Methodologies for Fostering Critical Thinking Skills from University Students’ Points of View
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background
- Feedback: A study by Castro and González-Palta [44] shows that most of the participant students perceived that the use of peer feedback and discussion through social networks, concretely Facebook, contributed to the development of critical thinking. Besides, there was a general degree of satisfaction and a favorable attitude towards the use of this platform to complement their classes.
- Debate: Lira Valdivia [8] highlights the importance of using active methodologies, and in particular, the face-to-face forum, for the development of critical thinking in higher education. Students value this methodology at a cognitive level, favoring “understanding complex ideas”, “ability to analyze problems”, “learning to confront different ideas”, “rethinking opinions before expressing them”, and the “ability to reflect”, to name but a few. Moreover, attitudinal aspects were described, such as “motivation to learn”, “valuing consensus”, “respect for the opinion of others”, “honesty in facing weaknesses”. Scott’s [16] study, which included 111 students in a technology classroom, also examines the effectiveness of debates for developing critical thinking. The results showed that students believed that this methodology helped them to improve their critical thinking skills due to the fact that debates require research, assessing arguments, analysis, questioning assumptions, and demonstrating interpersonal skills. This finding was also shared by Zare and Othman [19], who reached similar conclusions with undergraduate students majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language. According to their study, students thought that they developed their critical thinking skills through debates, as they had to look for evidence and proof to support their arguments and consider different perspectives, as well as points of view. Finally, Zelaieta and Camino [45] found that undergraduate students in Early Childhood Education stated that academic debates in the classroom improved their critical thinking skills as they had to search and analyze information.
- Problem-Solving, Service Learning, and Reflective Learning: Collazo Expósito and Geli de Ciurana [46] analyzed students’ points of view about three methodologies employed for the development of critical thinking: Problem-solving, service learning, and reflective learning through a teaching portfolio. Results showed that 90% of the 30 students surveyed were convinced that the application of active methodologies allowed them to develop critical thinking, teamwork, the search for solutions, and understand their surroundings in such a way that they could feel the need to engage themselves to change it for better. Approximately 82% of the participants strongly agreed that the problem posed as a starting point for PBL is essential for their learning process. PBL allows them to work on critical and reflective thinking, and providing a link with real experience and emotions is an effective way to foster greater engagement with the environment. Moreover, 83% of the students agreed that sometimes the questions or learning resources used in the classroom provoked a dilemma or reflection concerning their previous ideas on the topics covered. Further, 77% of the students thought that they sometimes preferred lectures, and 73% said that they would always like to be able to apply some of what they have learned in their work as a secondary school teacher.
- Practices in real contexts: García-Carpintero [47] analyzed the thoughts of students regarding the use of a portfolio as a part of an internship context subject (practicum). Results showed that the portfolio was a tool that facilitated students’ reflection and critical thinking during their practicum. They saw it as a valuable resource that facilitated self-assessment through a reflective process, as well as generating self-criticism, and the analysis of their practice. This process allowed them to make changes in order to improve their learning.
- Flipped Classroom: Rodríguez et al. [9] applied the Flipped Classroom methodology with Medicine students. They mixed jigsaw, cooperative work, and role-play activities. The students thought these activities and methodology contributed to the development of their critical thinking skills, as they had to use their imagination, reflect, and discuss different issues, and thus, the methodology led them to construct sound arguments, elaborate new ideas, and consider different points of view.
- Role-playing: Latif et al. [48] observed that role play and debate were both well accepted by medical students in the Problem-Based Learning curriculum as an effective teaching methodology. Both were perceived as good methodologies for improving critical thinking skills. However, role play was perceived as better than debates for integrating knowledge of basic medical sciences into clinical skills and reflecting on real-life experiences.
- Doing Research: Sahoo and Mohammed [49] claimed that medical students reported improvement in their critical thinking skills when doing research for writing tasks. All participants agreed that it helped to apply concepts to new situations in their studies. Moreover, it enhanced higher-order cognitive skills.
- Case studies: González-González and Jiménez-Zarco [50] found that, according to students, the use of audio-visual cases in an e-learning context helped students reach accurate problem identification, sensible problem resolution, and critical thinking development.
- RQ1: What are the main methodologies that, according to students, contribute more to developing critical thinking?
- RQ2: Is the perceived effectiveness of the methodologies for developing critical thinking different based on the conception the students have about critical thinking?
3. Methodology
3.1. Sample
3.2. Instruments
- From these six dimensions, students were asked to choose a maximum of three dimensions that corresponded more to their understanding of critical thinking.
3.3. Procedure
3.4. Data Analysis
4. Results
5. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Theoretical Model of the Different Dimensions of CT (Bezanilla et al., 2018)
- Analyzing/organizing: These are answers that refer to critical thinking as a way of examining something in detail (a text, a reality...) considering its parts in order to know its characteristics and draw conclusions. In some cases, they include aspects related to the structuring and organization of information, but do not go beyond that (e.g., I analyze the information by contrasting different sources).
- Reasoning/arguing: These definitions add to the analysis the relation and comparison of ideas and experiences based on arguments, to obtain conclusions and form a reasoned judgment. It involves expressing in words or in writing reasons for or against something, or justifying it as a reasonable action to convey a content and promote understanding (e.g., When I give my opinion I provide reasons or arguments that justify it).
- Questioning/asking oneself: Critical thinking is understood as the questioning of an issue that is controversial or commonly accepted. It means to question things, to ask oneself questions about the reality in which one lives (e.g., When reading an article, I ask myself questions about the topics covered).
- Evaluating: It means to value, to weigh, to determine the value of something, to estimate the importance of a fact, taking into account various elements or criteria. It is more than an argumentation (deducing pros and cons of a reality) because it implies determining the value of something according to certain criteria (e.g., Before making a decision, I evaluate the pros and cons of the situation).
- Taking a position/taking decisions: It implies not only analyzing, reasoning, questioning or evaluating, but also making a decision about it. It means to give a solution or make a definitive judgment on a matter in a certain way, including a position or proposed solution (e.g., When I make a decision, I take it and move forward, despite the fact that others may think differently).
- Acting/compromising: Critical thinking is understood as a means of transforming reality through social commitment. It is to take action, to act, to behave by performing voluntary and conscious acts in a determined and committed manner. It implies the adoption of a certain attitude or position before a certain matter (e.g., I get involved to respond to a situation of injustice or inequality).
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Methodologies | f (%) |
---|---|
Debates | 650 (19.7%) |
PBL | 468 (14.2%) |
Practices in real contexts | 364 (11.0%) |
Doing research | 321 (9.7%) |
Cooperative learning | 312 (9.5%) |
Case studies | 263 (8.0%) |
Feedback | 195 (5.9%) |
Role-playing | 170 (5.1%) |
Reading and analysis of resources | 161 (4.9%) |
Written work | 114 (3.4%) |
Conceptual maps | 103 (3.1%) |
Service learning | 63 (1.9%) |
Oral presentations | 59 (1.8%) |
Flipped classroom | 30 (0.9%) |
Master classes | 21 (0.6%) |
Others | 2 (>0.01%) |
Total | 3296 (100%) |
ANA/ORG | REA/ARG | QUE/AO | EVAL | POS/TD | COM/ACT | TOTAL | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Debates | 97 | 190 | 185 | 49 | 78 | 51 | 650 |
PBL | 75 | 134 | 127 | 36 | 59 | 37 | 468 |
Practices | 49 | 110 | 110 | 29 | 34 | 32 | 364 |
Doing research | 43 | 94 | 97 | 18 | 43 | 26 | 321 |
Cooperative learning | 45 | 92 | 79 | 26 | 44 | 26 | 312 |
Case studies | 47 | 77 | 68 | 24 | 27 | 20 | 263 |
Feedback | 31 | 58 | 50 | 12 | 27 | 17 | 195 |
Role-playing | 25 | 50 | 47 | 11 | 20 | 17 | 170 |
Reading and analysis of resources | 22 | 50 | 47 | 12 | 19 | 11 | 161 |
Written work | 24 | 34 | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 114 |
Conceptual maps | 21 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 103 |
Service learning | 10 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 63 |
Oral presentations | 11 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 59 |
Flipped classroom | 0 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 30 |
Master classes | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
Others | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Total | 505 | 970 | 904 | 244 | 405 | 268 | 3296 |
Dimension | Singular Value | Inertia | χ2 | Proportion of Inertia | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accounted for | Cumulative | ||||
1 | 0.079 | 0.006 | 0.440 | 0.440 | |
2 | 0.058 | 0.003 | 0.240 | 0.680 | |
3 | 0.052 | 0.003 | 0.193 | 0.873 | |
4 | 0.038 | 0.001 | 0.100 | 0.972 | |
5 | 0.020 | 0.000 | 0.028 | 1.00 | |
Total | 0.014 | 46.86 (p = 0.996) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
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Campo, L.; Galindo-Domínguez, H.; Bezanilla, M.-J.; Fernández-Nogueira, D.; Poblete, M. Methodologies for Fostering Critical Thinking Skills from University Students’ Points of View. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020132
Campo L, Galindo-Domínguez H, Bezanilla M-J, Fernández-Nogueira D, Poblete M. Methodologies for Fostering Critical Thinking Skills from University Students’ Points of View. Education Sciences. 2023; 13(2):132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020132
Chicago/Turabian StyleCampo, Lucía, Héctor Galindo-Domínguez, María-José Bezanilla, Donna Fernández-Nogueira, and Manuel Poblete. 2023. "Methodologies for Fostering Critical Thinking Skills from University Students’ Points of View" Education Sciences 13, no. 2: 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020132