批判思考教學融入英語課程：一個以九年級英語課堂為例的行動研究

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學英語學系碩士論文 Master’s Thesis Department of English National Taiwan Normal University. 批判思考教學融入英語課程：一個以九年級英語課堂為例的行動研究. Incorporating Critical Thinking Instruction into Regular English Class: An Action Research in a 9th-Grade English Class in Taiwan. 指導教授：常紹如博士 Advisor: Dr. Shau-Ju Chang 研究生：蘇婉亭 Wan-Ting Su 中華民國一○七年八月 August, 2018.

(2) 摘要因應 108 新課綱將思考能力納入國中階段英語學習領域，本研究旨在探討如何將批判思考技巧教學融入國中階段正規英語課堂。研究中除了探究學生在學習過程中會遇到的困難及如何調整教案以解決問題，也調查學生對批判思考技巧教學的認知與態度。本研究採行動研究設計，研究對象為台北市某公立國中九年級的二十三位學生。本研究將六項核心思考能力—分類、排序、比較異同、分辨客觀事實與主觀意見、判斷因果關係、綜合相關資訊與推論—融入於五課英語課本閱讀或對話教學中。教學中運用了小組討論、圖像組織及閱讀相關問題等方法。研究者透過學習單、訪談、教師日誌及問卷調查等方式來蒐集資料。研究發現批判思考教學過程中必須給予學生清楚的說明、足夠的示例與適時的引導。小組討論、圖像組織及閱讀相關問題的運用皆為有效的教學方法，而差異化學習單亦能提供低成就學生在語言上的協助。此外，每個思考技巧有特定的教學技巧，在教分類時，應避免出現學生不熟悉的項目，且類別的定義和類別間的分界線須清楚；教比較異同時，圖表中可內含提示字或利用討論問題來引導學生整理二者間之相同與相異處；關鍵字的使用則對分辨客觀事實與主觀意見及判斷因果關係有很大幫助。研究也發現多數學生認為批判思考為一項可習得的能力，可融入教學中，但卻不一定要在英語課堂中學習。六項思考技巧中，多數學生認為分類和排序較簡單，而分辨客觀事實與主觀意見及判斷因果關係則相對較難。大致上學生贊同批判思考教學帶來的益處，特別是對閱讀理解的幫助。然而，少部分學生擔憂此教學造成額外的學習負擔。最後，本文亦提出其他英語教學現場的建議與未來研究方向。. 關鍵字：批判思考教學、國中英語課堂、行動研究. i.

(3) ABSTARCT As the 2019 Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines add critical thinking (CT) skills into the guidelines for junior high school English curriculum, the study aimed to investigate how to incorporate CT instruction into regular junior high school English class, particularly what difficulties students encountered and what adjustments could be made during the teaching process, and students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the CT intervention. The study adopted an action research design where all the CT skills were taught in multiple cycles. The participants were twenty-three ninth-grade students from a school in Taipei City. Six target CT skills, namely (1) categorizing, (2) sequencing, (3) comparing and contrasting, (4) distinguishing facts from opinions, (5) identifying the causal relationship, and (6) synthesizing relevant information and making inferences, were integrated and taught with the readings or dialogues across five lessons in the textbook. The teaching methods employed in the CT intervention included group discussion, graphic organizers, and reading-related questions. Data were collected through worksheets, interviews, teaching logs, and perception questionnaire. The results showed that explicit explanations, sufficient examples, and adequate guidance are chief principles to be followed during CT instruction. Group discussion, graphic organizers, and reading-related questions are all effective teaching methods, and proficiency-differentiated worksheets can provide language assistance for lower achievers. Besides, each CT skill requires specific teaching tips. For instance, when teaching categorizing, teachers should make items to be categorized familiar to students and keep the definition of the categories straightforward. When teaching comparing and contrasting, teachers can include clues on the graphic organizer or prepare discussion questions to help students sort similarities and differences. Making use of clue words is ii.

(4) helpful in distinguishing facts from opinions and identifying the causal relationship. The results also showed that most students believed that CT is an important skill that should be learned. The learning of CT skills needs to be combined with school subjects, but not necessarily English. Among the six CT skills, categorizing and sequencing were considered easier to learn, while distinguishing facts from opinions and identifying the causal relationship, more challenging. Overall students acknowledged the benefits of CT instruction, especially with regard to their reading comprehension. Yet, some students concerned about the extra load incurred by CT instruction. Lastly, important pedagogical implications and suggestions for future studies were provided.. Keywords: critical thinking instruction, junior high school, EFL, action research. iii.

(5) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the assistance and support of many people. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Shau-ju Chang. Dr. Chang is not only a professional researcher but also a considerate teacher. In the beginning phase of my thesis writing, she guided me to clarify my ideas and construct the argument of my thesis. Whenever I confronted difficulties throughout my research and thesis writing, she replied to my emails and Line messages instantly and always offered me valuable comments. She also refined my language and helped me write my thesis more clearly and concisely. Her patience and helpful guidance gave me a sense of security. I am so lucky and honored to be one of Dr. Chang’s advisees. I hope to become an inspiring teacher like her. I would also like to show my gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Hsi-nan Yeh and Dr. Heng-tsung Huang. Their kind email responses and tender reminders during the oral defense calmed my nerves. What is more, Dr. Yeh’s and Dr. Huang’s insightful and constructive suggestions enriched my thesis. Also, I am grateful to have Class 901 as the participants in this study. I would not have completed my research without their cooperation and enthusiasm during the instruction. Their feedback helped to improve the lesson plans and my teaching. Besides, I want to give my sincere thanks to the homeroom teacher of Class 901 and also my friend, Cindy, who provided selfless help throughout the whole semester. Next, I would like to show my gratitude to Principle Chen and my dear colleagues and friends in MCJHS (Liu, Huang, Christine, Elle, Tsai, Wang, Lillian, Uncle, Sandy, Jing, and Shan), who urged me on and supported me whenever I needed help. I also want to thank my classmate in NTNU, Karen, who shared with me how she prepared for her proposal hearing and oral defense and talked to me when I was upset. In addition,. iv.

(6) special thanks go to my roommate, Shan, who accompanied me, encouraged me, and helped me get through the tough times. Lastly, I would like to thank my beloved parents and sisters for their selfless love and support throughout my life.. v.

(7) TABLE OF CONTENTS 摘要 ........................................................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 1 Background and Motivation ................................................................................................................ 1 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................................ 4 Research Questions .............................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 6 Critical Thinking .................................................................................................................................. 6 Definitions of Critical Thinking ...................................................................................................... 6 Teaching Critical Thinking ............................................................................................................. 8 Importance of teaching critical thinking..................................................................................... 8 Teaching techniques that promote critical thinking .................................................................. 10 Critical Thinking Instruction in EFL Classrooms .............................................................................. 12 Critical Thinking Instruction in Taiwan ............................................................................................. 15 Thinking Skills in the English Curriculum Guidelines ................................................................. 15 Empirical Studies on Teaching Critical Thinking in English Class in Taiwan .............................. 17 Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD ............................................................................................................. 21 Research Design ................................................................................................................................ 21 Action Research ............................................................................................................................ 21 Participants and Setting ................................................................................................................. 24 Teaching Materials ........................................................................................................................ 24 Teaching Method........................................................................................................................... 27 Teaching Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 28 Data Collection .................................................................................................................................. 30 Worksheets .................................................................................................................................... 30 Teaching Logs ............................................................................................................................... 30 Interviews ...................................................................................................................................... 31 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................ 32 Procedure of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 33 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.............................................................................. 38 Descriptions of the CT Instruction ..................................................................................................... 38. vi.

(8) The Teaching of Each CT Skill ..................................................................................................... 38 Categorizing ............................................................................................................................. 38 Sequencing ............................................................................................................................... 41 Comparing and contrasting ...................................................................................................... 43 Distinguishing facts from opinions .......................................................................................... 50 Identifying the causal relationship ........................................................................................... 59 Synthesizing relevant information and making inferences ....................................................... 67 Teaching Methods ......................................................................................................................... 73 Group discussion ...................................................................................................................... 73 Graphic organizers ................................................................................................................... 77 Reading-related discussion questions ....................................................................................... 78 Other Helpful Strategies................................................................................................................ 81 Proficiency-differentiated worksheets ...................................................................................... 81 Explicit instruction ................................................................................................................... 82 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 82 Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes toward the CT Intervention ....................................................... 84 Perceptions of Importance of CT and Beliefs about Learning CT ................................................ 84 Self-Perceived Improvement of CT Skills .................................................................................... 85 Response to the Teaching Methods Employed in the Instruction.................................................. 89 Attitudes toward Integration of CT into Regular English Class .................................................... 90 Attitudes toward Future CT Application ....................................................................................... 92 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 95 Summary of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 95 Pedagogical Implications ................................................................................................................... 97 Suggestions for Future Research ....................................................................................................... 99 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 102 APPENDIX A : Reading Passages in the Textbook .............................................................................. 108 APPENDIX B : Worksheet 1 .............................................................................................................. 115 APPENDIX C : Worksheet 2 .............................................................................................................. 122 APPENDIX D : Worksheet 3 .............................................................................................................. 129 APPENDIX E: Worksheet 4 ............................................................................................................... 135 APPENDIX F : Worksheet 5 .............................................................................................................. 141 APPENDIX G: Teaching Logs ............................................................................................................. 149 APPENDIX H: The Interview Questions ............................................................................................. 150 APPENDIX I: Perception Questionnaire (Chinese Version) ................................................................ 151 APPENDIX J: Perception Questionnaire (English Version) ................................................................. 153. vii.

(9) LIST OF TABLES Table 1. The Teaching Procedure & Data Collection .......................................................... 26 Table 2. The Warm-ups for the Target Critical Thinking Skills .......................................... 29 Table 3. Summary of Chief Principles, Teaching Strategies, and Tips for CT Instruction.. 83 Table 4. Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Perceptions of Importance of CT and Beliefs about Learning CT .......................................................................................... 85 Table 5. Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Perceived Improvement of Each CT Skill ............................................................................................................................ 86 Table 6. Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Responses to Teaching Methods ............ 89 Table 7. Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Attitudes toward the CT Instruction ....... 90 Table 8. Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Attitudes toward Future CT Application 93. viii.

(10) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Action Research Spiral. ....................................................................................... 23 Figure 2. Procedure of the Study......................................................................................... 34 Figure 3. The Cycles of the CT Skills ................................................................................. 36. ix.

(11) CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background and Motivation The Partnership for 21st Century Skills1 has developed a vision for student success in the new global economy, suggesting that “students must learn the essential skills for success in today’s world, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration” (Framework for 21st Century Learning). In this so-called informationexplosion age, it is easy to search for information of any topic here and there. However, it might be dangerous to grasp and pass on a piece of information without scrutinizing it. The ability to make reasonable judgements and to decide what to believe or do is of great importance. “Critical thinking” (CT), therefore, has been a world-wide hot issue in recent decades. As Dr. Richard Paul claimed “critical thinking is not an aim of education but the aim” (Paul, 1992, p. 303), numerous educational psychologists have stated that CT is a very important element of schooling in the 21st century (Huitt, 1998; Thomas & Smoot, 1994). CT is even considered to be the core of meaningful education in the modern society, in which students can easily receive overwhelming amount of information (Chaffee, 1985; Paul, 1995). Some scholars further argued that “critical thinking is not an academic fad; it is an essential skill for living in the information age” (Connor-Greene & Greene, 2002, p. 324). Starting as early as the 1980s, there was an outburst of interest in critical thinking. Universities in the US have contained critical thinking courses in their undergraduate general education requirements. The importance of CT echoes the phenomenon of lacking thinking abilities in certain societies: “We should be teaching students how to think. Instead, we are teaching them 1. P21, The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (formerly the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills) was founded in 2002 as a coalition bringing together the business community, education leaders, and policymakers to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K-12 education and to kick-start a national conversation on the importance of 21st century skills for all students. 1.

(12) what to think” (Clement and Lochhead, 1979, p.1). Back then educational disciplines have reported the difficulty of imparting critical thinking skills (Schafersman, 1991). In the United States, a publication in 1983, A Nation at Risk, detailed the lack of higher order thinking skills among the youth of America: Many 17-year-olds do not possess the ‘higher-order’ intellectual skills we should expect of them. Nearly 40 percent cannot draw inferences from written materials; only one-fifth can write a persuasive essay; and only one-third can solve a mathematics problem requiring several steps. (Gardner et al., 1983, p.9) Education in eastern cultures is also often blamed for focusing too much on memorizing for exams or stuffing knowledge into students without developing the cognitive abilities to critically evaluate arguments (Egege & Kutieleh, 2004; Zhang, 1999). Owing to the needs for thinking abilities among students either in western or eastern cultures, the term “critical thinking” can be found in many countries’ educational policy documents in sections outlining curriculum goals. The UK National Curriculum, under a section entitled “Values, Aims and Purposes” (National Curriculum, 1999), states that “the curriculum should enable pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better.” In Singapore’s vision statement from Ministry of Education, it is also stated that “we should help the students to ask more searching questions, encourages curiosity and critical thinking, and not only to follow prescribed answers” (Ministry of Education, 2009). Critical and Inventive Thinking is regarded as “one of the 21st Century Competencies necessary for the globalised world we live in” (MOE, Singapore, 2015). Similarly, in Hong Kong’s Senior Secondary Curriculum Guide (2007), one of the criteria suggested for textbooks selection indicates “provide opportunities for discussion and further enquiries to facilitate students’ critical thinking and to assist them to make informed judgments…” In Taiwan, ever since the Ministry of Education developed the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum (2008), “independent thinking and problem-solving ability” has been one. 2.

(13) of the ten basic abilities in secondary education. Later, CT has been included in 2010 Guidelines for Senior High School English Curriculum, and English teachers are expected to cultivate students’ basic and higher order thinking abilities. What is more, in the new blueprint for English education to be implemented in 2019, namely Twelveyear Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, “logical thinking, judgment-making and creativity” is included in the guidelines for junior high school English curriculum, subsuming the following critical thinking skills: (1) being able to synthesize relevant information and make inferences, (2) being able to compare, categorize, and sequence two to three sources of information, (3) being able to identify the causal relationship between information based on the context, and (4) being able to distinguish facts from opinions from the explicit clues in a discourse such as “I think…” and “maybe”. Critical thinking skills seem to be given much weight in the educational systems in recent years. After the implementation of the 2010 Guidelines for Senior High School English Curriculum, high school teachers in Taiwan have shown interests in critical thinking instructions and assessments. A few teacher researchers designed courses on critical thinking skills based on the national English curriculum guidelines and implemented them in regular English classrooms (Huang, 2014; Lin, 2013; Shen, 2016). The results indicated the effectiveness of CT integration into English regular class. Integration of critical thinking into English teaching also proved effective on senior high school students in the athletic class in addition to normal classes (Ko, 2015). With appropriate materials and instruction, it is believed that high school students could enhance their critical thinking ability through school English education. As for junior high school English education in Taiwan, several studies have shown junior high school students’ growth in critical thinking abilities and dispositions through English reading and writing projects (Chian, 2010; Liaw, 2007). However, very few studies have touched upon the integration of critical thinking into regular English 3.

(14) classes. Since the previous curriculum guidelines do not require critical thinking skills as an English teaching objective, junior high school teachers do not seem to spend time on the teaching of CT in their regular English classes. Even though critical thinking skills are to be included in the new 2019 Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, how to incorporate them in junior high English classes is not clearly delineated. While there are a few lesson plans included in the 2010 Guidelines for Senior High School English Curriculum (MOE) and even some instruction notes to be found in a teaching manual (Chang, 2013) for high school teachers’ references to develop CT in regular English class, no similar lesson plans regarding CT instructions are designed or demonstrated for junior high school English courses. To meet the needs for CT skills cultivation in the classroom, more research has to be conducted to explore the effectiveness of CT instructions in regular English class at the junior high school level. Purpose of the Study Despite its importance, critical thinking is not as a natural skill as speaking or running and can take years to develop (American Foundation for Critical Thinking). It is necessary for teachers to plan and lead students to gradually develop the abilities to think critically. Given that teachers may not have enough confidence in planning lessons on CT instruction, a “trial-and-error” approach may be the best way to move towards the incorporation of critical thinking as well as understanding that there is not one exclusive or “right” way to develop and promote it (Vdovina , 2013, p.62). The current study aimed to investigate the incorporation of critical thinking skills into junior high school regular English classes. On the basis of the guidelines for junior high English curriculum, a formal junior high English textbook was employed as teaching materials and a few teaching techniques were integrated into English classes. 4.

(15) with the aim to foster students’ critical thinking skills. An action research, which encourages teachers to continuously reflect on the teaching practices in order to improve their own teaching in a “learning by doing” manner, was applied in this study to explore how the CT integration improved the junior high school students’ CT skills, how the teacher and the students reflected on the cultivation, and what challenges might occur during the intervention. It is hoped that the present research can provide a reference for in-service teachers to incorporate CT skills into junior high school regular English classes. Research Questions The research questions of the present study are as follows. 1. How can CT instruction be integrated into regular English classes in junior high school? (a) What are the difficulties encountered by the students in the learning process? (b) What adjustments can be made to deal with the difficulties? 2. What are the students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the CT intervention?. 5.

(16) CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW The purpose of the study is to explore how to incorporate critical thinking instruction into a regular junior high EFL classroom. This chapter provides a theoretical background of the present study. The first section explains the definitions of critical thinking, the importance of teaching critical thinking, and a few recommended teaching techniques to promote critical thinking. The second section elaborates how it is necessary to cultivate critical thinking skills in the EFL contexts followed by several related empirical studies conducted in EFL classrooms. The third section zeros in on the critical thinking skills included in the guidelines for English curriculum in Taiwan as well as a few local studies regarding CT instructions at different schooling levels. Critical Thinking Definitions of Critical Thinking Efforts to define, teach, and measure CT have intensified throughout the last quarter of the last century (Kurfiss, 1988; Norris & Ennis, 1989). Over the years, the definitions of “critical thinking” have received much discussion and debate. The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking (the U.S.) defines critical thinking as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action,” which is also the contemporary dictionary definitions for critical thinking (Dictionary.com). Apart from this definition, in recent decades, scholars and researchers interested in critical thinking have tried to conceptualize or explain this term. Yet, there is no clear agreement concerning the referent of the term,. 6.

(17) despite widespread attention to critical thinking in education; definitions of critical thinking offered by scholars differ to some degree (Atkinson, 1997; Siegel, 1988). Norris and Ennis (1989) regarded critical thinking as “a reasonable and reflective thinking that is focused upon what to believe or do” (p.3). Paul (1992) stated critical thinking is “disciplined, self-directed thinking that exemplifies the perfections of thinking appropriate to a particular mode or domain of thought” (p.9). Lipman (1991) then proposed the concept of “healthy skepticism” to describe the spirit of critical thinking. Evidence and specific criteria are required for the evaluation of thoughts and reasoning in order to pursue rationality and examine how good a decision is or how well a problem is solved (Bensley, 1998; Diestler, 2001; Halpern, 1999; Levy, 1997). Thinking about what to believe or do must meet “standards of adequacy and accuracy” if it is to be regarded as critical thinking (Bailin et al., 1999, p.287). It is argued that various definitions are simply paraphrases of the same idea where areas of overlap can be easily noticed if one scrutinizes them (Davidson, 1988). Finally, in the 1990 Delphi Report, the experts of American Philosophical Association concluded that critical thinking is composed of six core cognitive skills: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation and self-regulation, subsuming a total of sixteen sub-skills under them. However, viewing critical thinking to be merely an individual’s cognitive skills is far from adequate. Affective dispositions are considered another important part of critical thinking as McPeck (1981) proposed that critical thinking is not only the skill but also propensity to engage in an activity with reflective skepticism, which is in line with the definition of Halonen’s (1995), i.e., “the propensity and skills to engage in mental activity with reflective skepticism focused on deciding what to believe or do”. 7.

(18) (p.76). A person with his critical thinking, namely “pure skills2” (Siegel, 1988), should be considered a critical thinker, but not a good one (Facione, 1990). To explain how an ideal critical thinker should be, the Delphi experts presented a description as follows: The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. (Facione, 1990, p.2) People who have developed such affective dispositions are much more likely to apply their critical thinking skills appropriately in both their personal life and their civic life, compared to those who are adept at the skills but not disposed to use them. Students are supposed to develop various critical thinking skills as well as “critical attitudes” to evaluate their own opinions and ask critical questions about the worlds they are in (Fok, 2002), and thus it is believed that critical thinking “enables an individual to be a responsible citizen who contributes to society” (Schafersman, 1991, p.3). That said, the present study only focused on the cognitive dimension of critical thinking and defined critical thinking as a set of skills that active learners employ to interpret, analyze, evaluate, and infer. These cognitive skills echo the former four (out of six) core cognitive skills that were listed in the Delphi Report (Facione, 1990). Teaching Critical Thinking Importance of teaching critical thinking Through technology, the amount of information available today is massive but not always trustworthy. Students require a guide to weed through the information rather. Harvey Siegel (1988) proposed the “pure skills” conception of critical thinking to describe a critical thinker who only has the skills, abilities, or proficiencies necessary for the correct assessing of statements (p.6). 2. 8.

(19) than just passively accept it. That is, they are supposed to “develop and effectively apply critical thinking skills to their academic studies, to the complex problems that they will face, and to the critical choices they will be forced to make as a result of the information explosion and other rapid technological changes” (Oliver & Utermohlen, 1995, p. 1). Without the ability to think critically, students may be ill-equipped to handle many situations. There is no doubt that to think critically is essential for everyone; however, the competence does not come naturally. Children are not born with the power to think critically; rather, critical thinking is “a learned ability that must be taught” (Schafersman, 1991, p.3). Van Gelder (2005) argued that critical thinking was “a highly contrived activity,” like ballet, which required “many years of painful, expensive, dedicated training” (p.42). Thus though critical thinking is often regarded as a complex ability, and humans are not naturally critical, they can be cultivated to be so. Scholars have emphasized the importance of teaching thinking to students to help them survive in school as well as outside the school (Beyer, 1987; Oliver & Utermohlen, 1995, p.1; Paul, 1992; Paul & Elder, 2007). In addition to the teaching and learning of critical thinking primarily for individual’s higher-order cognitive development, the objectives of critical thinking instruction should be also aimed at the citizenship competence for critical participation in modern society (Ten Dam & Volman, 2004). It is believed that if students learn to think critically, then they can use good thinking as the guide by which they live their lives (Beyer, 1995). Recognizing the importance of CT education, universities in the US began to make critical thinking courses a part of their undergraduate educational requirements, starting as early as the 1980s. Since then, interests in teaching critical thinking have been shown in college courses. Given that critical thinking is vitally important in the personal and civic life of all members of society, some researchers argued that CT instruction should not be deferred until post-secondary level (Facione, 1990). Instead, the teaching of 9.

(20) thinking can and should be carried on throughout each school’s curriculum, across all grade levels and in all subjects (Beyer, 1987). Accordingly, one of the recommendations concerning CT curriculum was proposed by the APA Delphi panel in their research report (Facione, 1990): Explicit attention to the fostering of CT skills and dispositions should be made an instructional goal at all levels of the K-12 curriculum. The cultivation of CT dispositions and an insistence on giving and evaluating reasons, should be an integral part of elementary school education. In middle schools and high schools, instruction on various aspects and applications of CT should be integrated into all subject area instruction. (pp.15-16) Moreover, many researchers hold positive attitude toward the capacity of humans to become critical thinkers with appropriate instruction. It is believed that students of all intellectual ability levels can benefit from critical thinking instruction (Kennedy et al., 1991). Lewis and Smith (1993) in particular argued that critical thinking skills were for everyone, not just the gifted. Likewise, Willingham (2007) denied the myth that critical thinking was for advanced students. He posited that “the difficulty lies not in thinking critically, but in recognizing when to do so, and in knowing enough to do so successfully” (p.10), which really highlighted the significance of critical thinking instruction. In addition to dismissing the concern of intellectual ability levels, some researchers argued that age was also not the main obstacle to impede critical thinking. It is believed that even young children could benefit from critical thinking instruction (Kennedy et al, 1991), for critical thinking is “a type of thought that even 3-year-olds can engage in and even trained scientists can fail in” (p.10), as Willingham (2007) described. With adequate domain knowledge and practice, even young children are able to acquire critical thinking skills. Teaching techniques that promote critical thinking Several researchers highlighted the influential role that teaching strategies or. 10.

(21) techniques can play in promoting learners’ critical thinking. Abrami et al. (2008) analyzed 117 empirical studies to investigate what instructional interventions had an effect on the development and effective use of CT skills and dispositions, to what extent, and under what circumstances. The findings showed that the immersion approach, where critical thinking was regarded as a by-product of instruction (i.e., CT skills were not made an explicit course objective), had the smallest effect. In other words, teachers are supposed to make critical thinking an explicit part of curriculum and provide students with sufficient opportunities to practice and enable students to apply them in various contexts (Van Gelder, 2005; Willingham, 2007). Among the techniques of teaching CT skills explicitly, collaborative or cooperative learning is being highlighted because it is indicated that students’ interactions with one another involve their cognitive capacities and thus facilitate their cognitive development (Abrami et al.,2008; Bailin et al., 1991; Bonk & Smith, 1998; Heyman, 2008; Nelson, 1994; Paul, 1992; Thayer-Bacon, 2000). According to Bailin et al. (1999), critical thinking involves the ability to respond constructively to others during group discussion, which implies interacting in proper ways by encouraging and respecting the opinions of others. In addition, collaborations are also helpful in creating opportunities for disagreements and misconceptions among students to surface and to be corrected (Nelson, 1994). These are why the interactions among students created by the technique of collaborative learning are effective in promoting their critical thinking. Another optimal method to promote critical thinking is through questioning, for “thinking is question driven” (Elder, 2002, p. 4). The use of questions can help teachers to evaluate students’ knowledge, and elicit students’ inquiry and understanding of their thoughts and others. It is suggested that teachers should allow enough wait time for students to think through the problem while raising questions to students (Emerson, 2007). Turning students into active questioners is also an important part of critical 11.

(22) thinking education (Elder and Paul, 2003). King (1994) concluded in her study that students’ practice of questions can enhance their higher order thinking and engage themselves in more complex knowledge construction. In applying the questioning technique, Bloom’s Taxonomy is commonly suggested to be a useful framework for teachers to recognize various cognitive levels involved in questioning. Graphic organizers such as mind maps, diagrams, graphs, and charts is proven to be another effective instructional vehicle for cultivating learners’ critical thinking ability (Bonk & Smith, 1998; Fogarty, 1997). Several studies demonstrated that the integration of concept mapping technique is effective in promoting L2 learners’ reading comprehension (Ghanizadeh, 2007a) as well as their higher-order cognitive capacities such as self-regulation and self-efficacy (Chulurt and Debaker, 2004; Talebinezhad and Negari, 2007). Additionally, research indicated that integrating concept mapping into EFL reading classes has a significant impact on learners’ critical thinking skills such as analyzing, identifying main ideas or key concepts, and making comparisons (Khodadady, 2011; Wheeler and Collins, 2003). Critical Thinking Instruction in EFL Classrooms Critical thinking began to gain attention in the ESL/EFL contexts during the 1990s (Day, 2003). In the recent decades, efforts have been made by English language arts, ESL, EFL, and modern foreign language educators to integrate critical thinking skills into language curricula (Liaw, 2007). However, such effort was not met without reservations. Some educators questioned the validity of teaching critical thinking to L2 learners in non-western contexts (Atkinson, 1997; Davidson, 1998; Fox, 1994; Kobota, 1999; Stapleton, 2002). Atkinson (1997) stated that teaching critical thinking into nonnative speakers might be fraught with cultural problems. Unlike the individualism in the western culture which encouraged public debate, the collectivism in eastern. 12.

(23) culture led to a suppression of individuality, causing Asian students to lack an individual voice as well as critical thinking skills (Stapleton, 2002). Despite these doubts concerning CT instruction in a foreign language classroom, more researchers argued it is not adequate to consider Asian students less critical than their western counterparts just because they are hesitant to voice their opinions or express their criticism (Hongladarom, 2006; Le Ha, 2004). In fact, there is more to critical thinking than voicing one’s opinions. Davidson (1998) observed his Asian students and claimed that they seem more apt at other skills such as understanding multiple perspectives and resisting jumping to conclusions. L2 teachers have reasons, maybe even more than L1 teachers, to introduce to their students aspects of critical thinking (Davidson, 1998). Moreover, it is argued that EFL students usually come to L2 classroom with a variety of critical thinking skills developed in their L1. EFL students are able to learn to think critically in L2. Thus, EFL teachers are responsible for assisting their students to acquire critical thinking skills as they facilitate their language development (Liaw, 2007). Another argument for cultivating critical thinking in the EFL contexts is that higher-order thinking skills help enhance higher-order learning skills which in turn facilitate reaching higher levels of language proficiency (Renner, 1996). In a similar vein, Kabilan (2000) suggested that learners should use creative and critical thinking through the target language to become proficient in a language. In other words, learners cannot learn a language well by merely learning about the language; rather, they need to use the language, which implies using the target language to make meaning: to explain, reason, argue, and also to express the reasoning process. Depicting an ideal academic language program, Brown (2004) also proposed that the objectives of the curriculum should go beyond linguistic factors to develop critical thinking among learners. Since language development and thinking are closely related, critical thinking should be an integral part of an L2 curriculum and be 13.

(24) embedded in language learning tasks. Researchers further proposed some teaching approaches to combine the learning of critical thinking with L2 learning. Brock (1986), for instance, suggested the use of questions in the language classroom when initiating topics in conversations addressed to non-native speakers of English. Kabilan (2000) proposed communicative pedagogy and recommended activities such as problem-posing and decision-making to guide leaners to voice their opinions, analyze the evidence, rationalize their reasons, and weigh their judgments. Furthermore, Long (2003) introduced a teaching activity in the EFL context to foster the skill of distinguishing facts from inferences through picture analysis to encourage students to express their opinions and provide reasons. Several empirical studies also showed the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating critical thinking instructions in EFL classrooms (Gao, 2016; Jantrasakul, 2012; Tang, 2016). To begin with, Jantrasakul (2012) integrated critical thinking-based lessons into Thai EFL classes at the tertiary level. The technique of posing thoughtprovoking questions regarding topics in reading materials was stressed in each lesson. The findings showed that the critical thinking-oriented lessons empowered students’ language learning to a large extent and students were highly motivated as well. Then, Tang (2016) implemented a practical model in an EFL college intensive reading course in China to cultivate students’ critical thinking through a variety of teaching activities such as role play, case study, discussion teaching, and debate. These classroom activities involved students’ language skills as well as the ability to reflect, analyze, integrate, criticize and argue among different situations. Gao (2016) also aimed to cultivate Chinese EFL students’ critical thinking ability at the university level but through a different technique named simplified Model United Nations conference. The advantage of the simplified MUN conference is its integrating of listening, speaking, reading, and writing and also critical thinking skills into one course, and thus, students’ higher-order 14.

(25) thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating and creating develop along with the improvement of their language competence. Critical Thinking Instruction in Taiwan Thinking Skills in the English Curriculum Guidelines Since critical thinking is viewed as an essential skill in EFL classrooms, it has been made into national curriculum goals in many countries, including Taiwan. As the 2010 Guidelines for Senior High School English Curriculum published in Taiwan, critical thinking began to arouse much more attention among high school English teachers. The 2010 Guidelines consists of three basic thinking skills and five advanced thinking skills as follows. Three basic thinking skills: (1) Being able to compare, classify and sequence various information. (2) Being able to identify the causal relationship between information based on the context. (3) Being able to distinguish facts from opinions. Five advanced thinking skills: (1) Being able to analyze and synthesize the common points or conclusions among different pieces of information. (2) Being able to apply the learned principles to new situations in order to solve problems. (3) Being able to synthesize the existing information to predict the possible development. (4) Being able to assess different pieces of information and propose reasonable judgments or suggestions. (5) Being able to synthesize and organize related information, resources,. 15.

(26) and demonstrate creativity. The new Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines to be implemented in 2019 has some revolutionary changes compared to the previous one, one of which is to add “logical thinking, judgment-making and creativity” into the guidelines for English curriculum at the junior high school level. In other words, junior high school students in Taiwan are expected to acquire thinking skills through regular English curriculum. The four thinking skills subsumed under “logical thinking, judgment-making and creativity” include: (1) Being able to synthesize relevant information and make inferences. (2) Being able to compare, categorize, and sequence two to three sources of information. (3) Being able to identify the causal relationship between information based on the context. (4) Being able to distinguish facts from opinions from the explicit clues in a discourse such as “I think…” and “maybe”. For the first thinking skill, students are expected to learn to infer the meaning of words or sentences and the main ideas from the learned information in the text. The second thinking skill refers to the ability to compare, categorize, or sequence the main concepts related to the topic from one single text or between texts. The third thinking skill indicates the ability to figure out the causes of events or identify the causal relationship between statements from the implicit or explicit information provided in the text. For the fourth thinking skill, students ought to distinguish facts from opinions based on the clues provided in the discourse such as “I think…” and “maybe”. The above-mentioned thinking skills, which were absent in the previous guidelines in Nine-year Integrated Curriculum (2008), are now expected to be acquired by junior high school students.. 16.

(27) Empirical Studies on Teaching Critical Thinking in English Class in Taiwan The attention to and emphasis on critical thinking instruction in EFL classroom has spawned many empirical studies on ways of integrating critical thinking skills into each level of EFL classes and its effectiveness in the recent decade. Some of them focus on the application of teaching approaches, while others on the implementation of additional teaching materials. Hsieh (2014), for example, cultivated students’ critical thinking through reflective essay writing on English news videos and utilized a social communication platform, namely Edmodo, for peer discussions in an EFL college writing course. The findings showed that students made progresses on their English writing abilities, and their critical thinking skills also improved through reflections and group discussions on the communication platform. Also employing communication technology, Hsiao (2014) aimed to explore how senior high school EFL learners’ critical thinking abilities and reading abilities developed while doing WebQuest reading. In a WebQuest activity, students were required to read, answer questions, search for information, think critically, discuss in groups, and present to the class. The results showed that the reading tasks were effective in enhancing students’ reading abilities as well as critical thinking abilities. Apart from the above methods, a few researchers incorporated critical thinking skills into regular high school English class (Huang, 2014; Ko, 2015; Lin, 2013; Shen, 2016; Shiau, 2010). In Shiau’s (2010) study, reciprocal teaching was integrated into senior high school English class. Students learned to predict, clarify, summarize and question in the reading process. The findings revealed a positive effect on students’ reading comprehension and critical thinking skills development in that the reciprocal teaching approach encouraged students to ask “good” questions after reading, which led students to think deeply. The use of questions was also highlighted in Lin’s (2013) study, which applied literature circles to develop. 17.

(28) students’ critical thinking skills in a senior high EFL classroom. Student-generated questions and students’ responses in the short-story reading process were examined based on Bloom’s taxonomy, and finally students’ improvement of their thinking skills such as interpretation and application were shown in the findings. Some teacher researchers employed additional teaching materials into the English class. For example, Huang (2014) designed four lesson plans provided with handouts and worksheets on critical thinking skills and taught them explicitly to senior high school students. Among the thinking skills marked in the curriculum guidelines, the abilities selected to be incorporated in her instructions were (1) classify, order, and rank, (2) compare and contrast, (3) distinguish between facts and opinions, and (4) identify the relationship between two pieces of information. Students showed significant improvement in these thinking skills after the eight-week intervention and they also had positive feedback about this CT instruction. To prove that CT instruction is also feasible to athletic students, Ko (2015) integrated critical thinking into English teaching in a senior high school athletic class. The critical thinking skills introduced in the instruction include recognition of assumptions, inductions, deductions, interpretations, and evaluations. The findings showed the integration of critical thinking into English teaching is effective in students’ critical thinking skills especially in recognition of assumptions and deductions. Utilizing another teaching materials, Shen (2016) combined picture book reading with critical thinking cultivation in a high school EFL classroom, focusing on the following four skills: (1) compare, classify, and sequence various information, (2) identify the causal relationship between information based on the context, (3) distinguish facts from opinions, and (4) assess different pieces of information and propose reasonable judgements and suggestions. The results of this qualitative study showed that picture books along with the six strategies suggested by Law (2012), including open-ended, thought-provoking questions, class discussion, and 18.

(29) think-aloud, etc., were helpful in the enhancement of critical thinking skills, improvement of English skills, and a high level of learning motivation. In addition to the research taking place in senior high school English classrooms, some researchers made efforts to the integration of critical thinking into EFL reading and writing courses at the junior high school level. For instance, Liaw (2007) designed content-based courses to incorporate thinking skills into these courses through reading and writing activities. Some English readings and one simplified storybook were used as teaching materials in the English instructional units among the five-units of different subjects as an enrichment program. A few graphic organizers and writing tasks were assigned for students to cultivate their thinking skills such as comparing and contrasting, analyzing and synthesizing information in accordance with different topics of the units. Bloom’s Taxonomy was employed to analyze students’ writing samples for critical thinking skills, and the findings indicated the improvement of students’ English language skills and their thinking skills. On the other hand, Chian (2010) connected the English readings in the textbook to the real world by developing students’ critical literacy and encouraging them to take social actions. During the instruction, teacher’s questioning, group discussion and presentation were applied to respond to the readings and to facilitate students’ thinking. Students’ responses on the worksheets were analyzed and the findings showed that the instruction had positive impact on students’ reading and writing abilities and critical literacy development as well. Summary Critical thinking is considered an essential skill for people both in their personal life and their civic life, for it assists them to evaluate information, make good decisions, or solve problems. Thus, it is indispensable to teach critical thinking skills to students, and scholars advocated that with appropriate guidance, students of all ages and different. 19.

(30) intellectual ability levels can benefit from the CT instruction. Empirical studies revealed the effectiveness of employing a few teaching strategies or techniques to promote critical thinking skills, including explicit instructions, collaborative or cooperative learning, questioning, and graphic organizers. It is also indicated that critical thinking instruction should be an integral part of an L2 curriculum and embedded in language teaching activities. Research showed positive effects on ways of integration of critical thinking into EFL classrooms in enhancing students’ language skills as well as their thinking skills. In Taiwan, as the 2010 Guidelines for Senior High School English Curriculum published, the teaching of critical thinking aroused much attention among English teachers, and thus spawned a few local empirical studies regarding CT instructions especially in senior high schools. The new 2019 Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines for the very first time add four critical thinking skills into the guidelines for junior high school English curriculum. Accordingly, junior high school students in Taiwan are expected to acquire critical thinking skills through English class, and it is the English teachers’ responsibilities to start integrating CT instruction into junior high school English classes. As very few empirical studies regarding CT instruction can be found at the junior high school level, to fill the gap, the present study aimed to investigate how to incorporate critical thinking instruction into junior high school regular English class and to explore how students react to the instruction. It is hoped that the results of the study can provide pedagogical implications to junior high school English curriculum.. 20.

(31) CHAPTER THREE METHOD In this chapter, the research method adopted for the present study is presented in the following sections. The first section introduces the research design, including the definition and purposes of an action research, the participants and setting, the teaching materials and the teaching method. Then, the data collection instruments employed in this study are described . After that, the procedure of the study is shown. Finally, data analysis is presented. Research Design Action Research Action research is commonly applied in educational environments because its reflective process is believed to improve the teaching and learning practice. The process of action research was first conceptualized by Kurt Lewin, an American psychologist, who described action research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action” (Lewin, 1946, p. 35) that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action” (p. 38). Following the concept proposed by Kurt Lewin through his work in the Group Dynamics movement of the post-war reconstructionist period, action research approaches to educational research were adopted in the late 60s and early 70s by the “teacher- researcher” movement in the secondary education sector, which sought to bring the practicing classroom teacher into the research process as the most effective person to identify problems and to find solutions (Riding et al., 1995). Despite a variety of forms of action research have evolved (Ebbutt, 1983a; Elliott, 1981; Lewin, 1947b; Mckernan, 1988a), in brief, the. 21.

(32) process of action research is “a spiral of circles of action and research consisting of four major moments: plan, act, observe, and reflect” (Zuber-Skerritt, 1992). The plan includes problem analysis and a strategic plan; action refers to the implementation of the strategic plan; observation includes an evaluation of the action by appropriate methods and techniques; and reflection means reflecting on the results of the evaluation and on the whole action and research process, which may lead to the identification of a new problem or problems and hence a new cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting (Zuber-Skerritt, 1992, p11). To sum up, action research, as Mckernan (1991) argued, is “systematic selfreflective scientific inquiry by practitioners to improve practice” (p.5). In order to achieve the full potential of the improvement of the practice, the improvement of the understanding of practice by its practitioners and the improvement of the situation in which the practice takes place, a single loop of action research is not sufficient. Instead, the use of a spiral of cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting by the learning community of action researchers is suggested (Zuber-Skerrit, 1992, p.15). The present study applied the action research approach for the following reasons. First of all, action research emphasizes the idea of “teachers as researchers” in their own classrooms. Teachers are encouraged to search for practical methods, make a plan, and try to solve the problems teachers or students encounter. Second, the goal of this study was to investigate how the instructional techniques affected students’ improvements on critical thinking skills. The research design elicits data in a natural setting, so the instructional techniques utilized throughout the intervention can be directly observed as they naturally take place. Moreover, the teacher researcher is supposed to be reflective in the ongoing process of the research. Challenges or difficulties may occur, and the teacher tries to make adjustments for the instructional plan during the research. 22.

(33) This study was conducted in a spiral model consisting of self-reflective cycles (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2008) as presented in Figure 1.. Figure 1. Action Research Spiral (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2008, p. 278).. Each cycle was composed of four phases. The first phase was plan, in which the design of the instructional plan took place. The lesson plans, teaching activities and worksheets were designed in preparation for the integration of CT skills, and the data collection sources were selected. The second and the third phases were act and observe. During this period, the instructional plan was implemented; at the same time, the researcher investigated the process of the intervention based on the collected data. From the reflect phase, some adjustments of the lesson plans were made in accordance with the researcher’s introspection. After that, a new cycle of the implementation began, data were continued to be collected and the reflective process went on until the lesson plans were all implemented. In the present study, in order to explore how critical thinking skills can be incorporated into regular English classes, the teacher designed an instructional plan for each target CT skill and made the teaching of each skill an action research cycle. Through the observations and reflections, the teacher adjusted or changed the 23.

(34) instructional plan initially devised to teach the target CT skill and then began the next research cycle for the same skill. Participants and Setting The research was conducted in a public junior high school located in Wenshan District of Taipei City. It is a medium-size school with 25 classes in total. The average English level of the students from this school falls below the average of students in Taipei according to their performance on Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students. The participants of this study, composed of 12 boys and 11 girls, were from a ninth-grade class. Double peaks could be seen in this class in terms of their English performance: Almost half of the students reached the high level, only few of them fell into the intermediate level, and one third of them were low achievers. Most of them showed interests in English, but they did not often discuss in groups or express their opinions in the English class. Instead, they were more used to teachercentered instruction and relied a lot on drills and memorizations for improvements of their English performance. The participants in the ninth grade had four periods of English per week. During the implementation of the research, critical thinking skills were integrated into regular English class when the teaher/researcher taught the reading/dialogue passages of each lesson. In the teaching process, the students were divided into groups of six, each of which consisted of students of high, intermediate, and low English proficiency levels. Teaching Materials The purpose of this study was to incorporate critical thinking instruction into a junior high school regular English class; therefore, a formal English textbook was selected for the implementation of the research. As the participants of the study were ninth graders, the textbook employed was Book Five of Kang Hsuan version. Several. 24.

(35) teaching activities along with worksheets were designed for the reading or dialogue passages in each lesson to cultivate students’ CT skills. This CT instruction adopted the four CT skills in the 2019 Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines and further separated them into six target skills3, including (1) categorizing, (2) sequencing, (3) comparing and contrasting, (4) distinguishing facts from opinions, (5) identifying the causal relationship, and (6) synthesizing relevant information and making inferences. Five reading passages (from Lesson 4 to Lesson 8) were chosen as the main teaching materials (see Appendix A: Reading Passages in the Textbook) and three to four CT skills that suited the topic of the lesson were incorporated in each lesson (see the CT skills taught in each lesson in Table 1: The Teaching Procedure & Data Collection). In the reading of Lesson 4: Out with the Old, In with the New, technology in the past and present were introduced respectively, and thus, the ability to compare and contrast was the focus of this lesson. Similarly, since the reading of Lesson 5: What Do People Do to Have Good Luck? compared what people in the US and people in Taiwan do to have good luck, students continued to be instructed on the skill of comparing and contrasting two things. Meanwhile, the ability to distinguish facts from opinions was another teaching focus in this lesson, for the descriptions of ways to have good luck were not always factual statements. In Lesson 6, the passage of the dialogue: I Have to Decide Whether I Should Go to High School or Vocational School mentioned some facts and myths about going to a vocational high school, so it was again suitable for the practice of distinguishing facts from opinions. In Lesson 7: Nick Vujicic Is a Man with a Big Heart, a man with no arms and legs named Nick Vujicic was introduced. The passage showed how several events happening to Nick affected his attitudes towards life. First, the skill sequencing was required to arrange those important events Among the four CT skills in the 2019 Twelve-year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, “being able to compare, categorize, and sequence two to three sources of information” was separated into three skills, i.e., categorizing, sequencing, and comparing and contrasting, in the present study. 3. 25.

(36) taken place in Nick’s life in a time sequence, and the other focus of this lesson was on the ability to figure out the causal relationship between two statements. In Lesson 8, the reading passage Stockholm—A Green City presented some characteristics of Stockholm which made it the greenest city in Europe. In this lesson, students learned to identify the causal relationship between the effect and its causes by sorting out what is done in Stockholm that has contributed to its reputation for being the greenest city. After reading about Stockholm, students were provided with another paragraph about Singapore, the greenest city in Asia. Then students compared and contrasted the two cities based on the information they had learned about them. Table 1. The Teaching Procedure & Data Collection Week. Objectives:. Lessons /. Worksheets/. Data. Critical thinking skills. Reading passages. Teaching activities. Collection.  Synthesizing relevant information & making 1-2. inferences  Categorizing various sources of information. Lesson 4 Out with the Old, In with the New. Worksheet 1 Questions, Compare & Contrast Diagram. Worksheets Teaching logs Interviews.  Comparing and contrasting  Synthesizing relevant information & making 3-4. inferences  Comparing and contrasting  Distinguishing facts from. Worksheet 2 Lesson 5. Questions,. What Do People. Facts & Opinions. Do to Have Good. Chart,. Luck?. Compare &. opinions. Worksheets Teaching logs Interviews. Contrast Diagram.  Synthesizing relevant information & making inferences  Sequencing various 5-6. sources of information  Identifying the causal relationship  Distinguishing facts from. Lesson 6 I Have to Decide. Worksheet 3. Whether I Should. Questions,. Go to High. Facts & Opinions. School or. Chart. Vocational School. opinions 26. Worksheets Teaching logs Interviews.

(37)  Synthesizing relevant information & making inferences  Sequencing various 7-8. sources of information  Identifying the causal relationship. Worksheet 4 Lesson 7 Nick Vujicic Is a Man with a Big Heart.  Distinguishing facts from. Questions, Time Sequence,. Worksheets. Cause & Effect. Teaching logs. Diagram,. Interviews. My Idol: Facts &Opinions. opinions  Synthesizing relevant information & making inferences 9-10.  Categorizing various sources of information  Identifying the causal. Worksheet 5 Lesson 8. Cause & Effect. Worksheets. Stockholm—A. Matching,. Teaching logs. Green City. Compare &. Interviews. Contrast Diagram. relationship  Comparing and contrasting. Teaching Method The major teaching methods employed in the CT instruction included group discussion, the use of graphic organizers, and the use of reading-related discussion questions. The three teaching techniques were utilized when students were working on the worksheets, which consisted of two sections. First, students were asked to answer pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading questions on their worksheet. Second, tasks designed for the cultivation of the target CT skills in each lesson were introduced. In the first section, the questioning technique was used for good questions can stimulate students to produce more ideas and to respond creatively without the fear of giving the wrong answer (Johnson, 1992; Potts, 1994). Here in addition to eliciting or recalling information from the reading, questions that went beyond the level of knowledge and comprehension on the basis of Bloom’s Taxonomy were also included. That is, openended questions were included so as to relate the reading passages to students’ personal 27.

(38) experiences and to encourage students to think more deeply. In the pre-reading stage, students were asked to predict from the title or pictures on the page and answer the prereading question. Then, while reading, students answered questions based on their comprehension of the reading. Some of the questions (i.e., inferential questions) required the ability to make inferences based on the information in the reading. In the post-reading stage, questions were designed to connect the reading to students’ experiences. For some questions, students were asked to think of more examples related to the theme, and for others, they expressed more thoughts on that theme. In learning other CT skills such as comparing and contrasting, students were asked to fill out the provided graphic organizers, e.g., mind maps and diagrams, to organize the information from the reading passage. The use of graphic organizers is believed to be helpful for students to visualize and organize their thinking (Fogarty, 1997). During the class, students were divided into groups that consisted of six people with different levels of English proficiency for small group discussion is considered an effective technique for teaching critical thinking skills (Dixson, 1991). Students were allowed to use their first language to discuss and share their thoughts in groups while answering the reading-related discussion questions or tackling the tasks on the worksheets throughout the group discussion so that those of lower achievements in English could also contribute. Teaching Procedure In each lesson, several CT skills were integrated into the teaching of the reading or the dialogue. At the beginning of each lesson plan, the teacher explicitly explained to students which CT skills they were going to learn in this lesson and provided simple examples to illustrate the nature of the skills before they started to practice them (see the examples in Table 2).. 28.

(39) Table 2. The Warm-ups for the Target Critical Thinking Skills. CT skills. Categorizing. Comparing & Contrasting. First taught in…. Simple Examples. Ask a few students to come to the front, and then discuss how to sort them into two Lesson Four groups (based on gender, hair length, with or without glasses…etc.) Ask two students to come to the front, and Lesson Four then discuss the similarities and differences between them.. You are inside an underground MRT station. Synthesizing Some passengers are entering with a wet Relevant information Lesson Four umbrella in their hands. & Making inferences Inference: It is raining outside.. Distinguishing Facts from Opinions. Lesson Five. Tammy is an English teacher. (F) Tammy was born in June. (F) Tammy is young and beautiful. (O) I think Tammy loves Class 901.. (O). Sequencing. Lesson Six. The steps of making fortune cookies (which students have learned in the previous lesson).. Identifying the Causal Relationship. Lesson Six. I drank a cup of coffee last night. I couldn’t fall asleep at night.. Before reading, the teacher asked students to do the pre-reading questions first. Some of the questions were directly related to the target thinking skills, and some of them were just warm-ups for the reading. After that, students did silent reading and then answered the comprehension questions, which were meant to equip them with sufficient background knowledge to deal with the open-ended post-reading questions and the tasks in the next section that aimed to cultivate their ability on the chosen CT skills. When tackling those questions and tasks related to target CT skills, students worked individually first, then discussed their answers in groups, and finally shared the answers generated from group discussion to the whole class. After class, the teacher compared. 29.