Methods for Supporting the Development of Students' Critical Thinking Skills: An Experiment

1. Introduction

The course "Foundations of Learning and Teaching," outlined in the teacher training curriculum, is one of the core foundational subjects in teacher education and is taught in the first semester of the second year. This course helps students understand how children develop, grow, and learn, as well as the teacher’s role in supporting and guiding this process. It also encourages students to adopt a positive attitude toward their professional activities. Through the content and methodology of this course, students are expected to develop critical thinking skills, motivation, self-confidence, the ability to engage in discussions, problem-solving, and other intellectual qualities. It aims to foster flexible thinking and attitudes.

In today's era of globalization and information overload, many students tend to accept knowledge and information from various sources without critical processing or reflection. This course, through its teaching methods, focuses on cultivating critical thinking skills and fostering the habit of analyzing and evaluating information rather than mindlessly copying or accepting it. The method used to develop students' critical thinking skills is aimed at enhancing their ability to analyze information, view problems from multiple perspectives, and make sound decisions.

Critical thinking is closely related to other abilities such as creativity, logic, or intuition, and it allows us to create new strategies and develop alternative ways of understanding and interpreting things. Critical thinking, as defined by Linda Elder (2008, p. 38), is the ability to analyze and improve the quality of one’s thinking by skillfully examining the issues at hand and applying intellectual standards. It is not about how we accept information, but rather how we think about it. Critical thinking involves evaluating, organizing, verifying, and assessing information through specific criteria to determine what to believe. It allows individuals to reflect, question, and engage in self-directed inquiry (Duro, 2013, p. 275).

According to scholars like Kenneth Ziegler and Daniel Listen, critical thinking within the context of teaching can be viewed from three levels: understanding learning/teaching practices, examining these practices through theories, concepts, social norms, justice, human rights, and legal aspects. At this level, questions such as "How should we teach children?" "How should we meet their needs?" and "What kind of activities should we plan to support their learning and development?" is posed (Baigalmaa, 2015, p. 20).

Critical thinking also means having a fair and balanced approach, recognizing both the good and the bad aspects of an issue. It involves analyzing a topic or problem realistically and drawing appropriate conclusions based on evidence (Bold, 2016, p. 27). This is a cognitive skill that includes asking questions, analyzing, critiquing, synthesizing, evaluating, and drawing conclusions. Logic is a tool commonly used in critical thinking (Philo, 2018, p. 15).

Critical thinking involves evaluating available evidence, observations, and tasks to draw conclusions (Edward, 2017). This process includes assessing and analyzing factual data, considering different perspectives, and making judgments. The subject of critical thinking is complex and has multiple interpretations, but it generally involves evaluating evidence, scrutinizing claims, and assessing arguments (Clark & John, 2019).

In a study conducted on the psychological characteristics of 204 university students, which examined the scope of students' critical thinking, the results indicated that their critical thinking capacity was below average, with an average score of 2.8. This suggests that student's ability to think creatively, understand relationships between phenomena, and reflect deeply is underdeveloped, with their intellectual habits and cognitive skills remaining weak (Erdenechuluun, L., 2022).

2. Research Methodology

The study was conducted using a holistic approach, primarily employing qualitative analysis methods. To identify the current status of how students' critical thinking skills are being supported, a survey was conducted. The research involved 18 second-year students from the Preschool Education program at the School of Education, Arkhangai, Mongolian National University of Education (MNUE). The study included experimental lessons within the content framework of the Foundations of Learning and Teaching course, where specific analysis was carried out, and feedback was collected from students through self-assessment surveys. The research was carried out in the following stages:

2.1. Identifying the role of critical thinking skills in teaching through a survey

Survey Objective: To identify which teaching methods are most commonly used to develop students' critical thinking skills.

Survey Scope: 45 teachers from higher education institutions.

1. Is there a need to develop critical thinking skills in students?

   • A. Very much – 77.7%

   • B. Yes – 8.8%

   • C. No – 13.3%

   • D. Don't know – 0%

2. Which teaching strategies do you primarily use to support the development of students' critical thinking skills? (Select 3 commonly used methods)

   
   

   Graph 1.

The survey results show that 86.5% of the teachers (39 teachers) believe that there is a need to develop critical thinking skills in students.

2.2. Developing and testing certain methods aimed at promoting students' critical thinking skills

The methods were applied through experimental lessons conducted between September and November of 2020 and 2023 (over a period of 4 weeks). The results were then evaluated.

2.3. Evaluating changes in students' attitudes and self-confidence towards critical thinking

To measure the changes in students' enthusiasm and self-confidence regarding critical thinking, a self-assessment survey was conducted both before and after the experimental lessons with second-year students. (The survey is available in Appendix 1.)

3. Research Results

3.1. Students' Critical Thinking Skills and Teaching                                                                                                                           

Graph 1: Teaching Strategy of the Instructor

Based on the above survey results, it appears that teaching strategies to support students' critical thinking skills are relatively underutilized, indicating the need to test and implement such strategies. (See Graph 1).

3.2. Development and Implementation of Teaching Strategies to Support Students' Critical Thinking SkillsProcess and Outcomes of Experimental Lessons

Table 1: Planning of Experimental Lessons

Table 2: Criteria and Results for Analyzing Students' Academic Presentations and Articles

When the research results are ranked, the analysis of students' reports and essays shows that the ability to analyze reliable sources and identify key issues in the research is quite strong, with scores ranging from 70.5% to 76.4%. However, the ability to logically defend their position and express their understanding of the research topic is relatively weak, with scores ranging from 17.6% to 20.5%.

Table 3: Planning of Experimental Lessons

3.3. Analysis Process and Results of Teacher-Student Assignment Performance

Assignment Description: Carefully read the articles and research papers written by four researchers from different time periods on the same topic (the reputation of teachers) and perform a SWOT analysis using the following format:

1. Research Article 1

2. Research Article 2

3. Research Article 3

4. Research Article 4

Table 4: Student's SWOT Analysis

From the frequency of students' SWOT analysis, it was found that common negative and challenging factors such as ethics, communication skills, superficial knowledge, and outdated teaching methods were identified under the WT category. Additionally, the opportunities to improve the social perception that influences the reputation of teachers were thoroughly analyzed and evaluated, with 9 suggestions and comments, accounting for 36% of the total responses (see Table 4).

To identify changes in students' enthusiasm and self-confidence toward critical thinking, a self-assessment survey was conducted before and after the experimental lessons on critical thinking methods, held in November 2023, with 18 second-year students. The average scores from the survey were compared for each question before and after the experiment.

Table 5: Descriptive Statistics / Pre-experiment Results (2023.09.06)

Table 6: Post-experiment Results (2023.11.05)

Explanation: To assess students' critical thinking skills, enthusiasm, and confidence, 9 specific criteria were selected for self-evaluation. Before the experiment, the average scores ranged from 0.55 to 0.88, with a high standard deviation of 0.32 to 0.51. After the experiment, the average scores ranged from 0.61 to 0.94, with a decrease in standard deviation (acceptable range) from 0.23 to 0.32. This suggests improvement in the students' critical thinking abilities. Specifically, the average score increased from 0.72 before the experiment to 0.82 after the experiment, indicating progress in students' critical thinking, analytical skills, enthusiasm, and self-assessment. For example, after the experiment, standard deviation decreased from 0.32 to 0.23, reflecting that students started considering alternative explanations when reading or listening to conclusions. (See Table 6).

4. Conclusion

Based on the research findings, it is important to emphasize the significance of experimenting with various methods to support the development of students' critical thinking skills. The following conclusions can be drawn from the study:

• The methods used to enhance students' critical thinking supported the development of fundamental skills such as curiosity, exploration, and skepticism, which were evident from the research results.

• When using methods such as analysis of academic papers, data analysis, problem-solving, discussions, debates, case studies, identifying key challenges, brainstorming techniques, creative projects, and SWOT analysis, students demonstrated creative thinking, analysis, reflection, and idea generation.

• By consistently integrating these methods into the curriculum, students' critical thinking skills can develop, and they can be shaped into independent individuals with problem-solving abilities.

• Future research could involve a broader scope, including more students from universities and colleges, utilizing advancements in technology and research methodologies.

• As students' critical thinking skills develop, it could positively influence their preparation for the workforce and success in their careers.

• It is crucial to implement wide-scale training, seminars, and projects at universities to develop students' critical thinking skills in a comprehensive manner.

Author Contributions: All authors contributed to this research.

Funding: Not applicable.

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent Statement/Ethics Approval: Not applicable.