Using Fiction to Promote Students� Critical Thinking

Abstract

The importance of Critical reading (CT) to support every individual�s success in academic, personal and social life has long been acknowledged. The accelerating advancement of technology makes the need for CT more crucial. However, due to various factors, CT development through the educational process has not been satisfactory. This article reviews current ideas and studies on the nature of CT, the nature of fiction and their role in developing CT. To get ideas about how to implement using fiction to promote CT, the article ends with the practical description of a step by step of using fiction to promote CT through an instructional model.

Integrating Literary Works in an English Class to Improve Students’ Critical Thinking

“…However, there is no single fixed definition that can be used to define critical thinking comprehensively and satisfactorily. In the reviewed studies by Shukri and Mukundan [3] and Pardede [5], it is argued that no single definition has been made to represent the concept of critical thinking due to its complexity. Thus, the concept of critical thinking will continue to develop in accordance with the times.…”

“…Glaser (as cited in [6]) defined critical thinking as an attitude to consider an experience or social case wisely and thoughtfully with good reasoning skills. Meanwhile, Facione (as cited in [5]) demonstrated six critical thinking skills including analysis, interpretation, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation and two sets of dispositions: approaches to life in general and to specific issues and questions. This shows that a critical thinker is a person who is able to engage with certain issues holistically and critically starting from recognizing, analyzing, evaluating, and determining attitudes towards the issues.…”

“…By integrating learning with literary works, students could get more meaningful and engaging learning experiences. A study found that the use of literary works can be very interesting and advantageous because literary works can provide students with interesting and enjoyable learning [5]. Moreover, literary works also motivates students to do activities and gives more opportunities to discuss literary texts and relate them to current issues in the real world [6].…”

Pensamiento crítico en estudiantes de educación básica regular

“…de contenido, lo que deja un tiempo mínimo para discusiones, análisis y reflexiones críticas en profundidad. Este alcance limitado para el pensamiento crítico reduce las oportunidades de los discentes para desarrollar y aplicar habilidades analíticas, ya que se apresuran en aprender mediante una copiosa gama de temas sin tiempo suficiente para una comprensión integral o una investigación crítica(Pardede, 2019). Además, los métodos de instrucción centrados en el maestro, caracterizados por un flujo de información unidireccional de maestro a alumno, dificultan que el pensamiento crítico se desarrolle.…”

Profil Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Mahasiswa dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Pemecahan Masalah Matematika Ditinjau dari Jenis Kelamin

“…langsung ditebak penyelesaiannya serta proses penyelesaian soal bergantung pada setiap individu yang menyelsaikannya (Mulyati, 2016). Ketika mahasiswa dapat menyelesaian masalah berarti mahasiswa tersebut telah melalui proses berpikir kritis untuk mengasah penalaran secara cermat dan kreatif (Pardede, 2019). Dengan demikian, soal pemecahan masalah mampu memacu kemampuan berpikir kritis pada mahasiswa.…”