No. 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)

Evidence of Critical Thinking
in High School Humanities
Classrooms1

Evidencias del Pensamiento Crítico en las Clases de Ciencias
Humanas en Bachillerato

David Vargas Alfonso2*

Colegio Hispanoamericano – Conde Ansúrez, Colombia

Abstract

Critical thinking skills (CTS) are a group of higher order thinking abilities related
with complex processes of learning like contextualization or problem solving. This
exploratory research study identified whether critical thinking skills were present in
high school humanities classrooms. The study was carried out in a private school in
Bogotá, Colombia through qualitative methods and content analysis. The study sought
to identify CTS in students’ actual learning processes. Data collection techniques
included classroom observations, document analysis and focus groups to identify
skills in teachers and eighth grade students from a humanities-focused high school
curriculum. Results demonstrated the presence of argumentation in written and oral
classroom material. Analysis was also evidenced through questioning, inferencing
and other exercises. Motivation was also an observable element, reflected in explicit
expressions and gestures, and in the use of extra material in the classes.

Keywords: Critical Thinking, Skills, argumentation, analysis, motivation

1 Received: July 15, 2015 / Accepted: September 21, 2015
2 profesordavidvargas@gmail.com

Gist Education and LearninG Research Journal. issn 1692-5777.

no. 11, (July - december) 2015. pp. 26-44.

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Resumen

Las habilidades de pensamiento crítico hacen parte de las habilidades de pensamiento
relacionadas con procesos complejos de aprendizaje como la contextualización o la
resolución de problemas. Esta investigación exploratoria ha sido desarrollada para
identificar cuáles habilidades de pensamiento crítico son evidentes en un salón de
ciencias humanas, a través de diferentes trabajos en clase y percepciones. El estudio
fue realizado en un colegio privado de Bogotá, Colombia a través de métodos
cualitativos y análisis de contenido. El estudio trató de identificar las habilidades de
pensamiento crítico en los procesos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Las técnicas de
recolección de datos incluyen observaciones de clase, análisis documental y grupos
focales para identificar dichas habilidades en profesores y estudiantes de octavo grado
de la especialidad de ciencias humanas. Los resultados demostraron la presencia de
argumentación en el material oral y escrito propio de la clase. El análisis también es
demostrado a través de preguntas, inferencias y ejercicios. Se destaca en este punto, los
debates autónomos dirigidos por los estudiantes. Finalmente, se refleja la motivación en
las expresiones explícitas, los gestos y el material adicional.

Palabras claves: Pensamiento crítico, habilidades, argumentación, análisis,
motivación.

Resumo

As habilidades de pensamento crítico fazem parte das habilidades de pensamento
relacionadas com processos complexos de aprendizado como a contextualização ou
a resolução de problemas. Esta pesquisa exploratória foi desenvolvida para identificar
quais habilidades de pensamento crítico são evidentes em uma sala de aula de ciências
humanas, através de diferentes trabalhos em classe e percepções. O estudo foi realizado
em um colégio privado de Bogotá, Colômbia através de métodos qualitativos e análises
de conteúdo. O estudo tratou de identificar as habilidades de pensamento crítico nos
processos de aprendizado dos estudantes. As técnicas de recolha de dados incluem
observações de classe, análise documental e grupos focais para identificar ditas
habilidades em professores e estudantes de oitava série da especialidade de ciências
humanas. Os resultados demonstraram a presença de argumentação no material oral
e escrito próprio da classe. A análise também é demonstrada através de perguntas,
inferências e exercícios. Neste ponto se destaca os debates autônomos dirigidos pelos
estudantes. Finalmente, se reflete a motivação nas expressões explícitas, os gestos e o
material adicional.

Palavras chave: Pensamento crítico, habilidades, argumentação, análise,
motivação.

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Introduction

Critical Thinking Skills (CTS) are a group of skills that include criteria, analysis, inference and argumentation. CTS have been receiving importance for the past thirty years, and philosophers, psychologists
and educators have researched how to identify, develop and assess them.
More recently, these skills are considered even more important in their
conceptualization as 21st century skills, which are understood as innovative
and learning skills that are requisites to succeed in this century. CTS are also
important because they enhance the understanding of arguments and the
expression of points of view and critical judgments about any topic. In other
words, when critical thinking skills appear in educational settings, they can be
seen as guarantors of learning.

Consequently, research has tried to understand which demographical,
cognitive or environmental elements are related with critical thinking in order
to enhance their application in educational contexts. At the same time, studies
have focused on how to improve instruments in order to develop and evaluate
these skills, and to avoid other less effective tools.

This study was guided by the following questions: What elements
of the development of critical thinking can be observed in the eighth grade
humanities classes? How do teachers develop critical thinking? How do
students perceive the complexity of academic tasks? The study had as a
starting point the following objectives: to identify if there was evidence of
critical thinking, as well as development of critical thinking with the use of
complex academic tasks. Findings demonstrate some evidence of CTS in high
school classrooms within the humanities emphasis, specifically argumentation,
analysis and motivation. This exploratory research points the way for a variety
of possibilities and perspectives in order to continue researching the same
skills, other CTS, or even other higher order thinking skills in the same school.

Literature Review

Critical Thinking

The complex process of thinking is divided into higher order thinking
and lower order thinking. Higher order thinking is used when someone relates
stored and new information to solve extraordinary and difficult problems, or to
obtain new ideas. Lower order thinking is used to develop daily routines and
mechanical processes. Higher order thinking skills include contextualization,
metacognition, creativity, insight, intelligence, problem solving and critical

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thinking. Critical thinking means to have criteria, analyze, infer, explain
arguments, and develop them (King, Goodson & Rohani, 2009; Pearson, 2011).

Many authors talk about Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). King et
al. (2009) trace their development historically and mention several key movers
in this regard: Dewey explained how thinking is evoked by problems, and
Bruner argued that inquiry is necessary in the learning process. Piaget clarified
that these skills are needed in the last developmental stages of thinking; on the
other hand, Bloom explained how HOTS require previous levels of knowledge.
Gagné put HOTS in the top of his taxonomy, and Marzano situated these skills
as a dimension of learning. Glaser declared HOTS are the type of thinking for
problem solving, and Vygotsky affirmed that HOTS are necessary to move into
the zone of proximal development. Further, Haladyna sustained that HOTS are
a level of mental processes, and Gardner declared HOTS are developed by our
multiple intelligences (as cited in King et al., 2009).

Definitely, each theory posits a different way of understanding thinking
and how to develop HOTS. There are also theories about the different skills
themselves. However, one of the most important skills is critical thinking,
divided also into other skills such as analyzing and solving problems, as well
as creating new arguments (Beyer, 1990; Pearson, 2011). In fact, critical
thinking has been studied by different sciences. Philosophers like Bailin, Ennis,
Lipman, McPaul and Peck focus on what people are capable of doing under the
best circumstances to get to the truth. Psychologists like Halpern, Sternberg,
and Willingham tend to focus on how people actually think. Finally, educators
like Bloom and Marzano explain critical thinking based on research about their
own experience in the classroom and observation of student learning (King et
al., 2009; Lewis & Smith, 1993; Pearson, 2011).

Barry Beyer (1990), based on other philosophers’ theories (Richard Paul,
Matthew Lipman and Robert Ennis), explains what philosophy offers to the
teaching of thinking, and which facts have to be taken into account to develop
critical thinking:

Reasoning to make systematic inferring of information, argumentation to
structure thinking, critical judgment to judge according to prescribed criteria,
point of view to contextualize information, dialogue to obtain with other the truth
by asking and answering questions, and dispositions to deepen the things making
probing questions walking to the truth. (pp. 55-58)

Critical Thinking Skills (CTS) and education have been researched in
different fields since the age of Socrates (Fahim, 2012). However, in the last
fifteen years the majority of studies added pedagogical elements to improve
these skills. Other research studies try to identify if critical thinking is related
with demographic information, cognitive aptitudes or environment. Finally,

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a few studies describe how to demonstrate and assess critical thinking in the
classroom.

Improving Critical Thinking

It is common to find studies in which participants of similar characteristics
are divided into two groups. One of the groups receives direct instruction about
critical thinking strategies (Bensley, Crowe & Bernhardt, 2010; Hove, 2011)
or pedagogical tools like mind maps (D’Antony, 2009), dialectic journals
(Enabulele, 2011), classroom discussions with student feedback (Hayes, &
Devitt, 2008), different curricula models (Hepner, 2012), different teaching
strategies (Miri, David, & Uri, 2007), syllabi (Mok, 2009), environmental based
education programs (Ernst, & Monroe, 2004), or face to face communication
(Harrigan, & Vincenti, 2004). After the intervention, participants are evaluated
by tests. These studies generally found that after the intervention, participants
show significant improvement in CTS compared to the other students, except
in the case of mind maps and dialectic journals.

Critical Thinking and Demographic Elements

Another research tendency is to understand which demographic factors
are related with CTS. In these kinds of studies, researchers analyze significant
numbers of participants from different schools that are chosen following
specific characteristics. Edman, Robey, and Bart (2002) selected a sample of
232 college and university students, Mahiroglu (2007) studied a sample of
134 schools from Turkish provinces, and Yang and Lin (2004) selected 1119
male senior high school students from military schools. The study sought
to determine if these demographic elements isolated from others generate a
disposition for CTS by tests specially designed to identify disposition of critical
reasoning, such as the Minnesota Test of Critical Thinking II, a demographic
information sheet, or a general survey mode. Demographic studies have been
carried out in the United States (Edman, Robey, & Bart, 2002), Taiwan (Yang
& Lin, 2004), and Turkey (Mahiroglu, 2007). They found that demographic
differences as gender, age, region, school, class, grades or parent’s education
level are related significantly with CT disposition.

Critical Thinking and Cognitive Aptitudes

Equally, researchers try to understand critical thinking skills and make
hypotheses about internal structures that could generate the optimal conditions
inside the brain to develop critical thinking skills. Different instruments are
used to measure participants’ thinking, for example, minute papers, online tests

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or periodical questionnaires. Stupnisky, Renaud, Daniels, Haynes and Perry
(2008) focused on critical thinking disposition, perceived academic control,
high school academic performance, and grade point average. Ramasamy
(2011), on the other hand, considered the age, discipline, program, grade point
average, and number of reading hours of the participants. LaPoint-O’Brien
(2013) analyzed understanding and reasoning.

Findings of these studies sustain only that disciplines, programs
(humanities) and age directly influence results of CTS Tests positively. In fact,
Ramasamy (2011) concludes that age is an essential part of developing critical
thinking. According to her, this is because age is related with maturity and only
maturity helps making critical and complex judgments.

Evidence of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills are thinking abilities. As with other abstract
concepts, they cannot be demonstrated in isolation, rather it is necessary to
find them inside other processes. Some researchers try to answer this last
hypothesis and by searching for the best way to prove the existence of CTS.
These studies also use tests. However, it is more common to find observations,
interviews or recording of classes to obtain data. It is not necessary to divide
the group because variables belong inherently to the context.

Some studies in this area include Shoemaker (2012), who argues that
arts are the correct way to express CT. Mizell and Friedman (2012) suggest
that CT is developed by students learning from primary sources. On the other
hand, Swartz (2004) looked for collaborative relationships and contextualized
interaction. McGuire (2012) studied CT intervention during and after a specific
CT semester course. The Virginia Adult Education Research Network (2000)
collects definitions made by students. These studies show how students’
spontaneous discussions in class reveal CTS, such as comparison, judgment
and evaluation of different situations. Additionally, Mizell and Friedman
(2012) concluded, based on their method, that videotaped classes could be
used as a strategic opportunity to identify and to model CT in the students.

Assessing Critical Thinking

Which is the adequate method to assess CT? Some studies analyze
pedagogical processes and observe participants’ results. However, instead
of focusing on people, researchers tend to center themselves on instruments.
Usually, studies apply tests at the beginning and end of observation exercises.
In the exams, the most important elements are the form and the assessment

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tool itself, not the pedagogical content. Renaud and Murray (2007) make
a comparative study based on three pieces of research studies. In these
experiments, they sought to find out if assessment could be accurate with
higher order questioning inside trials. Additionally, Bissell and Lemons (2006)
identified whether questions are made considering topic and critical thinking
skills.

Findings evaluating higher order questions show a positive impact
because they give reference to teachers and students providing feedback, and
remembering objectives of learning. However, to assess with higher order
questions requires a long and continuous training for teachers and students.

Methodology

Research Design

In terms of qualitative research, this project intended to carry out
an exploration of the use and development of critical thinking inside the
classroom. It hoped to accomplish this through the analysis of behaviors,
comments, perceptions and products of different classes. At the same time,
it tried to infer how critical thinking is promoted and perceived by talking
with teachers and students. This approach follows the parameters of qualitative
research with ethnography and documentary components. After collecting the
data, analysis was conducted via a triangulation process, proposed by Cohen,
Manion, and Morrison (2007), as a way to compare and synthesize information
from different sources and make conclusions with more precision and quality
of the academic elements studied.

Context

The context for this study was a private school in Bogotá, Colombia.
Students at this school receive traditional education where values and
academic responsibilities are very important. Students’ families are low to
middle-income and receive a scholarship from the school. This scholarship is
preserved indefinitely if the students obtain the required grades.

When students are in eighth grade, they receive education with special
emphases, such as humanities, accounting and electricity. All the students
receive core subjects in common, but parallel to this, they receive additional
special subjects according to the emphasis they choose. Accounting and
electricity specialties at the end of high school receive a diploma from SENA,
the national system of vocational training. The humanities emphasis is focused
on languages like English and French, and literature and social studies. Because

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each course from eighth grade on is divided into the specialties, these special
subjects have 25 students maximum, fewer than in core subjects where there is
an average of 40 students in a class.

Students are free to choose their area of emphasis. Along with the
smaller class size, this provides a positive and friendly environment inside
the classroom. Some classes in the humanities emphasis are conducted as
seminars. Usually, students choose their future career based on the area of
emphasis developed in the school.

All classes in the school use course books or guides developed by the
teachers. These help instructors follow a similar pedagogical structure. Each
syllabus begins with a motivational class and ends with reinforcement and
review classes. Each subject is evaluated by specific activities previously agreed
on with the students. Because students’ scholarships depend on the grades
they obtain, the majority of them maintain a high academic performance and
disposition towards the classes. It is not common to have serious disciplinary
problems in the school.

Participants

Participants in the study were fourteen to sixteen year old students from
eighth grade. In the case of the humanities specialization, there were twenty-six
students, all participants of the research. They went to four specific seminars
directed by four different teachers, also participants of the study. Three teachers
have teaching certificates in their specific subject, but only have one or two
years of experience after graduation. The social studies teacher is an exception,
with four years of experience, and is studying a Master’s in Education as well.

Data Collection Instruments

In the middle of the second semester, three qualitative instruments were
applied to humanities students and teachers to obtain data in order to answer
the research questions.

Classroom observation. This was used to analyze classroom realities in
all the special subjects including social studies, literature, French and English.
The method for classroom observation proposed was ethnographic and non-
structured observation in order to report the events of the classrooms and
understand behavior and dialogues in context (Cerda, 2008). Four classes were
audio recorded, transcribed and independently codified, one per each subject. It
was hoped that the dialogues, relations, argumentation and class activities might
reveal insights as to the use of critical thinking by both teachers and students.

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Document analysis. This analysis intended to identify written expression,
arguments and other reflections in samples of student work such as class work,
homework and tests from different subjects. It was hoped that these documents
might speak to the degree of challenge in tasks, and the extent to which these
activities demonstrated evidence of critical thinking.

Focus group. Two focus groups were carried out: one session with
students and another with teachers. As in the classroom observation, they
were audio recorded, transcribed and independently codified. The objective of
the students’ focus group was to explore their opinions about the humanities
seminars through discussion, especially about aspects they might consider
challenging or complex. It was hoped to possibly reveal students’ viewpoints
of the subjects and to extract data about critical thinking practices identified in
the observations. The teachers’ focus group had the aim of obtaining the point
of view of the humanities teachers about their subjects. It was hoped to explore
teachers’ attitudes and practices towards the development of critical thinking.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

After collecting data with the different instruments, the triangulation and
interpretation of data was made applying the principles of content analysis.
Codification was the first step to identify categories as evidence of critical
thinking. The majority of categories were repetitive in the instruments.
The common categories identified were argumentation, absent analysis,
contextualization, contradictory indication, encouraging, exemplification,
inference, lack of understanding, passion, questioning, students’ argumentation,
student’s creations and teacher’ contextualization. Later, a matrix was created
as an instrument of analysis to count and identify core categories where the
other categories seem to be repeatedly and closely related (Strauss, as cited
in Cohen, et al., 2007). Later, the frequency of codes allowed the researcher
to deduce which areas are more important or significant. Finally, conclusions
were drawn based on relating findings and identifying common patterns
between categories and to the theoretical framework (Cohen, et al. 2007).

Results

The results of the data collection, analysis and interpretation demonstrate
clear evidence in all humanities classes of critical thinking in both teachers’
and students’ work. The results were divided into categories: argumentation,
analysis and motivation, which were all determined as showing evidence of
critical thinking (Beyer, 1990). All categories are explained from teachers’ and
students’ perspectives.

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Argumentation

Argumentation is the ability to create structured thinking through
different statements to prove or demonstrate something. It is an important
element to explain a topic or illustrate a point of view. It is also a required skill
to debate with others, and creates a personal perspective (Beyer, 1990). These
skills of argumentation were present in different levels through the study, as
discussed below. In only one case, in the language class, argumentation was
not present in teachers’ speech; it was, however, evident in students’ speech.

Teachers’ argumentation. Examples of teachers’ argumentation can
be found in the course guides, which are like course books to study, review,
practice content, and follow the learning process during the unit. Teachers
decide which content and activities will be developed, and they choose the
sources to explain, illustrate and work with course content. The course guides
are an institutional practice and are mandatory for all subjects. They are
compilations, however, in which some parts were made originally by other
teachers. Arguments were more common in the course guides for social studies
and literature than in English and French.

Oral argumentation was present in the focus group and in classroom
observations. In the focus group, teachers explained their own method,
objectives and feelings about the classes with clear reasons, and examples
based on their experiences from the classroom. In classroom observations,
some teachers made argumentation with their speech, adding examples and
clarifications, persuading students about new meanings, contextualizing a
reading and amplifying students’ sentences to create an argument.

Conversely, the only class observed that did not reflect teachers’
argumentation was the English class, which contained simple indications, such
as “I want you to pay attention, be active,” or “Please be quiet.” Clarifications,
however, were common in the class, even though they did not build complex
reasoning by the teacher, just comments about students’ work. e.g. “Improve
your pronunciation, you have to improve.”

Students’ argumentation. Argumentation was observable in the
students’ focus group, where the students had the opportunity to defend their
point of view about their classmates, teachers and subjects. Most students in
the focus group did this without effort, with common words and in a natural
way.

Students’ use of arguments did not seem to be related to their academic
performance. The only student who created arguments or coherent ideas to
support his ideas in the English work was the average student. However,
students with all levels of academic achievement demonstrated argumentation

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in their work in the French and literature courses. In the case of social studies,
the only student who evidenced argumentation in the written work was the
student with higher performance. It is possible that students’ argumentation is
related with defending a point of view or explaining a topic in specific tasks.
However, this was only evidenced in some subjects.

Paradoxically, it was possible to observe that, at least in the classroom
observations, when teachers do not create arguments in class, then students may
seize the opportunity to do so. In fact, students were seen using argumentation
during oral presentations in the English class. They even carried out this
argumentation in the absence of such discourse on the part of the teacher. In
this case, students explained and argued about the subcultures they were asked
to present to the class. On the other hand, almost none of the students argued
when teachers led the class. In some classes, teachers did not provide students
time to do arguments orally.

Still, students’ argumentation was promoted in all the course guides
analyzed, in the form of exercises designed by teachers, for example, creating
an infograph in social studies, writing a story in literature, a letter in French, or
an opinion paper in English.

Analysis

Analysis is a critical thinking skill related with critical judgment and
point of view, to examine a topic with different elements and perspectives
(Beyer, 1990). Similarly to argumentation, analysis was found present during
the study, by both teachers and students. However, even when teachers failed
to promote critical judgment, it was possible to observe students using it.

Teachers promoting analysis. Teachers develop this critical thinking skill
when they apply different pedagogic actions to relate content and real life; for
example, the social studies teacher clarified concepts during class, and designed
an analysis workshop on race discrimination in which students had to describe
news, identify actors and actions, causes and how to solve conflicts. This
teacher is conscious of his role as an analytical promoter when he said in the
focus group, “We have to look facts and human actions without judgment and
it is avoiding prejudgments and it is trying to generate other points of view.”3

The literature teacher promoted analysis by contextualization by relating
content with student’ lives as well as his own life in order to engage them.

3 Nosotros tenemos que mirar los hechos y las acciones humanas, sin juzgarlas, evitando los
prejuicios, y tratando de generar otros puntos de vista. (Teachers’ focus group)

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“We live in an image world. There are movies that changed my life.”4 The
teacher also assigned sensitivity exercises as homework in which he invited
the students to act like the characters of stories. He defined his class as an
experiment of trial and error, where students can make mistakes to learn and
build original deductions.

On the other hand, the French teacher developed her class by questioning.
In this way, she promoted analysis of oral presentations and workshops on
reading comprehension. She promoted analysis of mistakes through questions
and arguments. She said, “I try to make them conscious of their mistakes. They
provide feedback to each other. I didn’t say: ‘This, in this way.’ I change the
sentence or situation, and they analyze it to identify their mistake.”5

In contrast, the English teacher tended to ask only simple questions
related with grammar, pronunciation and class organization, so analysis was
only related with simple problems like: “Do you have more information or
that’s all? Do we have volunteers?”

Finally, the course books from the English and French classes included
analytical exercises to improve vocabulary skills. These types of excercises are
not common in other subjects.

Student analysis. Students were analytical when they were encouraged
to evaluate news, points of view, life styles, social problems and literature
in class. However, in the classes observed, even when teachers did not
promote analysis, students did it independently, in a similar fashion as with
argumentation. One student debated about Cosplay and motivated other
students to participate. Another one explained the Otaku subculture and then
led a discussion about it. Additionally, students inferred from the teacher’s
arguments and answered his questions. For example, in the observation
of the social studies class, the teacher promoted analysis by questions and
explanations and related the concept under discussion with others seen before.
In other subjects students’ analysis was more evident in the worksheets than
orally. In literature, students were asked to write an essay about Anime and
relate it to social conflicts. By comparison, in the social studies class, students
were asked to analyze racial discrimination in the news. This exercise allowed
students to infer and contextualize.

4 Estamos en mundo de imágenes. Hay películas que me cambiaron la vida (Literature classroom
observation)

5 Yo hago que ellos se den cuenta que están cayendo en el error, cuando hago las correcciones,
y ellos son los que se hacen las correcciones ellos mismos, o sea yo nunca tengo que corregir:
“No esto es así, se dice así”. Sino que lo llevo a otro lado para que ellos caigan en cuenta de
cuál es su error. (Teachers’ focus group)

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Students specializing in humanities evaluated their own process and
recognize the analytical skills related with each subject. “I love Humanities
for languages and social studies. I begin to have criteria and rationalize more
about everything with them. Then, I’m going to be someone who matters.”6

Motivation

Motivation is a critical thinking skill related with disposition, interest
and a safe environment in the classroom. It is a group of reasons or causes
to learn a specific subject, and can be expressed by gestures, postures and
words (Beyer, 1990). Motivation is related with critical thinking because it
is a requirement to learn and demonstrate academic skills. This element was
evident through students’ actions, even when in some cases feedback or
motivation was not provided by teachers. However, teachers’ actions, such as
lack of encouragement or disapproval, interrupting or ignoring students, had a
negative impact on students’ participation in class.

Teachers promoting motivation. If students experience novelty in their
learning process by activities and topics, then they have a proper environment
to develop critical thinking skills. This safe environment allows them to
connect content and life experiences, and engages students with the dynamics
of the class. Teachers obtain this goal when they create meaningful experiences
through creativity and appropriate relationships during explanations, exercises
and evaluation activities.

Actually, students related the social studies and literature classes with
learning and novelty. “It is more about research and we learn more about
culture.”7 “I like literature because there we start to reflect about things I never
had done before or had not considered important.”8 They feel motivated with
innovation and different activities. In fact, the course book for social studies
includes new learning strategies like infographs. The teacher expressed
concern about generating motivation in the students, and when he described
an ideal group, he described how he tries to motivate his class: “The ideal
group is not related with exceptional skills but with motivation to learn about

6 A mí me gusto mucho estar en Humanas, por los idiomas, como dije. Y por sociales, porque
empieza uno a tener más criterio y razonar más sobre las cosas. Entonces, uno como que ya va
a ser una persona que sí importa. (Students’ focus group)

7 Es como más investigativa y uno aprenda más como de cultura (Students’ focus group)
8 Me gusta literatura porque ahí digamos que uno empieza a reflexionar sobre cosas que uno

no sabía, lo hace pensar en cosas que uno nunca pensaría que en realidad son importantes.
(Students’ focus group)

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humanities.”9 “I always teach them with examples to project themselves more
than just class work.”10

Direct motivation to participate in class activities could be a good strategy
to promote motivation for learning. Positive reinforcement and expressions of
encouragement were observed during the French class, such as, “We are going
to sing together (a song created by students), and does not matter if sound bad
or funny. We are going to try.”11

Feedback and motivation. Related to motivation, another important
opportunity to develop and promote critical thinking is through assessment.
When students are evaluated with clear criteria and they receive feedback on
their work, they know how to progress and move on. One student said these
assessment elements are absent in social studies. “Sometimes I make a lot of
effort making my duties but teacher puts a low grade, and other times I make
my homework in a simple way and the teachers put a high grade. I do not think
this is correct.”12 However, it is necessary to explore further to identify if this
is an isolated experience or a characteristic of the class.

Students’ motivation. Students showed motivation according to
particular dynamics in each subject. In general, students were punctual and
responsible in all classes. They asked about topics and activities in social
studies during the classroom observation; they brought their homework
and research material to class, and worked on the assigned activities. In
this particular subject, it was interesting to note that it was not necessary to
discipline students to work because the majority of the class did it.

Similarly, students created more material than required by the teacher
in both the English and French classes. They explained that activities in
which research was required and that were related with other topics were
more enjoyable. “I love to record street interviews. We learn from other, we

9 Sí, yo creo que el grupo ideal va como en el sentido de lo que decía E., no necesariamente en
el sentido de que tengan grandes habilidades académicas, pero sí que tengan el interés por
conocer las humanidades. (Teachers’ focus group)

10 Siempre les traigo a la clase como ejemplos para que ellos puedan proyectarse un poquito más
afuera y no se queden solo en el ejercicio de hacer un trabajo. (Teachers’ focus group)

11 Démosle todo. No nos vamos a reír. Va a sonar chistoso, pero vamos a cantar todos. (French
classroom observation)

12 Yo me siento bien en Humanas, pero lo único que no me gusta es que en Sociales, que
digamos uno se esfuerza harto haciendo los trabajos. Por ejemplo, a mí me ha pasado, y a L.
que digamos en el infograma a él le pusieron 3.7. Uno se esfuerza harto en los trabajos y el
profesor coloca una nota, y me ha pasado que yo lo hago así porque sí y me coloca un 4.0 o un
4.3. No me parece que sea así. (Students’ focus group)

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learn investigating.”13 Activities included composing a song to explain parts
and elements of the house, creating a matching game, or making a video or
audio interview. Others brought toys or buttons to argue their presentations,
and some of them came dressed like the urban tribe they were presenting.
Students expressed joy when it was their turn to present: “Let’s do it”, “Yeah, it
is our turn to sell,”14 and it is common to hear merriment between the activities.
However, these motivational signs were not recognized by teachers during any
classroom observation or focus group.

Towards the literature class, on the contrary, students were divided in
terms of their motivation. Some students showed that they were engaged with
the topic and encouraged by activities because they had a good posture and
were working in the class, but some others showed signs of disapproval like
“Again the same” or postures of laziness such as lying down on the desk during
class. These postures were evident during classroom observations.

In general, students expressed that they feel the humanities specialized
training is the best in the school. When asked which activities prefer, they
described activities like debates, essays, games, multimedia activities, and oral
presentations.

Conclusions

Clear evidence of learning through critical thinking skills such as
argumentation, analysis and motivation were found in this research project in
students and teachers’ work. Teachers’ argumentation via oral explanations and
written texts and course books was found in all subjects. Teachers developed
analysis with images, videos, questions and other exercises. They also promoted
analysis when they invited students out to participate in classroom activities
and when they designated homework with research and relationship elements.

Students answered this encouragement, but they also demonstrated their
own internal motivation by creating more than required by teachers. They
applied additional tools such as songs, games, videos and costumes in oral
explanations. When encouraged to be analytical, students demonstrated this
skill, as when they practiced critical judgment through assessment of their
process and teachers’ work in the focus group. However, it is most notable that
students were observed carrying out analysis and promoting their classmates

13 Nosotros nos gusta por ejemplo las entrevistas a otras personas de la calle o cosas así. A parte
que aprendemos de los demás, aprendemos diferentes cosas de los demás, nos gusta investigar,
nos gusta esas vainas: entrevistas, todo eso, el video o audio. (Students’ focus group)

14 ¡A vender! ¡Sí!, Somos nosotros. (French classroom observation)

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to do so even when they were not persuaded by their teachers. Students were
interested in complex activities because they worked autonomously, and
considered these opportunities for learning through investigation.

As such, the research questions in this study were answered. Teachers
applied and promoted critical thinking skills with different strategies
as hypothesized. However, students performed beyond expected. They
demonstrated critical thinking skills with or without teachers’ encouragement.
Further, they are not overwhelmed but rather motivated by complex tasks.

As mentioned in the literature review, there are studies about how to
improve critical thinking, but just a few focus on evidence of critical thinking
inside the classroom. This study sought to fill this research need. As with other
investigations, this study was based on observation and did not divide the
research group or modify it because variables belong inherently to the context.

However, there are some limitations to this study. Some teachers were not
willing to provide sample papers or agree to meetings. More French language
skill on the part of the researcher was necessary to analyze the French data with
more precision, and more time was needed to apply the same instruments more
frequently, or different instruments to deepen the data.

Nevertheless, it was possible to identify similarities between this study and
others of the same type. Students expressed critical thinking and felt motivated
by activities promoting artistic development like songs, or interaction task like
debates. These findings concur with Shoemaker (2012) and Swartz (2004),
who argue that arts and collaborative relationships are proper instruments to
reflect critical thinking skills, arts demonstrating metaphorical connections and
teamwork, promoting complexity, flexibility and self-reflection.

Finally, this research project opens many possibilities to continue
exploring CTS. It could be useful for the school to explore these skills in the
other departments, follow the process of the same group of students next year,
or analyze other groups from Humanities classrooms to assess, promote and
apply CTS in the classroom. Other possibilities could be to analyze motivation
and feedback, to research independently each CTS, or to explore other HOTS
such as creative thinking or metacognition to establish action plans and prepare
students to be more competent than competitive in their academic purposes.

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Author

* David Vargas Alfonso holds a Specialization in Bilingual Education
from the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana, ÚNICA, and
a BA in Theology from Unicervantina. He has published theological
research articles in the Revista Agustiniana and is currently teaching
philosophy and research in a private school in Bogotá, Colombia.

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