I wanted to explore how to develop and support critical thinking skills for our students as they move along in their learning paths. I came across an article about using digital storytelling to improve critical thinking skills. I wanted to dive into the question – Can critical thinking skills be taught digitally?

Several researchers (Gellin, 2003; Ramirez-Arellano et al., 2018) contend that critical thinking is the most valuable skill learners should strive to acquire. Furthermore, scholars (Golanics & Nussbaum, 2008) have recognized the advantage of engaging in collaborative learning and conversation when comprehending and analyzing visual representations, ideas, and arguments. According to Pascarella and Terenzini (2005), the demand for pertinent discussions rises as the world grows more intricate, primarily due to excessive information. Acquiring critical thinking has become an essential talent for students in their educational pursuits and reading endeavors.

As per Campo et al. (2023), critical thinking encompasses analyzing, organizing, reasoning, arguing, questioning, self-reflection, assessing, adopting a stance, making decisions, and reaching compromises. According to a study by Campo et al. (2023), the article suggests that asking students about the activity they believe is most beneficial in developing these fundamental skills is vital. A study was conducted with 263 Spanish University students, in which they were surveyed about the activities they deemed most helpful in fostering critical thinking. From the students’ perspectives, the results demonstrated that six techniques significantly fostered critical thinking. These methodologies include debates, project-based learning, authentic contextual practices, research activities, cooperative learning, and case studies. The researchers have identified limitations in this study. Each student may possess a distinct comprehension of critical thinking and its relevance to their context. Moreover, all students originate from the educational domain. It would be advantageous to incorporate other perspectives from diverse academic disciplines.

With the ongoing expansion of technology, we can anticipate more digital opportunities for teaching critical thinking along the six methodologies identified by the 263 Spanish University students (Campo et al., 2023). Currently, most university classrooms have an electronic whiteboard, and every student possesses a handheld device to document their responses to classroom inquiries (Brookfield, 2013). This feature allows for the posing of questions and the anonymous response of students, thereby mitigating the apprehension associated with providing incorrect answers or submitting erroneous assumptions (Brookfield,2013). There are numerous opportunities to apply digital innovation for critical thinking knowledge.

In a second study with 46 high school students from Taiwan (Chen et al., 2021), collaborative learning through digital storytelling game-based design may only effectively foster critical thinking if high school students engage in active conversations among themselves. Collaborative learning using digital storytelling and game-based design among high school students can positively affect various elements of their learning, including their abilities in communication, problem-solving, media literacy, and test performance (Chen et al., 2021).  Using this technology does not necessarily ensure that the students have all the deep components and learning of critical thinking embedded for the student to apply the learning (Chen et al.,2021).

The researchers believe there needs to be more research and study on the actual claim of using digital tools to enhance the learning activities of analyzing, organizing, reasoning, arguing, questioning, self-reflection, assessing, adopting a stance, making decisions, and reaching compromises, (Campo et al.,2023). Technology can enhance debates, project learning, authentic context learning, conducting research, cooperative learning, and case studies. It is happening now (Campo et al., 2023), but there seems to be a secret sauce, and more research and study are needed to ensure the innovation produces a proper and robust learning outcome of critical thinking.

References

Brookfield, S. (2013). Teaching for critical thinking. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology (Ijavet), 4(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.4018/javet.2013010101

Chen, H.-L., & Chuang, Y.-C. (2021). The effects of digital storytelling games on high school students’ critical thinking skills. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(1), 265–274.

Campo L, Galindo-Domínguez H, Bezanilla M-J, Fernández-Nogueira D, Poblete M. (2023). Methodologies for Fostering Critical Thinking Skills from University Students’ Points of View. Education Sciences. 2023; 13(2):132. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020132

Gellin, A. (2003). The effect of undergraduate student involvement on critical thinking : a meta-analysis of the literature from 1991-2000 (dissertation). Journal of College Student Development, 44(6), 746–762.

Golanics, J. D., & Nussbaum, E. M. (2008). Enhancing online collaborative argumentation through question elaboration and goal instructions. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24, 167–180

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students. In A third decade of research (Vol. 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Ramirez-Arellano, A., Acosta-Gonzaga, E., Bory-Reyes, J., & Hernández-Simón, L. M. (2018). Factors affecting student learning performance: A causal model in higher blended education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34(6), 807–815