Critical Thinking Development for 21st Century: Analysis of Physics Curriculum

Abstract

Critical thinking has been focused on 21st-century skills. The current study analyzed the national curriculum for Physics (2006) to determine the importance and elaboration of critical thinking skills essential for 21st-century learners. The document was analyzed through qualitative content analysis by facilitating NVivo 12. The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking through learning outcomes requiring students to explain phenomena, solve problems, analyze data, and draw conclusions. Assessment objectives also evaluate these skills. Interactive teaching methods like inquiry, discussions, and concept mapping are suggested to promote critical thinking. The analysis found that critical thinking abilities are highlighted as important in the preamble, with aims to improve process skills, problem-solving, and application of concepts. Specific standards call for developing reasoning and explanation abilities. Teaching strategies provide guidelines for student-centered methods that nurture critical thinking. Assessment methods test skills in explaining unfamiliar situations, solving new problems, interpreting data, and conducting valid inquiries. Overall, this physics curriculum comprehensively integrates opportunities for developing and assessing critical thinking abilities across all aspects - learning outcomes, teaching methods, and assessments. Recommendations include ensuring guidelines on interactive methods are implemented by teachers and assessments evaluate higher-order skills rather than just recall. Implementation fidelity would determine the development of critical thinking through this curriculum.