The Effect of Critical Thinking Instruction on Students' Achievement

Subject Areas : Futurology

A.  Khalkhali ¹ (نویسنده مسئول)
M.  Sadooghi ² (ندارد)

Received: 2006-12-05 Accepted : 2007-05-02 Published : 2008-09-22

Keywords: critical thinking, Critical reading, achievement, instruction, learning, assessment,

Abstract :

The single direct way to succeed in teaching/learning methods is whether or not circumstances that provide abetter thinking condition are taken in to account (Dewey, 1946). Critical thinking is that mode of thinkingaboutany subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking byskillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it (Paul et al, 1997).Teaching "critical reading" should be at the core of any discussion of critical thinking (carr, 1990). The studywith consideration to this hypothesis that, "critical thinking instruction affects on students' achievement" ,presents a model in order to students' critical thinking assessment and studies on the effect of critical thinkinginstruction on students' achievement. Thus following hypothesizes are formed:Main hypothesis:critical thinking instruction affect on students' achievement.Derivative hypothesises:1. the quantity of effecting critical thinking instruction on students' achievement is different, regarding theirmajor field of study.2. the quantity of effecting critical thinking instruction on students' achievement is different, regarding totheir gender.3. critical thinking instruction increases students critical thinking.On the basis of topic and purpose, this study is an applied one, while it is an experimental study regardingthe procedures of data collection. In order to make the subjects of the study homogenous, a pretest-posttestdesign with a control group was used. The population of the study, includes conditioned students (those withterm average score of less than 12 [ out of 20]). Studying in the first semester of the educational calendar2005-06 in the Islamic Azad university at Tonekabon. They are studying science and humanities withvarious majors. The frequency of the population includes 485 conditioned students, from among whom 63were randomly selected as samples, using the formula 2 2 22 2. .. . .N d t sN t sR+= .30 were assigned into the experimental and 30 others, were also assigned into the control group of the study.The experimental group was divided into two sub-groups of 15 subjects: one sub-group was instructedcritical thinking and the other was instructed on unrelated topic (time management). The control group wasassigned to ordinary instruction. After the administration of the pretest and posttest, the subjects' scores incritical thinking were determined; meanwhile, their semesters average scores were taken from universityeducational office. Then the hypotheses of the study were analyzed in descriptive statistics (Mean,percentage, tables and chart) and in inferential statistics (using the spss software, T-test, Tuki and the onewayANOVA). The findings, show that first: teaching critical thinking instruction with the method presentedin the study will increase students critical thinking. Second: there is a significant relationship between criticalthinking and students' achievement: teaching critical thinking will increase students' achievement, and third,no significant difference was found in the degree of effect form critical thinking instruction on students'achievement, taking variables such as "major of study" and "gender" into consideration