An Investigation of Digital Thinking Skills in EFL Digital Instruction

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to introduce a digital thinking skills (DTS) theoretical model (DTSM) that could support and enhance digital instruction best practices in schools. Methodology: We have taken a mixed-methods approach. Our respondents represent diverse cultural, linguistic, pedagogical, and social heritages. Contribution: The study provides a theoretical model developed by Eshet-Alkalai and Aviram that could impact subsequent digital teaching in schools. The highly accessible model may help teachers understand the cognitive learning outcomes that derive from frequently used digital tools. Findings: We found that teachers do not have a pedagogical concept of digital thinking skills, though many believe such skills might have a positive effect on their learners’ achievements. School culture plays a key role in effective DI delivery. Teachers want better in-service IT instruction. Recommendations for Practitioners: When distance learning has become the order of the day, we recommend practitioners connect pedagogical methodology and disciplinary content with new technology to boost learning outcomes. Recent world events have shown that in many cases practitioners have not been exposed to multiple digital options, especially those that not only present and review learning content but also boost the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Recommendation for Researchers: We recommend researchers review different types of available resources and their effective implementation in the school curricula in order to foster creativity and more profound thinking among teachers and learners. Impact on Society: Better informed and greatly improved DI in schools is clearly crucial for twenty-first-century systems. As we go to press, in the middle of the coronavirus world-wide lockdown, these words resonate more than ever before. Our research both highlights this obvious need and provides a heuristic bridge between basic research and classrooms. Future Research: Future studies should focus on a pedagogical digital model that can enhance DI best practices in schools.

The Effectiveness of E-Collaborative Learning in Developing Digital Thinking Skills among Teachers in the Light of Connectivism Theory

“…Digital thinking skills are useful for students and for anyone, regardless of their scientific and practical competencies. These skills are as indicated study [4,7,9,25].…”

“…Digital thinking can be motivating for students and enhance their creativity, as they are not consumers of knowledge, but rather producers of it, as it is most important for survival and adaptation in the surrounding environment in the current era. Therefore, creativity is currently viewed as relying on digital technology, and how it interacts with humans, and its ability to solve problems and challenges facing students [4]. Digital thinking is a higher way of thinking in dealing with life's problems.…”

“…One of the most important thinking skills in the current (technological) age is digital thinking skills, which is considered one of the basic thinking skills in the twenty-first century, which depends on solving problems, analyzing, and designing systems, and discovering and understanding human behavior based on digital concepts. These skills must be possessed by all students, as they are an essential part of the educational curriculum [4].…”

Strategies for Integrating Technology into Physical Education Pedagogy in the 21st Century

“…A review of the relevant literature reveals that there is little recognition of digital learning competencies in the educational research literature, which means that educational research seems to be lagging in understanding the ever-changing digital competencies needed by teachers and learners (Silber, et al, 2019). In addition, teachers do not have adequate conceptualizations of teaching digital thinking skills, yet better information transfer and vastly improved digital thinking in schools are essential for teaching and learning in the 21 st century (Meirovitz & Aran (2020). Information overload and knowledge fragmentation is a major challenge to learning in the network era (Wang, 2023).…”