Enhancing Educators’ skills for promoting Critical Thinking in their classroom discourses: A randomized control trial

Authors

Raisa Gul, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Shehla Khan, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Azra Ahmad, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Shanaz Hussein Cassum, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Tanveer Saeed, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Yasmin Parpio, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Joanne Profetto- McGrath, University of AlbertaFollow
Donald Schopflocher, University of AlbertaFollow

Document Type

Article

Department

School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan

Abstract

The literature reveals that educators find it challenging to foster critical thinking (CT) in their students if they have not learned how to use CT in their educational system or training. This paper reports findings from a national research project that was undertaken to enhance the educators’ ability to promote CT in their teaching practices. Using a randomized control trial design with a pre- and post-test, 91 educators from 14 of the 17 schools of nursing in Pakistan consented to enroll in the study and 72 completed the study. The intervention included 40 hours of learning experience during two workshops that focused on CT. Data were collected, pre- and post-intervention, via observations and audiotaping of the participants teaching sessions for 60-90 minutes. The data obtained was assessed for the educators’ level of questioning, teaching strategies, and facilitation skills. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Compared with the pre- intervention data, findings from the post-intervention data in the experimental group revealed positive changes in their pedagogical skills, including a significant increase in the number of higher order questions that are considered important for developing students’ CT skills. This study affirms that educators must have structured training to use and foster CT in their teaching practices.

Publication (Name of Journal)

International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Recommended Citation

Gul, R., Khan, S., Ahmad, A., Cassum, S. H., Saeed, T., Parpio, Y., McGrath, J. P., Schopflocher, D. (2014). Enhancing Educators’ skills for promoting Critical Thinking in their classroom discourses: A randomized control trial. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 26(1), 37-54.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_son/40

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.