Liberal Studies in Hong Kong: A new perspective on critical thinking through group work

Fung, Dennis; Howe, Christine

doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2012.04.002

Cited by 43 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Accordingly, in response to the first research question, analysis of the TCTS-PS showed there to be more evidence of critical-thinking skills amongst the collaborative group-work students (Types 2 and 3) than amongst those (Type 1) who had received whole-class instruction. With regard to the second research question, the results revealed the group-work students who had received teacher guidance (Type 3) to have made greater progress than those in the self-directed groups (Type 2) (for details, refer to Fung & Howe, 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also reflected their enthusiasm for solving some of the problems related to implementing group work in Hong Kong schools, such as teacher stress when using an unfamiliar technique (Carless, 2002) and organisational issues around large class sizes (Pong & Pallas, 2001), by providing additional resources for Liberal Studies lessons (see Appendix 1 for further details). In a broader sense, Liberal Studies is widely considered a 'Trojan horse' (Fung & Howe, 2012;Morris & Scott, 2005), which aims to trigger a new wave of transformation of the Hong Kong school curriculum from its teacher-directed basis to a studentoriented framework. It is also identified as an enquiry-based approach to traditional subjects in teaching argumentation and independent thinking to students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Fung¹,

Howe

2014

Cambridge Journal of Education

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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.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Fung¹,

Howe

2014

Cambridge Journal of Education

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“…A student from each group will then be asked to present and explain the group' s answer. Previous studies have shown that such group work with guidance may lead to better performance on critical-thinking exercises (Carini et al, 2006;Fung & Howe, 2012). This type of collaborative, problem-based, active learning centered on our diagram can improve students' understanding of the physiological process while steering them to develop a positive attitude toward learning (Johnson et al, 1998;Norman & Schmidt, 2000;Armbruster et al, 2009).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 85%

Using a Cyclical Diagram to Visualize the Events of the Ovulatory Menstrual Cycle

Parmar²

2014

The American Biology Teacher

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Over the past 10 years, college textbooks in human anatomy and physiology have typically presented the events of the ovulatory menstrual cycle in a linear format, with time in days shown on the x-axis, and hormone levels, follicular development, and uterine lining on the y-axis. In addition, the various events are often shown over a 28-day cycle, when they can take place over 21-35 days and may not be regular at all. Here, we propose a circular diagram that is independent of a set cycle time and readily shows the cyclic nature of the events. This diagram can be presented sequentially in organized layers, and additional complexity can be added. In addition, we present questions here that can promote self-learning before and critical thinking after the discussion of the cycle to enhance understanding of the physiological events.

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“…Fung and Howe (2012) reported that the relevance of group work for fostering CT, looking in particular at the participation of teachers in small group activity. They paid more attention to the results of CT tests and excerpts extracted from the students' dialogues, the research looked for highlighting the impact of the teacher in breaking stalemates in discussion with appropriate interventions.…”

Section: The Role Of Critical Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on common factors between critical thinking and religious education

Homayoonfard¹,

Sajjadi²

2012

MSL

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Critical thinking (CT) has been one of the most popular interests among many scholars, educators, and others who are concerned with thinking skills. There are many evidences to believe that critical thinking skills can lead to more prepared, productive and employable students in the workforce. On the other hand, religious educations have been increasing subject of interest in different countries. When the rules and regulations in a country are based on religious, it is necessary to use religious educational systems as part of regular teaching education. However, there are common factors between CT and religious education and we can benefit from these common factors. This paper studies on recent advances on critical thinking and existing common factors between CT and religious educations. We explain that a hybrid of CT and religious education helps people search for truth, gives precise vision, helps use unbiased judgment, increases tolerance, helps become independent, helps people have fair judgment and work harder.

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Liberal Studies in Hong Kong: A new perspective on critical thinking through group work

Cited by 43 publications

References 24 publications

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

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

Using a Cyclical Diagram to Visualize the Events of the Ovulatory Menstrual Cycle

A study on common factors between critical thinking and religious education

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