Critical Thinking Practice Research Articles

The relationship between virtual simulation, critical thinking, and self-directed learning abilities of nursing students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The use of virtual simulation in nursing education is an effective approach for improving nursing critical thinking and self-learning abilities, but the previous studies were limited to providing the required evidence that supports the association. This study aimed to assess the relationship between virtual simulation and critical thinking disposition and self-directed learning abilities among nursing students. This is a descriptive correlational, non-experimental study. It was conducted among 201 third- and fourth-year nursing students at the Academic Institution, Saudi Arabia. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to select the participants; then, an online, adapted questionnaire was sent to the participants, the data from which was analyzed by SPSS. The study findings showed that virtual simulation benefited nursing students. Most participants (56%) agreed that it helped them to think critically, and approximately 27% strongly agreed. It also enhanced their self-directed learning abilities, and the majority of the students agreed that they often review the way nursing practice is conducted. Furthermore, the results showed a significant, positive relationship between virtual simulation and the critical thinking disposition of nursing students (p-value = 0.03; correlation coefficient = 0.65), a strong positive relationship with self-directed learning abilities of nursing students (p-value = 0.004; correlation coefficient = 0.78), and a strong positive relationship between critical thinking disposition with self-directed learning abilities of nursing students (p-value = 0.01; correlation coefficient = 0.72). There are significant relationships between virtual simulation and the critical thinking disposition and self-directed learning abilities of nursing students. Furthermore, virtual simulation made the students practice critical thinking and self-learning, so, they simulate events and try to seek out and solve the problems.

Intellectual autonomy as the aim of critical thinking

Critical thinking is often nominated as a graduate attribute, a learning outcome, and is even offered as a discrete subject in schools and universities. Therefore, it is important to gain clarity about the fundamental goal or purpose of critical thinking education. What should instructors be aiming at when they seek to instil critical thinking in their students? In this paper, we argue that the aim of critical thinking is the achievement and maintenance of intellectual autonomy. In setting out our argument for this conclusion, we investigate the three most plausible candidates for the goal of critical thinking practice. The first such candidate is successful inquiry: inquiry that succeeds in obtaining epistemic goods such as knowledge, true belief, or empirically adequate explanation. The second candidate is epistemically virtuous inquiry, i.e. inquiry that exhibits the full range of epistemic virtues, including the skills and capacities needed to support them. The third candidate is intellectual autonomy. We develop an account of intellectual autonomy as a form of self-respect attached to one’s epistemic and intellectual life and argue that only intellectual autonomy in this sense does full justice to the practice of critical thinking.

Efektivitas Model Pembelajaran Problem Based Learning Berbasis Wordwall untuk Meningkatkan Critical Thinking Peserta Didik pada Materi Perumusan Dasar Negara Pancasila

This study aims to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the Wordwall-based Problem Based Learning (PBL) model and traditional lecture-based learning in enhancing students' critical thinking skills. Proficiency in critical thinking is crucial for effectively analyzing issues and proposing viable solutions. The PBL approach is particularly suited to developing students' critical thinking abilities by stimulating their cognitive skills and fostering consistent critical thinking practices. The research employed a quantitative methodology within a quasi-experimental framework, utilizing a non-equivalent control group design with 35 students in both the experimental and control groups. Data collection involved tests and observations, and analysis included descriptive analysis and prerequisite tests for normality and homogeneity. The statistical analysis used a paired sample t-test. Findings revealed significant differences between the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group showing higher average n-gain values (0.57 vs. 0.07) and percentages (56.85% vs. 6.70%), indicating greater effectiveness in improving critical thinking skills.

Fostering Clinical Judgment and Promoting Transition Into First Clinical Rotation Through Active Learning.

Undergraduate nursing education builds on knowledge obtained from previous semesters to grow critical thinking skills and promote clinical judgment attainment. Transitioning knowledge from the classroom to the clinical setting is often difficult. Students finishing their first semester of courses in a BSN program participated in a novel, interactive classroom activity to help them practice critical thinking, transfer their learning, and develop clinical judgment by applying concepts to patient scenarios. Using an engaging student experience promotes long-term deep learning in hopes that students will remain successful in their progression through the curriculum.

영어교육 위기 상황에서의 융합 영어영문학의 역할

This study aims to offer how English language education based on English literary works (including children's literature) can respond more actively to the current crisis in which 'Korean-style' English language education is heading towards collapse. This study also aims to help English language instructors and scholars themselves understand the pedagogical, ethical, and political aspects of their teaching and research so that learning should be at the heart of all transformative actions against the crisis in the way that English language education can help EFL learners acquire a strong sense of agency, practice critical thinking, and respond to and initiate changes against the crisis. This study 1) critically reflects on the communicative approach that has long dominated our English language teaching and learning; 2) examines the hybridity and non-convergence of the various foreign language teaching and learning principles and methodologies introduced so far and attempts to develop new convergent English language teaching principles, directions, and methodologies with a humanistic approach as the centerpiece; and finally, 3) explores the necessity, importance, and methodology of shifting to content-competence- based English language teaching. It is hoped that these efforts can be integrated to overcome the gap between English language teaching practices and the world outside the classroom, thus helping overcome the current crisis in English language education from within and outside.

Practicing Critical Thinking Skills Through an Android Game on the Human Reproductive System

This study aimed to aid in practicing critical thinking skills through an android game about the human reproductive system. A descriptive method was used in this study, in which students did their own exploration using the Android game named Human Reproductive System and Sex Education (HUPROSED). Six indicators of critical thinking skills based on Facione’s work were analyzed. The six indicators were interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, and explanation. Forty six students were chosen to review the game by purposive sampling. This research’s critical thinking skills were included in the quiz question in line with HOTS (High order thinking skills) about the human reproductive system, such as the menstruation cycle, sexually transmitted diseases, sperm, the concept of twins, and HIV, which usually have cognitive skills above C4 (applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating). In the game, students answered the quiz. Five test items based on critical thinking were used to exercise students’ critical thinking skills. The test got a score of 65 on average. Therefore, this research demonstrated how the android game “HUPROSED” may be used to teach students about the human reproductive system and sex education while also allowing students to practice critical thinking, although it still needs to be developed.
 Keywords: critical thinking skills, android game, human reproductive system

Examining the impact of a strength-based program to enhance teacher-trainees’ critical thinking abilities: a pilot study

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine how well a strength-based program grounded in positive psychology principles can advance the practical critical thinking skills of those pursuing the teacher training course. Design/methodology/approach This study used a single-group pre-test post-test design with 35 teacher-trainees from the Bachelor of Education course. The two-and-a-half-week strength-based program used the values in action survey to identify strengths. Pre- and post-test scores, measured with the Cornell Critical Thinking Test – Level Z, underwent Statistical Package for Social Sciences analysis including paired samples t-test for subcomponent and overall composite analysis. Findings Analysis of the pre- and post-test scores demonstrated a statistical significance in the critical thinking scores obtained by the teacher-trainees. Post-test scores were consistently significant. Out of the elements of critical thinking, induction, meaning, observation and credibility were more prominent. Deduction and assumption identification were also having a significant effect. Originality/value Most critical thinking programs focus on evaluating specific teaching methods for improving critical thinking skills. In education, positive psychology studies often center on students’ well-being, attention spans and academic success, aligning with wellness programs. Despite the importance of strengths in positive psychology, there is a lack of research on using a strength-based approach to boost critical thinking skills. This study aims to enhance teacher-trainees’ critical thinking by leveraging their individual strengths, moving away from traditional instructional strategies.

Chinese university English teachers’ perceptions and practices of critical thinking: Challenging discourses of deficit

Critical thinking (CT) is established almost universally as a core goal in education, but continued association of practices involved in CT with education in the global north has constructed a discourse of deficit that underpins flows in higher education to institutions in the north, especially in the Anglosphere. The study presented in this paper is based on an analysis of the evidence of CT skills by a group of Chinese academics interviewed at the end of a short professional development program at an Australian university. Findings revealed that although participants voiced deficit discourses in relation to their own CT capacities and those of students and academics in China more generally, their responses to questions about any potential transfer of their learning to practice offered evidence of CT. We conclude that reductive assumptions assigning ownership of CT to particular groups or education systems need to be critically interrogated.

'Misdiagnosed and Misunderstood': Insights into Rarer Forms of Dementia through a Stepwise Approach to Co-Constructed Research Poetry.

This study investigated co-constructed research poetry as a way to understand the lived experiences of people affected by rarer dementia and as a means to use poetry to convey those experiences to healthcare professionals. Using mixed methods, 71 people living with rarer dementia and care-partners (stakeholders) contributed to co-constructing 27 poems with professional poets; stakeholders' verbatim words were analysed with descriptive qualitative analysis. Stakeholders were also surveyed and interviewed about their participation. Healthcare professionals (n = 93) were surveyed to elicit their responses to learning through poetry and its acceptability as a learning tool. Poems conveyed a shared narrative of different aspects of lived experience, often owing to atypical symptoms, misunderstandings by professionals, lack of support pathways, and a continuous struggle to adapt. Stakeholder surveys indicated it was a valuable experience to both co-create and respond to the poems, whilst group interviews revealed people's experiences of the research poetry were characterised by reflection on lived experience, curiosity and exploration. Healthcare professionals' responses reinforced poetry's capacity to stimulate cognitive and affective learning specific to rare dementia support and prompt both empathy and critical thinking in practice. As the largest poetry-based study that we are aware of, this novel accessible approach of creating group poems yielded substantial information about the experiences and needs of those affected by rarer dementia and how poetry can contribute to healthcare education and training.

Implementing team-based learning in a large environmental chemistry course and its impact on student learning and perceptions

Team-based learning (TBL) is an instructional strategy where students participate in a set of activities including, applying course concepts to real-life case studies in instructor-selected teams. Here, we describe how TBL has been incorporated into a 3rd year, large, environmental chemistry course and investigate the benefits of using this strategy. A combination of pre/post survey and coursework data were analyzed to understand: (1) What were student perceptions of TBL? (2) How did using TBL to deliver content influence student learning, measured by exam performance? (3) How did students’ team skills evolve? Post-survey results indicate that students perceived TBL as enhancing their interest in course content, creating real-world connections, and most helpful for achieving practical critical thinking skills. Student performance on TBL-related final exam items was significantly better (Mean = 73%, SD = 21%) than non TBL-related final exam items, (Mean = 65%, SD = 21%), despite the level of complexity being similar between the two categories. The pre/post survey results indicate that, as compared to the start of term, students reported being significantly more comfortable expressing opinions in group meetings (t(78) = 4.25, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.48), and leading group discussions (t(78) = 3.11, p = 0.003, Cohen's d = 0.35), by the end of the term. The one-minute reflections (completed following the first and fifth TBL activities) indicated that there was a 14% increase (77% vs. 91%) in the number of students reporting on collective team decision making. This study demonstrates the wide-ranging positive impacts of TBL to student learning in a large Environmental Chemistry course all while enhancing active learning and applying chemistry concepts to relevant and real-life case studies.

Pengembangan Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis dalam Pembelajaran Fiqih di Madrasah Ibtida’iyah

The purpose of this study is to examine developing critical thinking skills in learning fiqh of MIN 7 Boyolali, as well as the supporting and inhibiting factors. This research uses a qualitative method with a case study approach. Data collection techniques using interviews, observation, and documentation. Data analysis techniques are data collection, data reduction, and conclusion drawing/verification. The results showed that developing critical thinking skills in fiqh learning at MIN 7 Boyolali has been carried out quite well. This shows that the fiqh teacher at MIN 7 Boyolali has a good understanding of critical thinking skills and how to apply them in fiqh learning. In addition, teachers have also used various learning methods that can develop critical thinking skills. However, there are still some things that can be improved in developing critical thinking skills in fiqh learning at MIN 7 Boyolali, namely teachers need to provide more opportunities for students to practice critical thinking, and the fiqh curriculum and syllabus need to be reviewed to place more emphasis on developing critical thinking skills. The contribution of this research is to provide an overview of the development of critical thinking skills in fiqh learning at MIN 7 Boyolali and provide recommendations to improve the development of critical thinking skills.

Lauren Berlant on Genre

There is no doubt that the writing of Lauren Berlant is influential in media and cultural studies as well as across gender and feminist studies and other work in critical, cultural and materialist traditions. Given the complexity of Berlant’s work and its integral refusal of taxonomic and hegemonic terms, it can be difficult for the reader to coherently grasp the singularity of even their most powerful concepts. This essay attempts to think with Berlant’s conceptualisation of genre without displacing the concept from their work through representational summarisation. The essay is part close reading, part exegesis and part experimentation – I hope just as Berlant would have wished. Rather than aim for an even description that accounts for Berlant’s various interventions in a measured way, the method of this essay is to think-write with the ellipsis, to undertake a translation that puts to one side the fantasy of mastery but still seeks to deepen our understanding of the intended meaning of Berlant’s texts. For Berlant, intended meanings would be about what something brings into the world. At minimum, this is my best effort at partaking in a cultural studies pedagogy that foregrounds the practice of critical thinking as world making. The essay then offers an invitation to the reader to learn from Berlant’s work about what the theoretical concept of genre can do. Just as this abstract does, the essay moves in and out of convention, where the sociality of affect does its work to congeal, to disturb, to make sense and make senseless. To move on.

Critical Thinking: The ARDESOS-DIAPROVE Program in Dialogue with the Inference to the Best and Only Explanation.

In our daily lives, we are often faced with the need to explain various phenomena, but we do not always select the most accurate explanation. For example, let us consider a "toxic" relationship with physical and psychological abuse, where one of the partners is reluctant to end it. Explanations for this situation can range from emotional or economic dependency to irrational hypotheses such as witchcraft. Surprisingly, some people may turn to the latter explanation and consequently seek ineffective solutions, such as visiting a witch doctor instead of a psychologist. This choice of an inappropriate explanation can lead to actions that are not only ineffective but potentially harmful. This example underscores the importance of inference to the best explanation (IBE) in everyday decision making. IBE involves selecting the hypothesis that would best explain the available body of data or evidence, a process that is crucial to making sound decisions but is also vulnerable to bias and errors of judgment. Within this context, the purpose of our article is to explore how the IBE process and the selection of appropriate explanations impact decision making and problem solving in real life. To this end, we systematically analyze the role of IBE in the ARDESOS-DIAPROVE program, evaluating how this approach can enhance the teaching and practice of critical thinking.

Investigating pedagogical, technological and school factors underpinning effective ‘critical thinking curricula’ in K-6 education

ObjectiveThis study investigated factors underpinning a successful technology-supported classroom curriculum, specifically designed to promote K-6 students’ critical thinking. MethodsVideo and audio data illustrating 41 students’ application of critical thinking were collected using a unique display recording app installed on iPads. These were timeline analysed using a literature-generated framework comprising Indicators of critical thinking. Interview data were thematically analysed to build knowledge of teacher pedagogical and school factors supporting the curriculum. ResultsData indicated students mostly applied critical thinking for defining and clarifying concepts, presenting reasoned arguments and conclusions, questioning and challenging others’ perspectives, seeking evidence for claims made, and identifying and critiquing assumptions. Results highlight the important contribution of teacher theoretical knowledge, school-wide commitment to a ‘critical thinking’ curriculum, and common understanding of the broader purpose schooling, as foundational to the curriculum's success. ConclusionTeaching for critical thinking was facilitated by close alignment between pedagogical, technological, and school environment factors. It was underpinned by a school-wide learning virtues and values framework emphasising students’ future competencies developed from extensive reading of research and learning theory, and was deliberately planned for. It reflected in theory-informed task design, technology selection, and pedagogy. PracticeCritical thinking has been identified in school curricula as an important capability. However, while imperatives and general principles promoting critical thinking in schools are detailed in official documents, few examples exist illustrating how critical thinking can be fostered in K-6 education. ImplicationsExplicit teaching for critical thinking should be considered a priority by teachers at all school levels. Given rapid technological advances such as AI, and implications these hold for students’ critical information literacy, this study provides timely guidance on how explicit teaching for critical thinking might be approached in K-6 education.

Critical thinking for transformative praxis in teacher education: Music, media and information literacy, and social studies in the United States

The notion and practice of critical thinking (CT) has moved from its speculative formation by John Dewey to a standard element in teacher education curricula and standards. In the process, CT has narrowed its focus to the analysis and articulation of logical thought, and lost transformative value. In this paper, we examine the conception and implementation of CT in three teacher education domains primarily in the United States–music, media and information literacy, and social studies–asking how CT has deformed education in those domains, and how domain-specific approaches could reinvigorate CT. We further suggest refocusing the purpose of CT in teacher education on accomplishing transformative education for equity in school and society, by implementing a critically reflective, transformative praxis based on the insights of domain-specific approaches to CT.

Connecting policy, practice and professional learning: a case study

ABSTRACT Background A general shift towards competency-based curricula has meant that, for quite some time, skills including critical thinking have been central considerations in educational policy reform internationally. However, what happens at the policy level is only one aspect of change: gaining a deep understanding of how new curricula are approached and interpreted in practice, at the classroom level, is crucial. Purpose This study sought to explore connections between policy, practice and professional learning in the context of a critical thinking policy. The aim was to investigate teachers’ perspectives to address the following research questions: What are teachers’ perceptions and knowledge base of critical thinking? And how, and to what extent, do teachers incorporate critical thinking into their classroom practices? Methods The study employed a collective case study approach. Participants were a sample of six teachers (three beginning and three experienced teachers) in Singapore. Data collection involved teacher interviews, lesson observations and the gathering of students’ work. The data were analysed qualitatively. Findings Through in-depth analysis of data, four major themes emerged, which characterised the teachers’ perceptions, knowledge and classroom practices of critical thinking in relation to the policy context: (i) gaps in teacher knowledge; (ii) contextual factors shaping teacher knowledge; (iii) teacher knowledge shaping practice; and (iv) contextual factors shaping practice. Conclusions This study offers, from the perspectives of teachers, insight into the connections between policy, teacher practice and professional learning, and points to systemic and contextual factors that can represent barriers and enablers to the enactment of a critical thinking policy. More broadly, it deepens the understanding of factors that may shape policy enactment at the classroom level, highlighting the crucial role played by teacher knowledge in effecting educational change.

Empowering Critical Thinking: The Role of Digital Tools in Citizen Participation

The widespread use of digital technologies and the expansion of social networks has created new communication and meeting spaces where people and social and political actors connect with each other. This opens diverse spaces and possibilities for digital engagement in a more accessible, immediate, continuous, egalitarian, and personalized way. Digital technology facilitates learning, dissemination, and access to information, turning it into a means of communication and fueling the practice of critical thinking. In particular civic critical thinking practices improve the organization and effectiveness of civic networks and spaces for citizen participation, ultimately helping to produce responsible, conscious citizens. This study proposes a series of hypotheses based on the relationships between digital learning, critical thinking and civic participation, and tests them using the technique of structural equation modeling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS) applied to a sample of 191 primary and secondary school students. The results indicate that digital tools have a positive impact on the development of critical thinking, and this influences citizen participation, transforming people into more engaged citizens of the world with participatory attitudes and values.

Critical Thinking in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Schools: A Case Study of Two Prominent Schools in Erbil

Critical thinking goes beyond memorization, promotes independent thinking and reasoned judgment. It is a crucial element in connecting ideas, solving problems, and creating knowledge. Schools are considered to be among the initial steps in developing critical thinking where pedagogical methods would guarantee the formation of it. Critical thinking in schools develops the intellectual capability instead of using it as a memory bank of information where mind does not have any role to play. This work is an attempt to demonstrate role and effect of practicing critical thinking in primary school and analyse reflection and ability of practicing critical thinking in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The study relies on deep interview and observation of eighth-grade students and teachers in two prominent schools in Erbil, focusing on four different subjects. Type of questions raised by teachers and students during the lectures have been examined, and a detailed analysis of the reflection and ability to practice critical thinking is presented.

Debaters’ Critical Thinking Skills In Reading Text

This research aimed at finding out the measurement of the level of E2DC debater’s critical thinking skill in reading newspaper and the strategy that used. There were many important things as debaters that were: make argumentation well, practice critical thinking and good public speaking as native speaker. Not only that but also you will have confidently in the classroom when you presentation and felt easier than other students. In providing evidence the debater should have good background of knowledge because that was the way to increase debaters’ critical thinking. The members of this community were trained to becoming debaters and being able to make an argumentation well and have critical thinking skills with kind of issue. The researcher identified several problems in Debaters’ critical thinking skills. In other words, a debater must have critical skills to understand the main idea from the text and can make inference by their own words. Not only that but also, they must be able to make it different between the fact, opinion and non-fact. The result of observation section. First debater was Excellent as the OG (Opening Government), the second debater was Average as the OO (Opening opposition), the third debater was Good as the CG (Closing Government) and the last or the fourth debater was Below Average as the CO (Closing Opposition). From all the percentage shows that, the percentage of using Cognitive Domain in reading skills from the four debaters is higher than Incorporating Critical Thinking.

Critical thinking from the ground up: teachers’ conceptions and practice in EFL classrooms

ABSTRACT It is widely believed that critical thinking is vital for academic success or effectiveness and innovation in the workplace. However, there is insufficient knowledge about how language teachers conceptualise critical thinking and implement it in teaching. This is especially true in EFL contexts and at the secondary level. Against this background, this paper addresses the research gap to understand EFL teachers’ conceptualisation and practice of critical thinking. This study adopts a funnelling approach. A broad overview of 182 EFL teachers’ conception of critical thinking skills was investigated through a questionnaire, a smaller group of 12 teachers were interviewed in three focus groups to offer in-depth understanding, and three teachers were observed in teaching. The findings identify the key characteristics and elements of critical thinking from teachers’ perspectives and shed light on how teachers use cultural and subject-specific genres to embody critical thinking in their conceptualisation. The findings suggest that teachers actively implement critical thinking in teaching. The classroom extracts reveal teachers’ interactional strategies to enhance critical thinking. The findings have substantial implications for teacher learning.