Impact of Interactivity and Active Collaborative Learning on Students’ Critical Thinking in Higher Education

Abstract

In academia, critical thinking involves obtaining reliable information and taking reasoned actions to solve problems. To explore critical thinking skills among undergraduate students, we performed an empirical study of data collected from undergraduate Architecture and Civil Engineering students attending a leading private university in Mexico. The data collection instrument was a Google Forms questionnaire applied online through the university learning management platform, Canvas, using convenience sampling. We received 273 useable responses out of 281 distributed. A hierarchical regression technique was applied to explore the correlation of (1) interactivity and (2) active collaborative learning with the critical thinking of undergraduate students. We found that scholarships and the enrollment status of students significantly influence critical thinking. Our analyzed results additionally suggest that interactivity and active collaborative learning positively influence critical thinking. This study also confirms that a social-media-based learning environment is essential to enhance students’ soft skills.