What Does It Take to Develop Critical Thinking? The Case of Multicultural Students in a Digital Learning Platform
Publication Name
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Abstract
The focus of this study was to explore ways of developing critical thinking in multicultural undergraduate students in the digital learning platform (DLP). Two different classes participated in the study, and they were both taught by the same lecturer. The lecturer utilised topics related to culture and identity to encourage students’ active involvement in online forums and breakout sessions. Students were placed in groups of four and were asked to research their own culture and the culture of another group member. Students researched cultures and discussed their viewpoints during the breakout sessions and discussion forums. The process aimed to stimulate the multicultural students’ desire to explore, research, challenge their worldviews, and most importantly, reflect on their accumulated information about their group members, and describe the academic and social experience. A sample size of 30 multicultural undergraduate students was selected during the spring semester to collect data. The progression of ideas, vocabulary, and negotiation of thoughts was analysed at the start and the end of the semester. The purpose was to analyse the development of critical thinking. Finally, the findings were described and recommendations for future research were presented.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
Volume
14026 LNCS
First Page
49
Last Page
57