Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, Issue 47, Spring 2012, 23-40 Facilitation of the Development of Critical Thinking Skills* Belgin TANRIVERDI** *** HAKAN TURAN*** Suggested Citation: & Turan, H. (2012) Evaluating teacher education Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research,, 47, 23-40 Abstract Problem Statement: The economic and social changes in the 21st century have wide-ranging consequences for education systems. To acquire necessary competencies, what learners need most is to learn to learn by reflecting critically on their learning aims. To provide this kind of learning experience, teacher education curricula should be revised to promote critical thinking (CT). Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to investigate current teacher education curricula based on pre- development of CT skills (CTS). In order to fulfill that aim, courses in the curricula, teaching methods, evaluation and assessment methods, and the roles played by teachers were analyzed. Methods: In this study, a qualitative research design was used. 44 participants were selected using a purposive sampling method from the senior classes of different departments in the Faculty of Education. Three main questions including the three components of curricula (content, to the entire process. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method. Results: Students think that professional courses and elective courses are more effective than courses solely on their discipline. Participants also think that courses on art, media, and philosophy should be integrated into * This paper was presented at the 35th Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) Conference held in Budapest 26-30 August, 2010 ** Corresponding author: Assist. Prof. Dr., Kocaeli University Faculty of Education, TURKEY, [email protected] *** Assist. Prof. Dr., Kocaeli University Faculty of Education, TURKEY, [email protected] **** Res. Assist. Dr., Kocaeli University Faculty of Education, TURKEY, [email protected] 23 24 the current curriculum. In terms of teaching methods, student-centered methods as well as teacher-centered methods can be effective in y. However, the results of the study show that whatever method is used, the most important factor in developing CTS is the role/attitude of the teacher. Conclusions and Recommendations: The results of this study reveal that teacher education curricula should be enriched with interdisciplinary courses. Further studies should be done including primary and secondary education teachers and teacher trainers in order to provide data for developing teacher education curricula. Keywords: Developing skills, thinking, critical thinking, teacher training, teacher education curricula The 21st century, with its global social, economic, educational, environmental, and health challenges, does not demand the teaching of soon-to-be obsolete facts, but, rather, the fostering of CT at all levels of education (Facione & Facione, 1994). skills, and attitudes necessary in real life situations. To acquire competencies, what learners need most, from an early age, is to learn to learn by reflecting critically on their learning aims. problem solving; it is a rational response to questions that cannot be answered definitively and seeks to explore situations to arrive at optimal and justifiable hypotheses or conclusions (Reinstein & Bayou, 1997). CT does not refer to being able to process information well enough to know to stop for red lights. Rather, true CT enables a person to, for example, responsibly judge between political candidates, or evaluate society's need for nuclear power plants (Schafersman, 1991). Almost 30 years ago, researchers, psychologists and educators started to emphasize the importance of CTS (Ennis, 1987; College Board, 1983). Since then, CTS have been accepted as one of the desirable outcomes of undergraduate education (Halpern, 1993). Many educators view the promotion of CT as one of the highest priorities in college education as well. Williams, Oliver & Stockdale (2004) claim that few concepts have attracted more attention in higher education than the notion of CT. Although Lincoln (1999) underscores the importance of preparing college students who can synthesize and evaluate information, he also notes that universities continue to graduate individuals who cannot think in a straight line, i.e. those who cannot evaluate the interior logic of an irrational argument. The improv many colleges and universities. Though institutions are committed to developing CT, there is an important question that needs careful treatment if this goal is to be met. Faculty members must arrive at a shared understanding of what they mean by the Eurasian Journal of Educational Research 25 The courses or topics chosen will determine choices about the strategies and methods used in classrooms. Some scholars believe that CT cannot be taught or developed by lecturing. The intellectual skills of CT analysis, synthesis, reflection, etc. must be learned by actually performing them. Classroom instruction, homework, term papers, and exams, therefore, should emphasize active intellectual participation by students (Schafersman, 1991). The evaluation and assessment methods used in the courses are as crucial as the methods used in the classrooms. Schafersman states that term papers promote CT among students by requiring that they acquire, synthesize, and logically analyze information, and that they then present this information and their conclusions in written form. He thinks essay questions requiring inferences, assumptions, concise, logically persuasive lines of reasoning about why a claim should be either conditionally accepted or not accepted. All of these questions about the development of CTS are more or less related to -school factor affecting student performance. Teachers need the skills to give every pupil adequate opportunities to acquire necessary competencies in a safe and attractive school environment based on mutual respect and cooperation. Furthermore, teachers who ask challenging questions and require students to give evidence or reasons for their conclusions and opinions are likely to develop CTS and a critical spirit in their students (Patrick, 1986). Effective teachers challenge students to examine alternative positions on controversial topics or public issues, require justification for beliefs about what is true or good, and insist on orderly classroom discourse. In this manner, they provide powerful lessons about responsible scholarship and citizenship in a free society (Orr & Klein, 1991). CT has been identified as one of the major issues in the Turkish education system. In a number of official resources, such as A Draft for General Competencies of Teaching (2005), the National Ministry of education emphasized that teachers should growth as well as their CTS. In the Higher Education Competencies Framework pre-service teacher will be able to evaluate knowledge and skills related to his , 72). However, related literature indicates that pre-service teachers generally possess low or medium levels of CTS in Turkey. For example, a study conducted by the students were low on the dimensions of self-confidence and truth-seeking. The study conducted by Maden and Durukan (2010) revealed that Turkish pre-service teachers are disposed towards CT at the rate of 3.77 (Min. 1, Max. 6). The findings of another study conducted with 82 pre- indicated that although the importance they attributed to citizenship was quite high, their scores on CT scale were relatively low. There are very few studies considering 26 the impact of current teach study done by Karadeniz (2006), the results indicated that although teachers at secondary schools had positive attitudes towards CT education, they thought that teacher education curricula lacked information about developing CTS. In another study conducted with Turkish pre-service teachers, it was found that the students in the 1st class compared to the ones in the 4th class showed more positive opinions of As Walsh and Paul (1988) claim, schools of education must integrate CTS into all aspects of teacher preparation and train future teachers to model effective thinking strategies. In contrast to the passive reception of knowledge within teacher-centered classrooms, this style of teaching promotes active, student-centered learning. However, because of the lack of studies, it is almost impossible to draw conclusions about the impact of teacher education curricula in Turkey on pre- CTS. The main purpose of this study is to investigate current teacher education the following items were analyzed in terms of their relationship to and importance in developing CTS. 1. Courses/topics in the teacher education curricula 2. Strategies and methods used in these courses 3. Evaluation and assessment methods used in these courses 4. The role/attitude of the teacher Method Research Design In the study, a qualitative research design with a focus group interview was used. The purpose of qualitative research is not to generalize to other subjects or settings, but to explore deeply a specific phenomenon or experience from which to build further knowledge (Thomas & Magilvy, 2011). Focus groups are uniquely able to generate data from the synergy of group interaction (Green et al. 2003), hence the types and ranges of data generated through the social interaction of the group are often deeper and richer than those obtained from one-on-one interviews (Thomas, MacMillan, McColl, Hale & Bond, 1995). Participants in this type of research are, therefore, selected on the criteria that they would have something to say on the topic, are within the age-range, have similar social characteristics and would be comfortable talking to the interviewer and each other (Marshall & Rossman, 2006). For this reason, purposive sampling, a commonly used non-random sampling appropriateness, was used in this study. In order to avoid the pitfall of equipment failure, all equipment was checked ahead of time. Also, researchers took notes in order to avoid unexpected technical Eurasian Journal of Educational Research 27 problems. To avoid the pitfall of environmental distractions, a quiet meeting hall with a round table inside, away from common interruptions in the workplace including loudspeakers, doors shutting, and telephones ringing, was arranged ahead of time. The participants were informed about the possible length of the interview so that they could set aside a designated time. Since an analysis can only be as accurate as the person doing it, and a transcription only as precise as the person transcribing, researchers became both interviewers and transcribers to establish dependability. To avoid transcription errors in punctuation, transcribers used italics or exclamation points to emphasize words as they are heard on the tape. Such attention to detail made it easier for the researchers to analyze the data. Participants The study participants were pre-service teachers enrolled in the senior class in the Faculty of Education at Kocaeli University. Class attendance and academic success were taken into consideration since it is important to have attended the majority of the courses in the curriculum. From the pool of qualified students, 44 volunteers (28 female and 16 male students) were invited to the interview conducted by the researchers at the end of 2009-2010 academic semester. Of the participants from evening classes and regular classes, 9 were from science teaching, 9 were from English teaching, 9 were from primary school teaching, 9 were from mathematics teaching, 5 were from pre-school teaching, and 4 were from Turkish language teaching departments. The duration of the interviews ranged between 75 and 120 minutes. At the beginning of the interview participants were informed that the entire interview would be recorded if they had no objections. Research Instruments Preliminary data collection included six focus-group interviews with pre-service teachers. Qualitative interviews differ from quantitative interviews with structured questionnaires in that qualitative interviews provide the researcher with deeper and Rubin, 2005). Accordingly, this technique was chosen to allow pre-service teachers the opportunity to criticize the curricula of the faculty and suggest ideas according to their own experiences and points of view. Another reason to use this technique was in pur Mason, 1996). Data creation better suits the ontological assumptions of qualitative research. It is often stated that in qualitative research, the researcher him or herself is the research instrument (Pyett, 2003), as it is through the researcher that qualitative data are generated or collected, and analyzed and interpreted. During the interview process, the researchers were seen as a part of the interview process because as teacher trainers they were involved in the design of the curriculum and education. Standardized open-ended interviews were used in this study. Participants were always asked identical questions, but the questions were worded so that responses are open-ended (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). This open-endedness allows the participants to contribute as much detailed information as they desire and it also allows the researcher to ask probing questions as a means of follow-up (Creswell, 2007). 28 A one-page-long text explaining/summarizing CTS was prepared based on the related literature in order to provide unity in content. This text was read and corrected by two experts completing their Ph.D. studies in CTS. Through their recommendations, the final text was copied and distributed to the participants 10 days before the interview. They were requested to read the text until they mastered the text. At the beginning of each session, students were asked if they read the text in order to reach a consensus. In standardized open-ended interviews, the interviewer develops and uses an interview guide, a list of questions and topics that need to be covered during the conversation (Creswell, 2007; Patton, 1990). Preparing the questions ahead of time in interviews both allows the interviewer to be prepared and appear competent during the interview and allows informants the freedom to express their views in their own study. It is not included in the article because of space limitations. As Creswell notes, a semi-structured interview guide often need not include more than five or six general questions. The three open-ended questions directed at the participants in this study were as follows: 1. What courses/topics do you think have had a positive impact on the development of your CTS? 2. What methods used in these courses do you think had a positive impact on the development of your CTS? 3. What evaluation and assessment methods do you think had a positive impact on the development of your CTS? The questions were drawn from three curriculum components: content, teaching methods, and evaluation and assessment. Student were not asked about the other component, the main objective of the curriculum, since it is beyond their knowledge. During the interv T at the interviewees. After the first interview, related literature was reviewed once more because students an additional question to the entire process. This question was as follows: 4. in the development of Trustworthiness Lincoln & Guba (1985) address four components of trustworthiness that are relevant to qualitative research: (a) truth value (credibility); (b) applicability (transferability); (c) consistency (dependability); and (d) neutrality (confirmability). To establish credibility, focus group transcripts and interpretations of the focus group data were sent to one student in each focus group (6 students total) and they were asked to review the data. However, only two students responded. In order to establish transferability, different students from different departments were invited Eurasian Journal of Educational Research 29 to the interviews. In order to establish dependability, the specific purpose of the study, how and why the participants were selected for the study, how the data were collected, how the data were transformed for analysis, and the interpretation and presentation of the research findings were presented in detail in the article. In order to establish confirmability, immediately following each focus group interview, the researchers wrote notes regarding personal feelings and biases, because reflective research allows a big picture view with interpretations that produce new insights (Johns, 2009). Triangulation Triangulation, a method used to check and establish validity in qualitative research, involves the use of multiple data sources, multiple researchers, multiple theoretical perspectives, and/or multiple methods (Schwandt, 2001). In order to establish data triangulation, a comparable number of participants from each department were included in the study. In order to establish investigator triangulation, researchers from different disciplines and positions were involved in the study. The first and third researchers are experts on curriculum development and instruction, the first and second researchers have done studies using qualitative research methods before, and the third researcher has done his Ph.D. study on CTS. They are all teacher trainers. All of the above-mentioned details are strengths of the study. However, one weakness of this study is the fact that it did not include the ideas of other teacher trainers and former graduates from the faculty. Data Analysis Constant comparison analysis (CCA), created by Glaser and Strauss (1967), was used in this study. This is a preferred method when the researcher is interested in utilizing an entire dataset to identify underlying themes presented through the data. was undertaken both deductively (e.g., codes are identified prior to analysis and then looked for in the data) and inductively (e.g., codes emerge from the data) in this study. To perform the CCA, the researchers first read through the entire set of data. After they chunked the data into smaller meaningful parts, they labeled each chunk with a code. After all the data were coded, the codes were grouped by similarity, and a theme was identified and documented for each grouping. Two independent transcriptions were performed. In the first, an attempt was made to transcribe the talk 'verbatim', i.e. without grammatical or other tidying up, and imported to N-Vivo8. The second transcription was informed using the analytic ideas and transcription symbols of conversation analysis. This provided additional information on how the researchers organized their talk, and represents a more objective, comprehensive, and, therefore, more reliable recording of the data because of the level of detail given by this method. Using the first transcription, the first two researchers coded the same material at the same time; ideas were shared and combined and consensus was reached about categorization and coding. The whole coding process is summarized in Figure 1. 30 Figure 1. Coding process for main categories and sub-categories. Results Findings are given in four different areas: (1) courses/topics, (2) strategies/methods, (3) evaluation and assessment methods, and (4) the role/attitude of the teacher. The courses/topics in teacher education curricula Courses/topics that exist in the current curricula Courses/topics that develop CT skills. The courses mentioned by the students most often are generally focused on film analysis and media analysis (elective courses in the ELT Curriculum), English literature, course book analysis, comparative education (compulsory courses in ELT curriculum), effective communication (a compulsory course in all tracks apart from mathematics and science teaching), drama (a compulsory course in all tracks apart from mathematics teaching), special teaching methods (a compulsory course for all), and material development and adaptation (compulsory for all). The participants stated that students were allowed to draw courses. Students also agreed that elective courses and professional courses develop their CTS rather than courses based solely on their discipline. Courses based on analyzing and synthesizing previous knowledge with current knowledge were cultures, and different points of view. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research 31 Courses/topics that do not develop CTS. Most of the students (30) think that courses based on theory rather than practice do not develop CTS. They also think that the de. Courses that do not exist in the present curricula Rather than stating a specific course, students tended to name general topics. Art- focused courses such as theatre, film, photography, and writing as well as philosophy-based courses were thought to develop CTS. Since some of these courses take place in some of the curricula of the same faculties, especially as elective courses, students from mathematics and science teaching think that they should take these courses as well. All of the students agreed that they should take elective courses from other departments or faculties starting with the first year of their education. Almost half of them (20) thought that they should share the same classroom with students from different departments or faculties in order to share their ideas and different points of view. Strategies/methods used in courses Strategies/methods that develop CTS Discussion, group discussion, group work, model designing, material development, material adaptation, project work, text analysis, media analysis, case studies, research/problem-based methods, and brainstorming were said to develop CTS. Participants think visual text analysis helps them to develop new ideas and understandings of people/cultures. Strategies/methods that do not develop CT skills much more important than the methods used in the courses. They think that just as there is not one single best method, there is not one single worst method either. Evaluation and assessment methods used in courses Evaluation and assessment methods that develop CTS Most of the participants were in favor of process evaluation rather than product evaluation; in other words, success should not be determined by mid-terms or final exams but rather what has been done during the term should be considered. They favored self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and immediate feedback in evaluation processes. Evaluation and assessment methods that do not develop CTS Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and true-false questions were mentioned as barriers to the development of CTS. Participants declared that questions based on memorization build neither CTS nor professional skills. 32 The role/attitude of the teacher Most of the students (38) related the main categories and sub-categories discussed above to the role of the teacher. They think that courses or topics, teaching with teachers who have positive attitudes towards students, who have mastered their own disciplines, and who promote and practice CT in the classroom to contribute to their students' intellectual development. Participants think teachers need the skills to give every pupil adequate opportunities to acquire necessary CTS in a safe and attractive school environment based on mutual respect and cooperation, opining that a positive classroom environment characterized by teacher warmth and encouragement can enhance all kinds of learning. Table 1 summarizes topics, sub- topics, numbers of references, and sample statements. Table 1 Topics, Sub-Topics, Sample Statements, and Numbers of References Nu mbe Topics r of Sample statements Sub-topics Refe renc es Developing CTS -The Material Adaptation course helped me to think about my strengths and weaknesses and how to adapt an everyday object into an educational tool with low budget, time, and energy (*PSE). -Media Analysis and Film Analysis made us think about one 1. situation from different perspectives, attitudes, and points of Courses view. We realize that there can be a hidden meaning in every that exist in 43 kind of message (*ELT). the Not developing CTS -Courses related to our discipline generally curricula prevent us from thinking. Courses based on our professional Courses/ skills are much better than science-related courses (*ST). Topics -Courses based on our discipline might ignite our CTS, but courses based on our profession could develop our CTS better (*MT). - We have courses that only relate to our department or profession. Our curriculum should be supported by different courses from other departments or faculties such as philosophy, media analysis, writing, music, or poetry (ST). 2.Courses -Courses focused on art such as the Art of Mathematics, Drama, that do not or Citizenship Rights should be integrated into our curriculum 60 exist in the (MT). curricula -Starting with university life, I wish we would take project- based courses with different students from different departments. We would have adapted to school life more easily and promptly (*PS).