Group work and the learning of critical thinking in the Hong Kong secondary liberal studies curriculum

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a one-year longitudinal study that investigated the impact of group work on the development of students' critical thinking in Hong Kong secondary schools. It explores whether the participation of teachers in a group-based teaching intervention adapted from an earlier study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) facilitated students' use of critical arguments in Liberal Studies lessons. In addition to examining students' critical thinking skills through test performance and the use of reasoned justifications in written classwork, the article also discusses the applicability to the Hong Kong context of the programme on which the intervention was based. In general, the results of the study indicate that group work is more effective than whole-class instruction in developing students' critical-thinking skills and that students make better progress in 'teacher-supported' than 'student self-directed' group work.

An experience of a three-year study on the development of critical thinking skills in flipped secondary classrooms with pedagogical and technological support

“…Empirical studies have been conducted in line with this advocacy. However, there are limited studies focusing on the secondary education sector, with examples including Cheong and Cheung (2008), Fung and Howe (2014), Huang, Hung, and Cheng (2012), Kwan and Wong (2014), McMahon (2009), Yang and Chung (2009) and Yang and Wu (2012). As reported in Kong (2014), these empirical studies suggest a number of critical thinking skill teaching strategies for teachers.…”

“…For example, teachers should give students sufficient time to think about the problem-solving questions (Cheong & Cheung, 2008;Kwan & Wong, 2014;Yang & Wu, 2012). Teachers should also give sufficient time for students to discuss the problem-solving questions with group members (Cheong & Cheung, 2008;Fung & Howe, 2014;Huang et al, 2012;Kwan & Wong, 2014;McMahon, 2009;Yang & Chung, 2009). Moreover, teachers should guide different groups of students to make sharing with the whole class (Fung & Howe, 2014;Huang et al, 2012;McMahon, 2009;Yang & Chung, 2009).…”

“…Teachers should also give sufficient time for students to discuss the problem-solving questions with group members (Cheong & Cheung, 2008;Fung & Howe, 2014;Huang et al, 2012;Kwan & Wong, 2014;McMahon, 2009;Yang & Chung, 2009). Moreover, teachers should guide different groups of students to make sharing with the whole class (Fung & Howe, 2014;Huang et al, 2012;McMahon, 2009;Yang & Chung, 2009). In addition, teachers should explain the answers for the problem-solving questions and then guide students to make reflection (Fung & Howe, 2014;Yang & Chung, 2009;Yang & Wu, 2012).…”

“…Moreover, teachers should guide different groups of students to make sharing with the whole class (Fung & Howe, 2014;Huang et al, 2012;McMahon, 2009;Yang & Chung, 2009). In addition, teachers should explain the answers for the problem-solving questions and then guide students to make reflection (Fung & Howe, 2014;Yang & Chung, 2009;Yang & Wu, 2012). The research by Cheong and Cheung (2008), Huang et al (2012), Yang and Chung (2009) and Yang and Wu (2012) has empirically found that the above pedagogical ways can promote secondary students to be more aware that they need to develop critical thinking skills through a suitable learning process in class.…”

“…Critical thinking skills are the capabilities to think reflectively and judge skillfully, so as to decide what information is reliable and what actions should be taken during reasoning and problem-solving (Fung & Howe, 2014;Kwan & Wong, 2014;Kong, 2014). The study reported in this article, built on Kong (2014), to adopt the views of Hughes, Lavery, and Doran (2010) and Yeh (2009) that the capacities of critical thinking skills can be categorized into five major dimensions: (i) hypothesis identification e the capacity to recognize the underlying ideas or unstated assumptions of the problem to be addressed; (ii) induction e the capacity to reason the connection between a set of specific examples so as to derive a reliable generalization for the problem; (iii) deduction e the capacity to reason the connection between a set of general statements so as to reach a logically certain conclusion for the problem; (iv) explanation e the capacity to argue ideas through clarifying the causes, contexts, and consequences of the facts among different aspects of the problem; and (v) evaluation e the capacity to use a set of relevant criteria to determine the quality of the arguments and outcomes come up for the problem.…”