Trust

This seems to be an important point in What the Best Teachers Do - trust. The need for assignments to flow, not from school or grade, but something that is of benefit personally and intellectually. Also from teacher's rejection of power over them, try to leave control over education to the students. And set standards where you are incapable of imagining students not thinking and acting on the highest level.
The promising syllabus (1) what opportunities will this course hold for intellectual and emotional growth (2) what will be done to realize these promises, if they decide to stay with the class what will they need to achieve (3) and a summary of what we understand learning to be - beginning a dialogue with the students
How to teach critical thinking - pit great thinkers (plato vs. aristotle) against each other and make students chose, enter great controversies, take a stand and defend it, careful questioning and structured assignments that allow for practice and feedback before evaluation, teach how to read material and critically think about it
to engage in meaningful learning (that allows re-examination of thinking in some fundamental ways) (1) need to care about the issue (2) ample opportunity to apply learning to meaningful problems
nonjudgemental responsiveness = challenging work and an environment that constantly tells them that intelligence can be expanded, "you don't teach a class, you teach a student"

Summary: ask and perform higher thinking skills that has personal relevance, creation of meaning must have some meaning to begin with