Fostering Critical Thinking in the Classroom (original) (raw)
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Socratic Questioning to Promote Efl Students’ Critical Thinking in a Language Learning
Yavana Bhasha : Journal of English Language Education, 2019
This paper addressed the use of the Socratic Questioning method as an attempt to promote EFL students' critical thinking in language learning. It is ordinarily understood that the process of learning the language tends to focus more on how to answer questions rather than how to ask productive, systematic, and directed questions. Questioning as a means to fulfil curiosity is a driving factor for critical thinking activities. Questioning is able to direct the task and define the problem so that it will spur and trigger students' critical thinking. The use of Socratic Questioning and critical thinking methods embraces and encourages the analysis of Bloom's taxonomy integrally since Bloom's critical thinking is assigned as one of the highest levels of thinking in cognitive domains. Socratic Questioning, critical thinking, and Bloom's taxonomy are lines that must be passed in a language learning process in order to achieve the quality of skills which surely depends on the quality of thinking.
STUDENTS' CRITICAL THINKING ENHANCEMENT THROUGH SOCRATIC QUESTIONING: A PEDAGOGICAL STUDY
With this attempt as a backdrop that enhancing students critical thinking (CT) in instructional practices is of vital importance in ESL/EFL classrooms, the current study was carried out to investigate the effect of Socratic questioning (SQ) on students CT skills with reference to the five domains of CT 1). Inference, 2). Recognition of Assumptions, 3). Deduction, 4). Interpretation, and 5). Evaluation of Arguments, in grade 12 in Omani female schools. The present study made an attempt to look for differences among students in using CT skills in reading classes. A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Therefore, a total of 60 EFL female students distributed in two groups. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences between mean scores of those who are taught through SQ and those obtained by students who are taught CT skills in a normal setting. The students in the experimental group managed to implement better CT skills than those who were taught through traditional methods. Also, results showed that CT domains were significantly affected by SQ skills. In view of the discussion of findings pedagogical implications are explored and recommendations made.
The Value of Critical Thinking in the Language Classroom
Revista Academiei Forţelor Terestre, 2023
The ability to think and make proper conclusions independently is referred to as critical thinking. Because of its prominence in teaching a foreign language, fostering critical thinking in students is now regarded as one of the objectives of foreign language educators. Critical thinking is a continuously evolving endeavor that values reading, investigating, and analyzing current events. Strategies to promote critical thinking in language learning may be adopted at all levels of language acquisition, from beginner to advanced, although the level of difficulty of the activities may vary based on language command. This article aims to discuss critical thinking in teaching a foreign language by highlighting first the importance of critical thinking, and then by presenting a series of strategies that help language educators in implementing critical thinking in language classroom.
Developing critical thinking through Socratic Questioning: An Action Research Study
An action research study was conducted among 24 Form 4 level Malaysian students, aged 16. The duration of the study was five months and constituted 16 one-hour literature lessons (short stories from the secondary level Malaysian English Language Upper Secondary Level school syllabus). This paper describes my experience as a teacher-as-researcher to assist students to respond to teacher questions through Paul's (1993) model of Socratic Questioning which claims to develop students' critical thinking. Data was collected through researcher's field notes, students' writing tasks and student interviews which were analysed after each cycle of the action research study. Changes and adaptations were consequently made based on the data collected and upon teacher reflection to improve practice. The results of this study indicate that repeated practice of Socratic Questioning had a positive effect on student responses and writing tasks. Some of the factors affecting students' performance included students' language proficiency, weak reading ability and students' anxiety towards the questioning method. These issues had to be addressed and dealt with, before Socratic Questioning could be properly implemented in the classroom.
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 2022
The purpose of this paper is to look at how the Socratic questioning method can be used in EFL teaching and learning. This paper not only describes the method's beliefs and practices, but also assesses its efficacy in improving speaking ability and critical thinking. As the research design, convergent parallel mixed methods provides complete data (test, observation, and interview) to provide a clear interpretation of the Socratic questioning approach. This study was conducted with one teacher and 38 English department students at Tarakan State University in Indonesia. To evaluate quantitative data, Wilcoxon statistical analysis and Rank Spearman correlation analysis were utilized (pre-test and posttest). To evaluate qualitative data, this study used descript ion as analysis, inductive analysis, constructionist analysis, and coding (observation and interview). The Socratic questioning approach has three stages in its execution (preparation, running process, and assessment). The method's investigation reveals that it is beneficial in improving students' speaking skills and critical thinking (significance value.000 0.05). The Rank Spearman correlation demonstrates a strong link between speaking ability and critical thinking (coefficient .866). By selecting and altering topic discussion and Socratic questions, this technique is ideal for teaching and learning EFL. Through the analysis of Socratic questions that stimulate speaking skill and critical thinking, this study establishes the adoption and adaption of the Socratic questioning approach in EFL teaching and learning in Indonesia.
Critical thinking, language and problem-solving: Scaffolding thinking skills through debate
Springer
With a growing number of international students attending Western universities, the development of critical thinking skills for students of non-native English backgrounds has emerged as a top priority concern for many institutions . This chapter introduces a debate course taught at a university in Japan to students of intermediate English ability who had little prior experience with critical thinking tasks. It aimed to teach critical thinking in an explicit and systematic manner, drawing a connection between the taxonomies of thinking skills drawn up by and
Humanities with a Major in English. PENONOMÉ, COCLÉ 2013 APPROVAL _________________________________ _________________________________ JURY APPROVAL DATE: ____________________________ ii DEDICATION To the most important people in my life, for their love, care, and support. This project is dedicated to my mom and siblings who encouraged me to keep on this career because they knew that I was capable to achieve success. Always yours, Katherine. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thanks to God, for giving me strength and courage to keep working on this Project. Thanks to my mom for her caring help and back up. Thanks teacher Josevel Beitia, for the precious time you spent reviewing my e-mails, drafts, and answering my questions. Thanks teacher Tania Lam for giving me permission to apply my experiments in her class as well as her loving attention every time I needed her.
CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS
Recent developments in language teaching increasingly puts a stronger importance on critical thinking skills. While studies in this area have begun to emerge, it is believed that a probe into the learners' mind when they process information can contribute significantly to the effort of identifying how exactly our learners think. This study was conducted partly to seek the answers to the issue. A brief training on critical thinking and critical attitude was given to a group of language learners who were studying Business Correspondence. Questionnaires were then used to capture traces of their thinking as they were preparing to accomplish a learning task and while they were listening to their classmates' presentation of ideas. The data show the change of their thinking process. After the training there is a tendency from the students to ask more critical questions with slightly higher frequencies. It is concluded then that the brief training has prompted their awareness of critical thinking.
2013
I want to thank the following people for their motivation, advice, guidance and support which helped me complete this study: My Heavenly Father, for always being there, and for being the rock I could count on during the course of this study. My study leader, Professor M.M. Grosser, for her kindness, guidance and patience throughout this study period. Mrs Aldine Oosthuizen for her help with the capturing of the data, the statistical analysis and the technical editing of this dissertation. Mrs Denise Kock for the language editing of this dissertation. The staff at the Ferdinand Postma Library (Vaal Triangle Campus) for helping me find the information that I needed to complete my study. My friends and family who offered their support, love and advice. My college principal, Mr T.S Letho, for taking an interest in this study and always motivating and supporting me. The students and lecturers who participated in this study. My parents and friends who motivated and supported me. A special word of thanks to my husband, Ernie Volschenk, for his unconditional love, patience, support and motivation during the completion of this study. vi SUMMARY Students on all levels of education need to be able to think critically. This study investigated to what extent and how do lecturers at FET colleges in the Fezile Dabi District enhance their students" critical thinking skills by means of questioning in EFAL classrooms. A literature study was conducted in order to highlight the importance of critical thinking and which questioning types, strategies/techniques and tactics should be used for the effective enhancement of critical thinking skills in the classroom. The classroom environment, factors that hamper the enhancing of critical thinking skills, reasons for the use of questioning, the different questioning types, strategies/techniques and tactics and the importance of questioning in the English First Additional Language classrooms were explored. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study, as well as the framework for designing a questionnaire and the observation schedule to obtain the perceptions of lecturers and students regarding the enhancing of students" critical thinking skills. Quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey and observation research by means of a self-constructed Likert-scale questionnaire, and observations by means of structured event sampling was conducted with a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of NQF Level 2 (Grade 10) lecturers (n = 4) and students (n = 142) at FET colleges in the Fezile Dabi District of the Free State Department of Education. The triangulation of student and lecturer data revealed differences and similarities in opinions relating to how lecturers make use of different questioning types, strategies/techniques and tactics in order to enhance students" critical thinking skills. The data revealed that to some extent, two of the four lecturers effectively enhance their students" critical thinking skills through their constant use of questions that develop higher order thinking. The responses did however not convincingly indicate to the researcher that the enhancing of critical thinking skills takes place frequently through the effective use of different questioning types, strategies/techniques and tactics. vii This study is concluded with recommendations to lecturers on how to enhance students" critical thinking skills through questioning. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS