The Implementation of WebQuest-supported Critical Thinking Instruction in Pre-service English Teacher Education: The Turkish Context

Abstract

Critical thinking, a vital skill for the 21st century, has become a desirable educational outcome by educators. Promoting students' critical thinking has been a concern in various educational settings and the role of teachers is considered to be the most significant factor for successful instructional implementations. The present study aims to examine the effects of WebQuest-supported critical thinking instruction on the critical thinking disposition levels of Turkish pre-service teachers (PTs) of English and to determine whether receiving WebQuest-supported critical thinking instruction leads to a change in the PTs' understanding of critical thinking. Data were collected from 60 freshman PTs studying at a state university in Istanbul, Turkey. Thirty PTs were assigned to the experimental group and received WebQuestsupported critical thinking instruction, while 30 PTs were assigned to the control group and received traditional text-only instruction. The study lasted seven weeks and data were collected by means of the Turkish version of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and semi-structured focus group interviews conducted before and after the treatment. Findings revealed that the WebQuest-supported critical thinking instruction produced statistically significant differences in the PTs' critical thinking disposition levels and the PTs demonstrated clearer awareness of critical thinking at the end of the study.

The effect of PjBL plus 4Cs learning model on critical thinking skills

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“…The schedule was also really designed so that project completion did not exceed the predetermined time limit. In more detail, the third syntax was carried out by conditioning the students to do these following activities: Rediscussing products that had been determined in the previous stage (Sari et al 2019); Completing various product contents from various sources including the internet and expert figures (Bayram et al 2019); discussing in a group and focusing on preparing designs, developing contents, determining tools and materials, compiling time schedules and designing budgets (Somjai & Soontornwipast, 2020); and completing the workbook until the planning stage (Mutakinati et al 2018).…”

“…Several students are interested in other group projects, so they often leave their groups to look for information and learn from other group projects. In this research, it happened to the poster groups who were interested in learning to create and edit videos (Bayram et al 2019). The students tease each other arguments in changing or maintaining a better form/design.…”

Complex Thinking and Sustainable Social Development: Validity and Reliability of the COMPLEX-21 Scale

“…The COMPLEX-21 scale differs from other instruments assessing specific skills of complex thinking, such as the Study Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ) [50,51], the Watson-Glaser, the Critical Thinking Appraisal [52,53] and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory [54,55] because these assess several dimensions of complex thinking but not the construct as a whole; these scales have a large number of items (around 70 items) and systemic analysis is relegated to a second plane.…”

Implementation of The Quantum Learning Model to Improve Critical Thinking Skills Students of Elementary School

“…Berpikir kritis adalah berpikir untuk menafsirkan, menganalisis, mengevaluasi, menyimpulkan, menjelaskan , dan meregulasi (Facione, 2011;Grant & Smith, 2018;Palavan, 2020). Berpikir kritis merupakan tingkat berpikir golongan atas atau termasuk berpikir tingkat tinggi karena membutuhkan analisis dan evaluasi dalam menghadapi suatu kasus (Tosuncuoglu, 2018;Bayram et al, 2019;Polat, 2020). Keterampilan berpikir kritis bukan hanya tentang peserta didik mampu memahami konsep, mengahafal materi, namun juga bagaimana peserta didik mampu menganalisis suatu konsep dan permasalahan (Özelçi & Çalışkan, 2019;Erdoğan, 2020;Evans, 2020).…”