Dedicated readers of this journal may know that a history educator
recentlyproposedin these pages anotheractivity for helping studentssee
the importanceof a criticalperspectivewhen studyingaboutwars in the
past, includingthe VietnamWar.16Ouractivity is not presentedas better
than the "postmodernist?"exercise of Michael Palo, but as an optionperhapsa more traditionaloption-for promotingcriticalthinkingwhen
studyingthe VietnamWar.
Before engaging in the critical thinking activity, the students must
have sufficientbackgroundknowledge andunderstandingaboutthe Vietnam War. A variety of direct and indirectinstructionalmethods can be
used to provide this context, including traditionallectures, textbook and
secondarysourcereadings,films or film excerpts,presentationsby Vietnam War veterans,and examinationof Internetsites. (See Table 1.) The
appropriatemix of these types of approachesand activitieswould depend
partlyon the ability levels of the students.For example, in a class with
many weak readers, greateremphasis on oral or video presentationof
content might be reasonable. In a typical high school or introductory
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
196
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory, and Kevin Bolinger
college United States history class, this backgroundinstructionon the
war might begin with students reading their textbook's section on the
VietnamWarfollowed by a combinationof lectureanddiscussionon the
general outline of the conflict. This preliminarymaterialshould expose
the studentsto the key names,termsandconceptsthatthey will encounter
in the magazine articles that are at the heart of the critical thinking
activity we will describe. Some of these names, terms, and concepts
include:ColdWar,liberalism,communism,containmentdoctrine,domino
theory, Ho Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,
strategyof attrition,"searchand destroy,"Robert McNamara,General
William Westmoreland,anti-warmovement,draft,Tet Offensive, Henry
Kissinger,Vietnamization,KhmerRouge, and Powell Doctrine.As suggested above, backgroundpreparationcan be continued throughinclusion of video segments from both documentaryand commercialfilms,
oral history presentationsfrom Vietnam War veterans, and exercises
involving Internetsites, particularlythose that focus on the use of primary source materials. Exposure to a specific set of primary sources
would only heighten the students' awareness of issues involved in the
warandwould also expose themto additionalnames,terms,andconcepts
crucialfor backgroundunderstanding.In a high school class it may also
be useful for the instructorto engage the students in a pre-reading
definition activity using the various names, terms, and concepts discussed during these backgroundsessions. Approximatelyfive instructional days (assuming 50-minute class periods) are likely necessary for
this backgroundpreparation.For this type of unit, a block schedule
consisting of 90- to 120-minuteclass periods might be preferablegiven
the emphasison sustainedreadingand discussion.
One of the challengesanda virtualnecessity for designingan effective
criticalthinkingactivityon a topic such as the VietnamWaris identifying
a varietyof accessible articlesrepresentingdifferentperspectiveson the
topic and preferablyrepresentingdifferentreadingdifficulty levels. We
have found that the best electronic databaseto searchfor recent articles
on a topic taughtin a high school or introductorycollege historyclass is
MAS Ultra-SchoolEdition. This database,which is accessible through
EBSCOhost,can providefull-text articlespublishedas far back as 1990
in over 500 periodicals useful in high school or introductorycollege
classrooms.An especially useful featureof MAS Ultra-SchoolEditionis
thatthe readingdifficultylevel of most articlesis includedin the information presentedaboutthe article.The measureby which the difficultylevel
is reportedis known as the Lexile unit, which was developed by a forprofit company. Though the company carefully controls and markets
most of its services andproducts,we were fortunateto obtainan explana-
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
197
tion of the Lexile unit when it was previouslyavailableon the company's
website. The companyis unwillingto say thatLexile unitscan be directly
translated into reading grade levels, but we interpretthe previously
available informationas indicating that the 3rd grade readabilitylevel
corresponds approximatelyto 600 Lexile units, the 4th grade to 750
Lexile units, the 5th gradeto 850 Lexile units, the 6thgradeto 950 Lexile
units, the 7thgradeto 1000 Lexile units, the 8thgradeto 1050 Lexile units,
the 9th gradeto 1100 Lexile units, the 10thgradeto 1150 Lexile units, and
the 11thgradeto 1200 Lexile units. The articlesin the sample sets thatwe
suggest for the activity on the Vietnam War range in difficulty from a
Lexile ratingof 720 to a ratingof 1390.
After providing the studentswith initial backgroundon the Vietnam
War and selecting appropriatereadingmaterials,a critical readingexercise reflecting the infusion approach should be used to introduce or
reinforce several of the cognitive skills and operationsthat the students
need to internalizebefore they undertakethe primarycritical thinking
activitythatillustratesthe immersionapproach.One possible period-long
infusion activity surroundsthe recent revelations about former United
States SenatorBob Kerrey's admission of civilian deaths duringa mission he led in the Mekong Delta in 1969. Using the article set noted in
Table 2 below, the instructorwould provide three groups of students,
organizedaccordingto readingability, with varying levels of assistance
in understandingthe issues conveyed in the four moderately difficult
articles. (The Lexile scores of all four articles are between 1050 and
1270.) The articles selected are effective for an infusion activity because
of the consistent subjectfocus and similaremphases on how the Kerrey
incidentillustratesthe war's moralambiguity.Yet each articleprovidesa
differentperspectiveon the incident's meaningand ramifications.These
differences reflect the author'sas well as the periodical's political leanings. Moreover,because each articleis only one page long, each student
in the threegroupswould be able to readall fourarticlesin approximately
15 to 20 minutes.
To provide appropriatedifferentiatedguidancefor the threegroupsin
the introductoryinfusion exercise and to take advantageof the availability of articlesat differentreadingdifficulty levels, the teachermust have
some sense of the readingabilitylevels of the students.The teachercould
simply ask the class which individuals would like to read the difficult
articles,which the moderatelydifficult articles, and which the relatively
easy articles. We do not recommendthis tack, however, because it can
reinforce a tendency of some students to not challenge themselves.
Anotherpossible approachis also based on studentinput, but it is less
likely to lead to the placementof studentsinto inappropriategroups.With
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
198
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
this approach,the teacher,at the beginningof the course, says that some
activitiesduringthe semesterwill workbest if the teacherhas an accurate
pictureof the readingability of each student.The teacherthen handsout
slips of paperon which the studentsare to write theirnames and indicate
with a check markwhetherthey are a strongand reasonablyfast reader,
an average reader,or a slow readerin comparisonto their classmates.
Anotherapproachfor obtainingestimatesof the readingability levels of
the studentsin a class is to obtain standardizedreadingtest scores from
studentfiles or to ask for this informationfrom a school counselor.If the
intentduringthe courseis to use manyactivitieswith readingmaterialsat
different difficulty levels, the teacher might consider administeringa
quick groupreadingplacementtest, such as the Reading-LevelIndicator,
publishedby AmericanGuidanceService. This test can be completedby
studentsin 5 to 15 minutes.
For the lowest level readinggroupin the introductorycriticalthinking
exercise, the instructormight choose to eithertell the studentsexplicitly
about the issues involved, including the authors' personal biases, the
reputationof the periodicals, and the values and perspectives usually
reflected in the periodical or might provide substantialhelp about the
authors'perspectivesandthe periodicals'politicalleanings.Forinstance,
the instructormight point out elements about the authors'backgrounds
and previous writings. He or she might also explain who each of the
periodicals' target audiences is and what it is that these readers find
appealing about the particularperiodical. For the lowest level reading
group,it would be useful to not only point out what the authors'credentials are andthe periodicals'political leaningsbut also to engage students
in discussionaboutwhy an author'scredentialsor a periodical'sperspectives matter when evaluating an article's incisiveness on the issue at
hand.For the middle groupof readers,the instructorwould provideonly
moderateassistancewith these issues. For the best readers,the instructor
would provide no such assistance other than to alert them to notice the
magazinesin which each articleappearedand any backgroundpresented
about each author. For all readers, this information is importantfor
understandingthe point of view of each articleandfor detectingpossible
bias. In each case, the guiding question the instructorshould convey to
each group of students would be: "What should we learn about the
Vietnam War from each account of the Kerrey incident?"After these
instructionsand the reading of the articles by the students,each group
would be given ten minutes to discuss how the varying perspectives
surroundingthe incidentaddressthe guiding question.One studentfrom
each group should then reporton theirfindings to the rest of the class to
finish out the exercise before the class periodends.
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
199
After the backgroundinstructionand this infusionreadingexercise on
critical thinking, the students should be adequately preparedfor the
immersionactivity. (See Table 3)
For this criticalthinkingactivity, studentsshouldagainbe dividedinto
threereadinglevels: high, medium,andlow. Ideally, these groupsshould
consist of up to five students,equal to the numberof articles or pairs of
articlesin each set. (See Table 4 for the readingsets) The activityrequires
two 50-minute instructional days (or, alternatively, one 90- to 120minute block session). Before giving the students time to read, the
instructorshould explain that each group will collectively evaluate the
articles for use as possible sources for a paperon what the United States
should have learnedfrom the Vietnam War. The instructorshould also
explain to the studentsthat their evaluations should take into consideration the following criteria:the author'scredentialsand objectivity, the
periodical's reputation,the article's authoritativeness,and the relevance
of the article content to a lesson that should have been learnedfrom the
war. Afterreadingthe articles,each groupof studentsshouldbe prepared
to determinewhich articles,accordingto these criteria,aremost andleast
appropriateas sources for a paper on lessons that should have been
learned from the war and, primarily,to explain their reasons for their
rankings.Each studentis then given about seven minutes to read each
articleor pairof articlesin the group'sreadingset. The studentsshouldbe
encouragedto take notes for each article reflecting the various criteria
outlined to help guide their post-readingdiscussions about the use of
these readingsas sources.
Once studentshave begun to discuss the articles,the instructorshould
circulatefrom one groupto anotherand play an active role in helping to
elicit and clarify the students' ideas. The instructormight help the students with promptsthat relate back to facts and other issues presented
duringthe previous contextualpartof the unit. The instructormight also
provide the students with remindersabout elements of the articles that
studentsmay have overlooked or misunderstood.Of course, as the students discuss the relative strengthsand weaknesses of the articles, they
are likely to stray from the intention of the activity and instead debate
issues relatedto the details of the war broughtout in the articles.While a
little of this might be acceptable,the instructormust remindthe students
to stay focused on the task at handin orderto complete the activity in the
allottedtime. Table 5 highlightsa sampleevaluationof one of the articles
from the relativelyeasy readinglevel set.
Assuming that with two instructionaldays devoted to the activity,
students might need the beginning of the second day to wrap up their
evaluations of the articles, but the rest of that day should focus on the
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
200
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
students' presentationsof their assessments. Each group is expected to
briefly justify their collective decisions about how they evaluatedeach
article accordingto the criteria;in other words, the presentationsby the
groups should emphasize the reasons they evaluatedthe articles as they
did, not simplythe rankingsof the articlesas sources.Thesejustifications
should constitutethe heartof the discussions on the second instructional
day. It is importantfor the instructorto promptthe students'remarksin a
way that strengthensthis focus. It is also helpful for the instructorto
summarizethe groups' evaluations of the articles on the board or an
overheadprojectoras the studentspresenttheirremarks.
If the class in which the activityis used containsonly weak readers,the
instructorcould restrictthe materialsto the relatively easy articles and
could provide for whole class discussion of each articleafterit has been
read in class by all the students. Then the class could be divided into
small groupsfor final discussion and evaluationof the articlesbefore the
small groups reportback to the class. This combinationof whole-class
and small-group instruction would allow the instructorto guide the
studentsin consideringthe credentialsand objectivityof each author,the
periodical's reputation,and the article's authoritativeness.It would also
take advantageof the informal atmosphereof small groups when the
students are discussing the relevance of article content to a lesson that
should have been learned from the war and for arriving at a group
consensus regardingthe appropriatenessof each articleas a source for a
paper.
The above immersionactivity offers at least two possible summative
assessmentopportunities.If the primaryconcernis assessmentof each of
the three studentgroups' evaluationsof the articles as possible sources,
the instructormight develop a two-dimensional rubric which would
allow him or her to judge students'proficiency on both the comprehensiveness of theirreview criteriaand the depthof theirarguments.For the
first dimension of the rubric, the instructormight simply count the
evaluationcriteriacited by each groupfor each article.For instance,did
they cite each author's credentialsand objectivity, discuss or question
each periodical'sreputation,addresseach article's authoritativeness,and
note whetheror not the article is relevantfor use in addressinglessons
learned from the war? For the second dimension of the rubric, the
instructormight evaluatethe depthof the argumentpresentedon each of
the four criteria.This could be accomplishedby devising a scale which
measuresthe persuasivenessand detail of the groups' arguments.If the
instructoris more concernedabout evaluatingeach individualstudent's
learning, another possible summative assessment would be requiring
each studentto actually write a paperon lessons learnedfrom the Viet-
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
201
nam War. The instructormight provide a list of issues addressedin each
of the reading sets, such as the cold war, containmentdoctrine,and the
draft, and then ask each studentto compare and contrasthow specific
authorsand articlesexaminedthese issues.
We believe that the immersion approachto critical thinkingas illustrated in this activity can reinforce and develop a variety of important
dispositions and attitudesassociated with critical thinking.By sparking
students' interestin a contemporaryand controversialdebate, they will
be more likely to want to understandimportantissues aboutthe war and
otherrelatedtopics, such as the on-going debatesaboutAmerica'srole as
the world's policemanin AfghanistanandIraq.The activityalso provides
the studentswith meaningfulexperiencesin understandingandconsidering viewpoints other than their own. By comparing, contrasting, and
evaluatingauthors'points of view, the studentslearnthatfactualpresentations are not the only objectives of authorswhen writing about a topic
or of a periodicalwhen publishingan articleon a topic. In each case, the
immersionapproachis a more effective vehicle for developing students'
higher-levelcriticalthinkingabilitiesthanapproachesthatstress specific
skills or operationswithoutattentionto knowledge and attitudes.
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
202
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
Table 1:
Background preparation for a critical thinking activity
on the Vietnam War
Lecturesand textbookand other secondaryreadingson:
1. origins of the war, includingAmerica's Cold Warcontainment
doctrine;Chinese, French, and Japaneseimperialismin Vietnam before 1945; Vietnamese collaborationwith the United
States during the World War II; Ho Chi Minh's career and
vision for an independentVietnam;and the FrenchIndochina
War
2. American supportfor Ngo Dinh Diem and covert efforts of
Americanforces before the Gulf of TonkinResolution
3. Johnson's focus on a strategy of attrition,especially use of
"searchand destroy"as a form of limited escalation
4. build-upof oppositionto the war on the home front
5. the Tet Offensive as the war's turning point, resulting in
Johnson'sdecision not to seek re-election
6. Nixon's "Vietnamization"policy and war in Cambodia
7. erosion of Americanmilitary's moraleandthe final withdrawal
of Americanforces
Films, includingsegmentsfromcommercialfilms such as TheDeer
Hunter,HamburgerHill, Hanoi Hilton, TheKilling Fields, and We
WereSoldiers.
Presentationsby Vietnamveterans
PrimarySourcematerialsfoundon the WorldWide Web, including
1. VietnamWar, 1960-1973<www.kwanah.com/vl/021.htm>
(part
of Universityof KansasWWW-VLHistory:UnitedStates)
2. The War in Vietnam:A Story in Photographs<www.archives.
gov/digital_classroom/lessons/vietnam_photographs/
vietnam_photos.html>(partof NARA Digital Classroom)
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
203
Table2:
Infusionexercisereadingset
Jonathan
Alter,"TheTerribleWagesof War,"Newsweek137(May
7, 2001), 41.
"Anti-Hero,"New Republic224(May 14, 2001), 11.
Brad Knickerbocker,"Vietnam's Moral Mind Game," Christian
Science Monitor93(May 1, 2001), 9.
"TheKerreyAffair,"Economist360(May 5-11, 2001), 28.
Table3:
Summaryof immersionreadingactivitysteps
1. Instructordivides groupsof up to five studentsinto threereading levels: high, medium,low.
2. Instructorexplains thateach groupwill evaluatethe articlesby
takinginto consideration:
* Author'scredentialsand objectivity
* Periodical'sreputation
* Article's authoritativeness
* Relevance of article content to a lesson that should have
been learnedfrom the war
3. Students given seven minutes to read each of the articles or
pairsof articlesin the readingset, and each studentshouldtake
notes on the articlesaccordingto the four main criteria.
4. Instructorfacilitatesdiscussion within each group.
5. Each readinggrouppresentstheirfindings.
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
204
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
Table 4:
of
Sets
Articles
Suitable for Use
Sample
in a United States History Class and Relevant to Consideration
of Lessons to Be Learned from the Vietnam War
(with reading difficulty levels in Lexile units in parentheses)
RelativelyEasy Reading
Alter, Jonathan.'I Sweated Blood at Night.' Newsweek 125 (April
17, 1995): 52-53.
An interview with Robert McNamarafollowing publicationof
his book In Retrospect.(840)
Beschloss, Michael."IDon't See Any Way of Winning."Newsweek
138 (November 12, 2001): 58-61.
An excerpt from a book on Lyndon Johnson's secret White
House tapes, revealing that Johnson did not believe the United
States could win the VietnamWar. (840)
Broyles,Jr.,William."TheGhostsof Vietnam."Newsweek123(February14, 1994): 30-32.
A wide-rangingpersonal statementamountingto a plea to let
disagreementsabout the war pass, written by a former Marine
lieutenant in Vietnam who was later the editor-in-chief of
Newsweek and the co-creator of the television series "China
Beach". (770)
Brudno, Robert J. "UnfinishedBusiness." Newsweek 131(June 1,
1998): 12.
A statement by a brother of a Vietnam-eraprisoner of war,
speculatingabout why his brotherkilled himself afterreturning
to the United States. (1030)
Galloway, Joseph L. "FatalVictory." U.S. News & WorldReport
109(0ctober 29, 1990): 32-34.
An argumentthatthe realitiesof the first majorbattleby American troops in Vietnam were ignored and that the battle set the
patternof how the war was officially viewed and how it was
fought. (1010)
Hanson-Harding,Alexandra."Voicesof Vietnam."JuniorScholastic 101(May 10, 1999), 12-14.
Brief statementsaboutthe VietnamWarby a veteran,a military
wife, a war protestor,and a South Vietnamesedoctor. (720)
Lyons, Dan. "McNamaraNever Understood U.S. Role in Viet-
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
205
nam-and Still Doesn't." HumanEvents 51(May 12, 1995): 1314.
A critiqueof RobertMcNamaraand his book In Retrospectby a
VietnamWarreporterwho wrote Vietnam:WhyWeShouldHave
Won.(950)
Rissel, Morgan."My Father'sWar HauntsMe." New Moon 7(September/October1999): 44-45.
A young woman's description of ways in which her father's
involvementin the VietnamWar affected him and her. (770)
ModeratelyDifficultReading
Blum, Edward."My Vietnam War and Theirs."ChristianScience
Monitor92(April 26, 2000): 9.
A statementof apology by a VietnamWarprotestorwho is now
an investmentbankerand the chairmanof legal defense foundation. (1100)
Dannenberg,James. "WhatI Did Was Legal, But Was It Right?"
Newsweek 139(February18, 2002): 19.
A statementof guilt by a man who avoided the Vietnam War
draftthrougha studentdefermentand practiceddraftlaw during
partof the war, pointing out that draftavoidance shielded many
young, well-educatedAmericanmales from serious contemplation aboutthe war. (1100)
Horowitz, David. "VietnamGeneralConfirmsU.S. Left's Role in
Losing War."HumanEvents 51(September22, 1995): 15.
An argumentdrawingupon statementsby a formergeneralin the
NorthVietnamesearmyand concludingthatAmerica's involvement in the war was appropriateand that war protestorswere a
cause of America's failurein the war. (1110)
Jimenez, Vito. "WhatMission for the U.S. Military?"World & I
9(July 1994): 94-97.
A statementpresenting the Powell doctrine of either massive
militaryengagementor no engagement,explainingwhy the doctrinewas not appliedin Vietnam,and arguingfor its appropriateness, writtenby a naval officer who is a fellow at the American
EnterpriseInstitute.(1080)
Karow, Stanley. "Lost Inside the Machine." Time 157(May 7,
2001): 34.
A commentaryon combatconditionsfor Americansoldiers during the Vietnam War, writtenby the authorof Vietnam:A His-
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
206
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
tory, which was awardedthe PulitzerPrize in 1990. (1080)
"TheLongest War."Economist355(April 29,2000): 25-27.
A wide-rangingpiece on the VietnamWarin a Britishmagazine.
(1130)
Newman, RichardJ. "Vietnam'sForgottenLessons." U.S. News &
WorldReport 128(May 1, 2000): 30-35.
A cover storyby a full-time writerfor a weekly news magazine.
(1150)
Dificult Reading
Davis, Peter. "Vietnam:A CrackedMirror."Nation 270(May 15,
2000): 18-21.
A statementcontendingthatthe United Stateslost the VietnamWar
and thatthe defeat had beneficial effects for the country,written
by the director of an Academy Award-winningdocumentary
aboutthe VietnamWar,Hearts and Minds. (1230)
Herring,George C. "Americaand Vietnam:The Unending War."
Foreign Affairs 70(Winter 1991/1992): 104-119.
A scholarlyarticleby a professorof history at the Universityof
Kentucky.(1390)
LeFever, Ernest W. "Uses of the Past: Vietnam as a Metaphor."
World& I 12(December1997): 318-327.
An analysis of American society's opposing interpretationsof
the Vietnam War, concluding with the view that America's
militaryinterventionin Vietnamproducedsome positive results,
written by the founder of the Ethics and Public Policy Center,
who was a supporterof the war at the time. (1330)
Rostow, Walter W. "McNamara'sVietnam War Reconsidered."
Society 35(September/October1998): 78-83.
A review of RobertMcNamara'sbook In Retrospectby a political scientist who was a special assistant to PresidentJohnson
duringthe VietnamWar. (1230)
Summers,Jr., HarryG. "FinalDays of South Vietnam."American
History 30(April 1995): 30-36.
An accountof the final days beforethe fall of Saigon to the North
Vietnamese, contendingthat the South Vietnamese militaryoffered commendableresistance, written by a military historian
who is a U. S. Army colonel and was a combat veteranin the
VietnamWar. (1230)
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
207
Table5:
SampleEvaluationof an Article
JonathanAlter, 'I SweatedBlood at Night AboutIt,' Newsweek 125
(April17, 1995),52-53.
* Author's credentials and objectivity:McNamarawas secretary
of defenseduringthe Johnsonadministration
andone of Johnson's
makers.
McNamara
However,
key policy
might not be consideredvery objectivein his recollectionssince his book defendshis
attemptsto limit America's involvement in the war and minimizes his role in escalatingouruse of militarymeasures.Cynical
observersmight say thathe has been engaged for some years in
attemptingto ensure a positive image for himself in history.
* Periodical's reputation:Newsweek is considered a reputable
centristmass marketnews magazine.
* Article's authoritativeness:McNamara conveys his positions
with precision and persuasiveness, but, again, might also be
slantinghis remarksto defend his desire to be seen as an advocate of limited militaryinvolvement.
* Relevanceof the article contentto a lesson thatshouldhave been
learnedfrom the war: The interview materialis highly relevant
to the issue of lessons thatshouldhave been learnedfromthe war
because McNamarais conveying ideas abouthow the American
governmentshould have developed differentpolicies duringthe
war, such as winning over the hearts and minds of the South
Vietnameseinstead of relying on body counts.
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Wilson J. Warren,David M. Memory,and Kevin Bolinger
208
Notes
1.
RobertH. Ennis,"CriticalThinkingAssessment,"TheoryintoPractice32(Summer 1993), 180.
2.
PeterGibbon,"TheNew Uses of History:The PrimarySource:A New Tool in
HistoryTeaching,"IndependentSchoolBulletin32(0ctober 1972), 47-49; Ray W. Karras,
"An Assembly Plan for Problem-CenteredResearch Essays," History Teacher 10(November 1976), 7-19; Laszlo D. Miklos andMaryOellerichMiklos, "HistoricalInquiryas
a Method of Teaching American History on the Secondary Level," Social Studies
62(March 1971), 113-17; and Ronald Ridgley, "Will the History Survey Be Salvaged?"
Social Studies64(December 1973), 313-15.
3.
Barry Kingman, "Students,History Textbooks, and the Hidden Dimension,"
OccasionalPaperNumber77-1, ERICDocumentReproductionServices No. ED 137197
(1976).
4.
CynthiaR. Hynd, "TeachingStudentsto ThinkCriticallyUsing MultipleTexts
in History,"Journal of Adolescentand AdultLiteracy42(March 1999), 428-36; and Ian
Wright, "Using the Social Studies Textbook to Teach Critical Thinking," Canadian
Social Studies 30(Winter1996), 68-71.
5.
Kline Capps and David E. Vocke, "Developing Higher-Level Thinking
Skills through American History Writing Assignments," OAH Magazine of History
6(Fall 1991), 6-9; Robert A. Cole, "Confronting the Content Ogre with Critical
Thinking," OAH Magazine of History 5(Summer 1990), 9-11; Robert P. Green, Jr.,
and Robert E. Coviello, "The Historian's Craft," Social Science Record 21(Fall
1984), 29-31; David S. Trask, "Teaching History in Historical Times: A Side Stage
Approach," Teaching History: A Journal of Methods 21(Fall 1996), 59-67; Laurel
R. Singleton and James R. Giese, "Using Online Primary Sources with Students,"
Social Studies 90(July-August 1999), 148-51; and Wilson J. Warren, "Using the
World Wide Web for Primary Source Research in Secondary History Classes," in
History.edu: Essays on Teaching with Technology, ed. Dennis A. Trinkle and Scott
A. Merriman (Armonk, NY, 2001), 171-80.
Shane Borrowman,"CriticalSurfing:HolocaustDenial and Credibilityon the
6.
Web,"College Teaching47(Spring 1999), 44-47; andKathleenW. Craver,UsingInternet
PrimarySources to Teach Critical ThinkingSkills in History (Westport,CT, 1999).
7.
AvnerSegall, "CriticalHistory:Implicationsfor History/SocialStudiesEducation," Theoryand Research in Social Education27(Summer1999), 358-74.
8.
James S. Leming, "Some Critical Thoughts about the Teaching of Critical
Thinking,"Social Studies 89(March-April1998), 61-66; and RobertJ. Kloss, "A Nudge
Is Best," College Teaching42(Fall 1994), 151-58.
9.
Phillip L. Ackerman,"Traitsand Knowledge as Determinantsof Learningand
IndividualDifferences:PuttingIt All Together,"in Learningand IndividualDifferences.
Process, Trait,and ContentDeterminants,ed. Phillip L. Ackerman,PatrickC. Kyllonen,
and RichardD. Roberts(Washington,D.C., 1999), 437-60.
10. Barry K. Beyer, Improving Student Thinking:A ComprehensiveApproach
(Needham Heights, MA, 1997); and Diane F. Halpem, Thoughtand Knowledge:An
Introductionto Critical Thinking(Mahwah,NJ), 1996.
11. William W. Wilen and John Arul Phillips, "TeachingCritical Thinking: A
MetacognitiveApproach,"Social Education59(March 1995), 135-38; and Ian Wright,
"MakingCriticalThinkingPossible: Optionsfor Teachers,"Social Education59(March
1995), 139-43.
12. Beyer, ImprovingStudentThinking;Wright, "MakingCriticalThinking Pos-
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ImprovingCriticalThinkingSkills in the United States Survey Course
209
sible"; and Roland Case and Ian Wright, "Taking Seriously the Teaching of Critical
Thinking,"CanadianSocial Studies 32(Fall 1997), 12-19.
13. Beyer, ImprovingStudent Thinking;and Richard S. Prawat, "The Value of
Ideas: The Immersion Approach to the Development of Thinking,"Educational Researcher 20(March 1991), 3-10.
14. Prawat,"The Value of Ideas";David N. Perkins and Gavriel Salomon, "Are
1989),
Cognitive Skills Context-Bound?"EducationalResearcher 18(January-February
16-25; and David N. Perkins, Eileen Jay, and Shari Tishman, "Beyond Abilities: A
DispositionalTheory of Thinking,"Merrill-PalmerQuarterly39(January1993), 1-21.
15. Stephen Winterstein, "Teaching the Vietnam War: A Conference Report,"
Foreign Policy Research InstituteFootnotes 6(July 2000).
16. Michael F. Palo, "'Dad, WhatDid You Do duringthe War?':A Postmodernist
(?) ClassroomExercise,"History Teacher33(February2000), 193-212.
This content downloaded from 152.20.158.206 on Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:27:41 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions