Thinking Competence Research Articles

Effectiveness of a teaching methodology based on the theory of historical thinking through active methods and digital resources in Spanish adolescents

Twenty-first century education is firmly committed to training young people in new competencies that are transferable to a variety of life situations. Historical thinking as a methodological theory is emerging in a large number of countries. In thinking historically, the skills of the historians are used, so that the sources of the past can be interpreted and the generation of effective historical narratives can be enhanced. This study aims to compare the general perception of the teaching of history between two groups of baccalaureate students, with respect to the effectiveness and transferability of learning historical thinking. Specifically, the existing perception of the implementation of historical thinking competencies is collected after the pre- and post-evaluation of a unit plan developed with 93 students. A quantitative method was used, namely a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group. The results indicate a substantial improvement in the responses observed in the experimental group, compared to those obtained in the control group. This impact is associated with the didactic methodology implemented with both groups, which showed notable changes in the perception of the theory of historical thinking, as well as in the use of other digital resources and active methods. For the future, it is imperative to transfer these first indications to controlled evaluations of academic outcomes to consolidate the academic status of competency-based teaching in secondary education levels.

Do Students Reflect on Sustainability? Student Development of Competencies for Sustainability in Project-Based Learning

Higher education plays a crucial role in supporting a society based on sustainable development through the facilitation of students’ acquisition of competencies for sustainable development. A suitable arena in which to integrate these competencies can be courses built on project-based learning, though knowing how to support the students’ learning can be difficult and a continued challenge. In this work, we study first and second year bachelor level PBL courses and examine the effect of choosing a project theme related to sustainability. Specifically, we look at the students’ own assessment of integration of sustainability aspects in their projects, and their development of the normative competency, critical thinking competency, and self-awareness competency fromUNESCO’s key competencies for sustainability, as a function of project theme. Through a survey, where students were asked to assess themselves and their own projects on a seven-point Likert scale, we found that while having sustainability-related project themes does have some effect, the effect is limited compared to the development of other competencies in the course. Along with how the project theme affects the development of the investigated competencies, the need for targeted support in order to facilitate the students’ development of sustainability related competencies is discussed.

Development of Core Competency Assessment Tools in Basic SW⋅AI Education

As a result of current trends, a level of SW⋅AI competency for digital innovation has become a necessity, not a choice, SW-AI competency has also developed as a purpose not only for training specialist personnel, but also for providing universal SW⋅AI basic education. However, to increase the effectiveness of universal SW⋅AI basic education, it is advisable that we systematically educate SW⋅AI basic education in stages. A university offers various elective courses related to SW⋅AI for all students. Schools have expanded the opportunities for students to participate in SW⋅AI basic education after they have completed the required elective courses. However, expanding the opportunities for SW⋅AI basic education does not automatically strengthen their skills. Therefore, educators are aiming to strengthen the learners’ problem-solving skills by developing evaluation tools for core competencies in SW⋅AI elective courses and by applying these skills in algorithm courses. A performance assessment tool was developed in SW⋅AI basic education to enhance the core competencies of higher-order thinking and for the utilization of information and technology. The tool was developed through the following stages: clarifying class goals, developing core challenges, developing evaluation criteria, developing and applying assessment tools, and analyzing the evaluation results. The tool was applied in an algorithm course for problem solving and helped learners understand what to focus on when performing challenges. It also provided them with guidance for learning to enhance their various competencies through feedback. Indeed, a survey of self-assessment by learners at the beginning and end of the semester showed that the necessary competencies for solving core challenges had improved. On the other hand, students who were not majoring in SW⋅AI basic education stated that having to program in order to solve problems and being responsible for programming in team projects was a burden for them. In this study, we found that if the learner’s ultimate competencies are concretely embodied as behavioral indicators and challenges are set based on this criterion, the learner can concentrate more on practical competency enhancement. However, in regards to the SW⋅AI basic education subject, we confirmed that there is a need for us to clarify the core challenges and evaluation criteria for evaluating core competencies. In the future, we will apply various core competency performance evaluation tools to various SW⋅AI basic education subjects to identify areas for improvement. Through this process, we will continuously improve the effectiveness of SW⋅AI basic education and systematically enhance competencies thereby.

Analysis of Problem-Based Learning Model on Mathematical Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Studentst

PBL is a learning model that leads to strengthening competence of problem-solving, critical reasoning, and learning about learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of the effect of applying the PBL learning model on the critical thinking competence of sixth-grade elementary school students on circle material. The approach applied in this study is a quantitative approach with a pre-test and post-test critical thinking design type. Data collection techniques in this study used critical thinking tests. The participants who were included in this study were 25 students of class VI at SDN 173270, siborong – borong , north sumatera. Data analysis using a one-sample t-test. Based on the calculation of the hypothesis testing is done using the t-test. The normality test results for the value of critical thinking results are 0.139 > ? (0.05) exceeding the significant value, then the variable values are normally distributed, followed by using the one-sample t-test, the t-test results on the equation of the variance section which are assumed to show the Sig value (2)-tailed) < ? ie 0.000 < 0.05 then reject H0. So it can be concluded that there is a significant effect of the application of PBL on the mathematical critical thinking skills of grade VI elementary school students.

Value of Critical Thinking in the Labour Market: Variations in Employers’ and Employees’ Views

The fragmentation and narrowness of research on critical thinking in the labour market and the lack of critical thinking analysis in the context of the interplay between lifelong learning, education and the labour market presuppose the relevance of this article. The article analyses the views of employers and employees, highlighting their attitude toward the importance and manifestation of critical thinking in the labour market and the need for improving critical thinking competency. The article aims to answer the following problematic questions: (1) How important are critical thinking skills and dispositions in the labour market? (2) How do employers’ and employees’ opinions vary regarding critical thinking in professional activities? (3) What need is there to improve critical thinking skills and dispositions? Quantitative research methodology was chosen for data collection using a questionnaire. It was found that both employers and employees consider inference and argumentation to be the most important critical thinking skills in the modern labour market; however, their attitude toward self-regulation, which is highly regarded by employees, but not by employers, is fundamentally different. Both employers and employees understand the importance of dispositions and value them similarly. Both groups have the least regard for having scepticism. The assessment of critical thinking skills and dispositions in specific professional activities differs from the assessment in the labour market in general. In professional activities, substantiated decisions, flexibility and unbiased decisions are especially valued by both groups, and the skills listed as being in most need of improvement are the same ones that were given as being important. The attitudes of both groups were distinguished by assigning value to dispositions that need improvement. Employees are more likely than employers to work on dispositions that denote operational autonomy. The study also revealed correlations between various groups of critical thinking skills and dispositions, demonstrating both employers’ and employees’ deliberate choice in assessing one or other constituent of critical thinking competence and the perception of their interrelationships.

Social Entrepreneurship, Complex Thinking, and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy: Correlational Study in a Sample of Mexican Students

This article presents the results of a study conducted on a sample population of students attending a technological university in western Mexico. The development of the entrepreneurial self-efficacy competency was evaluated within a process of ideation of social entrepreneurship projects to develop social entrepreneurship and complex thinking competencies. A multivariate descriptive analysis was implemented to demonstrate possible statistically significant correlations between the competencies of social entrepreneurship, complex thinking, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The results confirm the correlations between the competencies of social entrepreneurship, complex thinking, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, concluding that there is statistically significant information to indicate that the complex thinking competency positively impacts not only the process of generating social entrepreneurship projects but also the scaling of entrepreneurs’ perceptions about their capabilities at the time of entrepreneurship. At a practical level, this study presents results that argue for the need to develop complex thinking in students in social entrepreneurship programs, both in universities and in organizations that promote entrepreneurship. It confirms that complex thinking is a valuable competency in the ideation and generation of entrepreneurial proposals.

역사적 사고 역량을 어떻게 평가할 것인가? 독일 HiTCH 프로젝트의 시도

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the HiTCH (Historical Thinking-Competencies in History) project, developed as a tool for assessing historical thinking competencies in Germany. The theoretical origins of the HiTCH project started from Jeismann’s research on historical consciousness in the 1970s. The theory of German historical consciousness was inherited by Pandel and Rüsen, and in the 21st century, it developed into the FUER competency model, which means ‘promotion and development of reflective historical consciousness.’ HiTCH is a large-scale assessment project developed to measure the cultivation of historical thinking competencies oriented towards the FUER model.BR The HiTCH project, which was conducted from 2012 to 2015, produced 15 task blocks and 91 items for each of the four competency areas of the FUER competency model: question competency, method competency, orientation competency, and subject matter competency. In addition, as a derivative study of this project, items to diagnose the narrative competency, deconstruction competency, and the effects of oral history learning were developed. The HiTCH test, which aims to be a “PISA test for history departments,” is currently being used in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and German-speaking areas of Belgium, and is attracting attention as a model for international historical thinking competency assessment.

Comparing Self-Report Assessments and Scenario-Based Assessments of Systems Thinking Competence

AbstractSelf-report assessments are used frequently in higher education to assess a variety of constructs, including attitudes, opinions, knowledge, and competence. Systems thinking is an example of one competence often measured using self-report assessments where individuals answer several questions about their perceptions of their own skills, habits, or daily decisions. In this study, we define systems thinking as the ability to see the world as a complex interconnected system where different parts can influence each other, and the interrelationships determine system outcomes. An alternative, less-common, assessment approach is to measure skills directly by providing a scenario about an unstructured problem and evaluating respondents’ judgment or analysis of the scenario (scenario-based assessment). This study explored the relationships between engineering students’ performance on self-report assessments and scenario-based assessments of systems thinking, finding that there were no significant relationships between the two assessment techniques. These results suggest that there may be limitations to using self-report assessments as a method to assess systems thinking and other competencies in educational research and evaluation, which could be addressed by incorporating alternative formats for assessing competence. Future work should explore these findings further and support the development of alternative assessment approaches.

Improvement of individual learning with mentoring programs for first-year undergraduate students.

This study presents a brief analysis of Spanish universities that promote mentoring programs with students. These mentoring programs are divided into different categories depending on the persons (faculty or students) involved in the process and their characteristics (for novice, senior, or international students). The case of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria is presented, where first-year students from all undergraduate degrees are involved in an annual course where the core part is related to formal mentoring activities. This study analyzes undergraduate degree students' outcomes and results from 10 different degrees for a period of 4 academic years (from 2016-2017 to 2019-2020). This first analysis corresponds to students' activities and marks awarded on the assessment of the assigned mentoring tasks related to the competencies of critical thinking, proactivity, personal knowledge (with the objective of acceptance and improvement), and the ability to ask transcendental questions. Then, a reliable and valid survey, conducted every year to all senior students, was used to get feedback from students. After a quantitative and qualitative analysis of students' results, it was noticed that they become more confident in their studies when they engage in mentoring-based courses and sessions, and this benefits their lives. All this information led to the improvement of the mentoring process.

Business Decision-Making and Complex Thinking: A Bibliometric Study

Complex thinking is an important tool for effective decision-making, as it helps people to better understand uncertain situations by considering the multiple variables and relationships involved in a situation, thus being able to identify patterns and connections that would not otherwise be evident. This article presents the results of a bibliometric study to identify academic publications that consider the correlation between decision-making in the business area and complex thinking competency and its sub-competencies. The intention was to have a theoretical horizon that provides a complete overview of the current academic situation regarding the correlation of both professional skills to identify areas of opportunity for new studies. Methodologically, we conducted a literature review using Scopus and Web of Science databases under the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol from which a sample of 339 articles related to both topics was obtained. R, Rstudio, and Bibliometrix were used for the quantitative analysis of the data. The results showed an academic tendency to associate decision-making in business with critical thinking, paying little attention to the other sub-competencies of complex thinking. Furthermore, we found a concentration of research in specific universities and countries, repeating a tendency to study only a few sub-competencies. Overall, this work sheds light on the broad opportunity to link the complex thinking macro-competency with decision-making in business, to provide more extraordinary skills and tools to future professionals.

Examining the relationships between students’ perceptions of technology, pedagogy, and cognition: the case of immersive virtual reality mini games to foster computational thinking in higher education

Researchers are increasingly exploring educational games in immersive virtual reality (IVR) environments to facilitate students’ learning experiences. Mainly, the effect of IVR on learning outcomes has been the focus. However, far too little attention has been paid to the influence of game elements and IVR features on learners’ perceived cognition. This study examined the relationship between game elements (challenge, goal clarity, and feedback) as pedagogical approach, features of IVR technology (immersion and interaction), and learners’ perceived cognition (reflective thinking and comprehension). An experiment was conducted with 49 undergraduate students who played an IVR game-based application (iThinkSmart) containing mini games developed to facilitate learners’ computational thinking competency. The study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling to investigate the effect of educational game elements and learning contents on learner’s cognition. Findings show that goal clarity is the main predictor of learners’ reflective thinking and comprehension in an educational game-based IVR application. It was also confirmed that immersion and interaction experience impact learner’s comprehension. Notably, adequate learning content in terms of the organisation and relevance of the content contained in an IVR game-based application significantly moderate learners’ reflective thinking and comprehension. The findings of this study have implications for educators and developers of IVR game-based intervention to facilitate learning in the higher education context. In particular, the implication of this study touches on the aspect of learners’ cognitive factors that aim to produce 21st-century problem-solving skills through critical thinking.

Students’ Systems Thinking Competencies Level Identification through Concept Maps Assessment

Systems Thinking Competencies have become extremely important and widely studied due to increasing systems complexity. Because of this, when they are taught, it is extremely useful to identify whether or not students own Systems Thinking Competencies in order to design a specific teaching strategy. This research applied an Adapted Holistic Scoring Method to assess Concept Maps developed by postgraduate and undergraduate engineering students in order to identify Systems Thinking Competencies. It had two phases. At the first one, Students showed an acceptable knowledge of cost estimation drivers, and a certain level of Systems Thinking Competencies. In the second phase, both cost estimation drivers and Systems Thinking Competencies showed an improvement. Mann-Whitney U-test was applied in order to identify if there were significant differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Confidence level of 95%, and a significance level of 0.05 was considered.

RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS, BLOOM’S TAXONOMY, AND CRITICAL THINKING COMPETENCE TO ADAPT TO THE PRACTICAL NEEDS OF TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING: A CASE STUDY OF VIETNAM

The General Education Program in Literature (2018) of Vietnam is oriented toward capacity development for learners. Meanwhile, critical thinking is still a new and difficult problem for Vietnamese teachers. According to the survey results, they do not understand or do not know how to comprehensively assess critical thinking, including assessing critical thinking capacity in teaching reading comprehension. Those teachers assess students' cognitive ability mainly through the system of reading comprehension questions according to Bloom's taxonomy. By qualitative research method, the article has determined the correlation between reading comprehension levels and thinking levels (according to Bloom's taxonomy) and the levels of critical thinking competence, the correlation between reading questions comprehension (according to Bloom's taxonomy) ) and the levels of critical thinking competence, the correlation between reading comprehension questions (according to S.Toulmin's model) with Bloom's taxonomy, stages of critical thinking.

Formative evaluation of immersive virtual reality expedition mini-games to facilitate computational thinking

Recently, virtual reality (VR) technology has shown great potential in advancing education with many pedagogical benefits for building the 21st-century teaching and learning experience. This study conducted a formative evaluation of an immersive VR expedition application with the aim of understanding users' learning processes and how the application facilitates higher education students' computational thinking skills. Six participants were randomly selected to conduct this evaluation. A mixed research approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The study quantitatively analyzed users' scores from gameplay to understand how the intervention supported computational thinking skills. Participants were also interviewed to collect data after playing the mini-games to investigate users' experiences. The study showcases players' computational thinking competency, assessed automatically during gameplay. Further, this study used inductive content analysis to demonstrate users' reactions to prototyped VR mini-games. The qualitative findings suggest that users found the VR mini-games interactive and immersive, which provided an opportunity to foster learners' computational thinking skills. The quantitative analysis revealed that student's computational thinking competency can be enhanced through consistent playing of the mini-games. Moreover, the expedition aspect of the VR game stimulated learners' curiosity, which sustained their learning progress. Furthermore, users gained new knowledge and found the mini-games educative. Nevertheless, several aspects of the VR mini-games need improvements, according to users' perceptions. This study contributes to the knowledge in terms of the affordances of VR in education research and provides relevant insights that can shape future studies, for example, the recent hype of metaverse in education.

THE CURRENT SITUATION OF DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING AND DEBATING COMPETENCIES IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION OF LITERARY TEXTS: A CASE STUDY OF SOME NORTHERN PROVINCES OF VIETNAM

Critical thinking and debating competencies are oriented in the 2018 general education program in Vietnam. These competencies are in the group of general competencies integrated into many subjects, including Philology and reading comprehension of literary texts. To ensure the effective implementation of the goals, it is necessary to conduct research in association with practice. Therefore, it is necessary to survey the current situation of teaching and developing reading comprehension of literary texts. This study was conducted with 10 experts (program trainers of the general education program), 215 teachers and 410 students (from 9 schools in the North of Vietnam). The survey results show that there are still many limitations in the perception of teachers and students about critical thinking. Actually organizing, evaluating and implementing activities to develop critical thinking competence in teaching reading comprehension of literary texts in their primitive form. It is necessary to propose measures to promote the development of critical thinking and debating competencies for secondary school students in accordance with the current situation in Vietnam.

Development of a mobile tele-education system to assist remote otolaryngology learning during COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundDeveloping clinical thinking competence (CTC) is crucial for physicians, but effective methods for cultivation and evaluation are a significant challenge. Classroom teaching and paper-and-pencil tests are insufficient, and clinical field learning is difficult to implement, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Simulation learning is a useful alternative, but existing methods, e.g., OSCE, 3D AR/VR, and SimMan, have limitations in terms of time, space, and cost. ObjectiveThis study aims to present the design and development of an Otolaryngology Mobile Tele-education System (OMTS) to facilitate CTC learning, and to evaluate the system's usability with senior otolaryngology experts. MethodsThe OMTS system utilizes the convenience of mobile learning and the touch function of mobile devices to assist users (medical students or post-graduate physicians) in learning CTC remotely. Clinical knowledge and system functions in the OMTS system are defined by senior experts based on required CTC learning cases. Through simulated clinical case scenarios, users can engage in interactive clinical inquiry, practice required physical and laboratory examinations, make treatment decisions based on simulated responses, and understand and correct learning problems through a diagnostic report for effective learning. Usability testing of the OMTS system was evaluated by three senior otolaryngology experts using measurements of content validity, system usability, and mental workload during their available time and location. ResultsStatistical results of experts' evaluation showed that the OMTS system has good content validity, marginal-to-acceptable system usability, and moderate mental workload. Experts agreed that the system was efficient, professional, and usable for learning, although the practicality of the clinical inquiry and hands-on practice functions could be improved further. ConclusionsBased on the OMTS system, users can efficiently hands-on practice and learn clinical cases in otolaryngology, and understand and correct their problems according to the diagnostic report. Therefore, the OMTS system can be expected to facilitate CTC learning according to experts’ evaluation.

Representation and Assessment of Systems Thinking Competencies Through Soft Logic

Representation and Assessment of Systems Thinking Competencies Through Soft Logic

Critical thinking competence as one of the key skills for bachelors of ecology in the era of the fourth industrial revolution

The article is based on a systematic analysis of the rapid changes in the information society associated with the pragmatics of the “leadership” technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. The authors reveal the role and importance of critical thinking as one of the basic skills needed in the 21st century. The article proves that the development of critical thinking is a key trend in modern education and requires not only an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon, but also new technologies for its implementation in pedagogical practice. The authors note that critical thinking includes the ability to analyze information, evaluate its reliability and make informed decisions. Purpose: Describe the importance of critical thinking in the context of a rapidly changing information society and demonstrate how these skills can be used in various areas of life. Scientific hypothesis: the development of critical thinking should become a priority for educational institutions in order to prepare the younger generation for the complexities and challenges of the modern world.

On culture teaching practice in senior high school English Class from the perspective of intercultural Third Space

While recent research on the cultivation of EFL learners’ cultural awareness in senior high school has highlighted the pedagogical coping strategies based on culture teaching phenomena, theory-driven culture teaching practice has been under-explored. Informed by the theory of intercultural Third Space, this paper reports how to guide senior high school students to construct intercultural Third Space, so as to enhance their cultural awareness and intercultural critical thinking competence from the three-dimensional perspective of attitude, cognition, and behaviour, through a teaching case in the four stages of attitude cultivation, knowledge construction, simulated communication, and critical reflection. The study indicates that the concept of intercultural Third Space can theoretically make up for the deficiency of culture teaching in Chinese senior high school English class and practically provide teaching design support for classroom instruction.

Measures for developing students' reversible thinking competence in teaching functions and graphs in high schools

The reversible thinking is the way of thinking in two opposite directions, which then support each other to help people perceive and solve problems flexibly and effectively. In this article, we mention manifestations of students' reversible thinking competence in teaching functions and graphs and propose measures to foster this ability in order to contribute to improving the quality of teaching mathematics at high schools.