What Girls Want

This study aims to develop an e-module based on the CinQASE learning model supported by Flip PDF Professional and evaluate its effectiveness in improving students' Individual Critical Thinking (InCT) and collaborative skills in Momentum and Impulse materials. This study employed an R&D approach based on the 4D development model (Define, Design, Develop, Disseminate), comprising four main stages. In the Define stage, a needs analysis was conducted to identify the essential competencies and materials aligned with the curriculum and students' needs. The Design stage focused on designing the e-module structure, determining learning strategies, and compiling learning components, including worksheets and supporting media. The Develop stage included product development, validation by subject matter and media experts, and revisions based on feedback to ensure content quality and suitability. The Disseminate stage was conducted through limited and extensive trials to assess the practicality, readability, and effectiveness of e-modules in real-world learning contexts. Research instruments included expert validation sheets, student and teacher response questionnaires, collaborative activity observation sheets, and InCT tests to assess individual improvements in critical thinking skills. The results showed that the e-module had very high validity across construct, content, graphics, electronic media, materials, presentation, and language, and was considered practical and easy to use by both students and teachers. N-Gain analysis indicated a significant increase in all InCT indicators, from the moderate category in limited tests (0.40–0.45) to the high category in extensive tests (0.68–0.74). Collaborative activities through CinQASE indicator-based worksheets proved effective in encouraging active participation, critical discussion, and peer evaluation. These findings indicate that CinQASE-based e-modules supported by Flip PDF Professional serve as effective interactive learning media for improving students' critical and collaborative thinking skills, while also providing an engaging, flexible, and accessible learning tool for both teachers and students. Keywords: CinQASE, e-modul, Flip PDF, critical thinking skills, collaborative abilities, momentum, and impulse.

The role of program leader (also known as “area head,” “coordinator,” or “chair”) in tertiary music education programs is pivotal in terms of administrative oversight and program advocacy, yet seldom researched. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of faculty leading music education programs at colleges and universities, with a particular focus on the perspectives and priorities of an international cadre music education faculty serving in the role. Participants ( N = 20) engaged in paired depth interviews in which ten program leaders at U.S. universities were paired with ten such leaders at universities around the world. The paired interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an inductive coding process. Findings revealed differences among global music education programs in the areas of curricular specificity and institutional governance that could inform efforts to improve music education policy and practice internationally. Additionally, emergent essences of the experience of serving as program coordinator centered on feelings of imbalance and uncertainty, leading to role strain. Findings of this study suggest numerous implications for the field, including greater equity and transparency in determining program leader duties as well as specific approaches for reducing role strain and supporting faculty well-being.

Since acquiring critical thinking is a necessity to make sense of today’s world, many teachers are looking for effective strategies that they can utilize in their classrooms to help students become apt critical thinkers. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate some of those strategies by adopting a mixed-method action research approach that was designed to implement, track, and evaluate the impact of integrating critical thinking-based instruction and activities as a part of the school curriculum to promote critical thinking skills and dispositions among Moroccan high school students. The significance of this study lies in its contribution to the field of critical thinking-based instruction in EFL education, as it can inform teachers, curriculum developers, and other education stakeholders on how to enhance students’ critical thinking. Hence, the main questions posed by this study dealt with identifying the most effective instructional activities to develop students’ critical thinking and their impacts on students’ critical thinking skills and dispositions. The study sample consists of a class of 14 students who were selected to participate in a four-stage action research cycle for one school year. The 14 students were also invited to complete a questionnaire, and then six of them were selected to take part in semi-structured interviews. The study’s findings reveal a noticeable and encouraging improvement in students’ critical thinking skills and dispositions. Furthermore, the study provides practical implications for EFL teachers to promote students’ critical thinking without disrupting the school curriculum.

Critical thinking is not a subject that needs to be taught separately, but is a skill that can easily be included in any educational activity. As a skill it may be more important than the subject matter being taught because it is a skill that never goes out of date. English education, like any other form of education, should equip students with thinking skills that will enable them to evaluate and analyze constantly changing issues. As Indonesia prepares a cadre of English—speaking students whose role will be to interface with the influx of English information before it is translated into Indonesian, these students need analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate what is important and what is not. The question this research attempted to analyze is as follows: are critical thinking skills presently part of the tool chest of third year Indonesian English language students. By using the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level Z, students were analyzed in a series of subscales in order to provide data for improving educational instruction. Research showed that critical thinking skills among third year university English students in Indonesia lag far behind American secondary and university students.

Critical thinking skills refer to the ability to analyze assumptions, distinguish hidden values, evaluate evidence, and assess conclusions. This study aims to develop students' critical thinking skills by implementing the Susan Loucks-Horsley (SLH) learning model. The type of research conducted is pre-experimental with a one-shot case study design. The research was carried out in the 2020 Science Education Study Program, Class A, at Hasyim Asy’ari University, with a total sample of 33 students. The subject matter in this study was light reflection. Data collection was conducted using essay tests based on critical thinking skill indicators. Based on data analysis, it can be concluded that the students' average critical thinking ability was 85%, categorized as very high, with 22 students in the very high category and 11 students in the high category. The average mastery of critical thinking indicators also fell into the very high category, with the following details: elementary clarification (96%), the basis for decisions (82%), inference (75%), advanced clarification (89%), and supposition and integration (83%).

This thesis contains multiple-case studies of how critical thinking was conceptualised and operationalised by five academics from different disciplines in a university in Hong Kong. In response to the current literature that is characterised by prevalent dependence on academics’ self-reports to investigate perceptions and pedagogical practice for promoting critical thinking, the data in this research were obtained through non-participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and document collection. Using a framework underpinned by Argyris and Schön’s (1974) theory of action as well as Lave and Wenger’s (1991) notion of situated activity, the espoused beliefs and actual practice of case participants were analysed inductively through the constant comparison method.
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\nThe findings contribute to a model of pedagogical engagement with critical thinking that elucidates the relationship between academics’ conceptions and practice. Pedagogy that encourages thinking development can be understood as engagement with critical thinking in three forms, namely, critical thinking as integral, critical thinking as incidental, and critical thinking as instrumental. These forms of engagement are associated with three factors, which are dimensions of academics’ implicit theories: expectations of students, the perceived relevance of critical thinking, and knowledge of critical thinking.
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\nThe model of pedagogical engagement advances the argument that instruction for critical thinking development is individual academics’ personal constructions that are constantly negotiated between their latent beliefs and awareness of context. The thesis concludes with implications for policy planners, practitioners, and researchers, offering suggestions towards promoting critical thinking both as a key learning outcome in universities and the hallmark of higher education.

Critical thinking is essential for success in the 21st century, particularly in language learning. This study explores pre-service English language teachers’ (ELTs) perceptions and practices regarding critical thinking instruction in Indonesia. Through a qualitative case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two pre-service ELTs from a private university in Yogyakarta. Thematic analysis revealed a rich tapestry of insights into the participants’ understanding of critical thinking, their perceived importance in language learning, and their willingness to integrate critical thinking into their teaching practices. The findings highlight the significance of critical thinking in language acquisition, as it empowers students to analyze complex information, evaluate diverse perspectives, and form informed judgments. Participants emphasized the need for incorporating critical thinking strategies into language teaching to enhance students’ cognitive abilities and facilitate deeper understanding. Nevertheless, the study also identified potential challenges, including the uneven distribution of critical thinking practices across the education system and the need for specialized teacher training to implement critical thinking instruction effectively. The study contributes to understanding pre-service ELTs’ perceptions and practices of critical thinking in Indonesia. It also provides valuable insights for teacher training programs, curriculum development, and future research investigating critical thinking instruction in English language teaching.

In this chapter we identify patterns of the starting point activities in the KriTproject and analyse how the teachers in our study seek to create bridges between the life world of the students and the subject matter, and how this bridging can support critical thinking.Although the analysis shows that the tasks provide different affordances when working with news items or picturebooks, they all contribute to opening a space for thinking critically about the subject matter. KeywordsDidaktik | starting point activities | pre-reading | envisionment | as-if 8. 'She is Not the King.'or anxiousness related to the reading process itself.Langer (2011), whom we will return to in more detail later in the chapter, denotes this stance as being outside the text.To assist students in this phase, she points out that scaffolding is of great importance to activate the students' imagination, motivation and critical thinking.How starting point activities are integrated into teaching contexts varies and may take on different forms of expression.All in all, they may be categorised into cognitive, thematic or emotional activities (Trnby, 2020).In short, a cognitive task may foster a child's cognitive schemas in the way that it assists the child in making connections to previous experiences and knowledge.Furthermore, a task designed to lead into the thematic core also fosters pre-knowledge, but centres on a specific theme.At last, some starting point activities may be designed to fuel the emotional side (Trnby, 2020, pp.102-103).The aim of this chapter is to identify patterns of the starting point activities embedded in the KriT-project and analyse how the teachers in our study create bridges between the life-world of the students and the subject matter, and how this bridging can support critical thinking.The lessons analysed involve reading sessions of picturebooks and news items in primary school.The questions we seek to answer are as follows:What characterised the starting point activities in the KriT-project?And how do they facilitate for critical thinking?8. 'She is Not the King.'

Social Studies is often perceived by students as a less engaging subject, partly due to the dominance of lecture-based teaching methods that offer minimal contextual learning experiences. The low level of active student participation in the learning process impacts their conceptual understanding and critical thinking skills. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) strategy in improving students’ conceptual understanding in Social Studies through a literature review of various recent research findings and scholarly publications. CTL, as a learning approach that emphasizes the connection between subject matter and students’ real-life contexts, is believed to address these pedagogical challenges. Analysis of the literature sources shows that the consistent implementation of CTL positively contributes to enhancing student engagement, learning outcomes, and the development of critical and analytical thinking skills. Learning that is linked to concrete social experiences encourages students to actively construct meaning, understand interconceptual relationships, and apply knowledge meaningfully in daily life. The conclusion of this review affirms that the CTL strategy is effective in creating a more interactive, meaningful, and deeply comprehensible Social Studies learning process. The novelty of this research lies in its comprehensive synthesis of previous findings, demonstrating that CTL is not only relevant as an innovative teaching method but also holds potential as a systematic approach to pedagogical transformation in Social Studies education at the elementary and secondary levels.

The problem and the aim of the study. The underlying issue of this study is that although critical thinking skills are widely recognized as important in education, understanding how students demonstrate critical thinking dispositions such as confidence in reasoning and inquisitiveness based on their cognitive styles remains limited. Students with different cognitive styles, such as field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD), tend to exhibit varying levels of critical thinking abilities when faced with complex problems, particularly in the context of mathematical problem-solving.The purpose of this study is to describe students' critical thinking dispositions in the aspects of Confidence in Reasoning and Inquisitive in terms of cognitive style. The underlying problem of this study is that although the importance of critical thinking skills is widely recognized in education, how students demonstrate critical thinking dispositions such as confidence in reasoning and inquisitiveness based on their cognitive styles remains poorly understood. Students with different cognitive styles, such as field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD), may exhibit varying levels of critical thinking abilities when faced with complex problems, particularly in the context of mathematical problem-solving. This study aims to explore how students with different cognitive styles exhibit their critical thinking dispositions, specifically in terms of confidence in reasoning and inquisitiveness, to provide deeper insights into the role of cognitive styles in fostering critical thinking skills among students. Research methods. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method that focuses on two students with high mathematical abilities with field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) cognitive styles, who were selected from a total of 30 participants. Their mathematical abilities were assessed through a mathematical ability test, while their cognitive styles were identified as field-independent (FI) and field-dependent (FD) using the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). This study involves six main stages, namely 1) selection of research subjects; 2) problem-solving tasks; 3) observation and video recording; 4) in-depth interviews; 5) analysis of critical thinking dispositions; and 6) summarizing the results of the analysis. KEYWORDS Results. The results of the FI student analysis showed quite strong confidence in reasoning by following mathematical steps to solve problems systematically. However, the inquisitive aspect of critical thinking still needs to be improved because students do not question or explore alternatives to solve problems. Although students are able to solve problems, the ability to question assumptions, verify results, and explore different approaches still needs to be developed so that their critical thinking is more comprehensive. The results of the FD student analysis showed reasonable Confidence in Reasoning, with confidence in every step of the calculation carried out. However, the Inquisitive aspect of critical thinking is still underdeveloped because there is no attempt to question, re-analyze, or consider alternatives in the problem-solving process. To strengthen their critical thinking disposition, students need to be encouraged to be more reflective and critical of every step taken, question the assumptions made, and explore various possible solutions to problems. In conclusion, Students show quite strong Confidence in Reasoning by applying mathematical calculation steps systematically and precisely to solve problems. However, the Inquisitive aspect of critical thinking is still underdeveloped because students do not question or explore alternatives in their problem-solving process. They tend to follow procedures without verifying or re-checking the results, which are essential aspects of critical thinking. Encouraging students to be more reflective and explorative in every step taken can help strengthen their critical thinking disposition.

One of the most significant debates among academics is the role of critical and logical thinking in constructing and assuring meanings of intertextual texts. This argument is, however, more valid in the context of undergraduate EFL learners, who have the potential to use their critical thinking and creativity in the act of reading. The phenomenon of intertextuality acts as a constructive and meaningful link between readers and texts. In other words, the reading texts become comprehensible when readers connect what they read to their prior knowledge, using critical thinking skills to understand and interpret them. This study examines how critical and logical thinking skills make intertextual connections between texts and readers’ personal and social experiences during reading tasks. For this purpose, a semi-structured interview based on an excerpt from an article ''Women in the Working Class'' was conducted with EFL students to collect their responses on intertextual connections. The analysis of the interviews revealed that intertextual reading helps promote critical thinking among readers of EFL and assist them in analysing, synthesising, interpreting, and evaluating texts. The findings of this study have some pedagogical implications due to the multicultural complexes of values and images in reading English literary texts.

The research reported on in this article was mainly undertaken to determine the obstacles to the enhancement of critical thinking in the learning of history at Form 3 level in secondary schools in the Masvingo urban area of Zimbabwe, in terms of the rationale of developing the learners’ critical thinking. The promotion of critical thinking abilities is vital in education, since doing so helps to improve the learners’ academic performance, as well as aiding in producing graduates with a multiplicity of skills that are required in the 21st century job market and in society as a whole. We used semi-structured interviews and lesson observations to reach conclusions on what recommendations to make in addressing the research problem. Several factors were identified as hindering the learners’ acquisition of critical thinking, including the learners’ and teachers’ lack of self-efficacy, motivation and the poor learning environment. In addition to reflecting on the possibility of improving the learning and teaching of critical thinking, we recommend that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Zimbabwe’s Schools Examination Council, teacher training colleges and teachers should all work together to develop the learners’ critical thinking skills within the parameters of the Zimbabwean education system.

This study examines the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in aqidah akhlaq instruction at Azanaya Homeschooling and its contribution to the development of students’ critical thinking skills in Islamic education. The study explores how PjBL is implemented, how Islamic theological concepts—particularly rububiyyatullah and mulkiyyatullah are integrated into project activities, and how facilitators and parents support the development of students’ critical thinking. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed. Data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with facilitators and students, and analysis of instructional documents. Data analysis followed the interactive model of Miles and Huberman, including data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, supported by triangulation and member checking. The findings indicate that project-based learning encourages students to engage in authentic inquiry and reflective learning processes that stimulate key components of critical thinking, including problem analysis, interpretation of Islamic theological principles, ethical evaluation, and reflective inference. Through projects related to environmental responsibility and social ethics, students critically connect the concepts of rububiyyatullah and mulkiyyatullah with their roles as khalifah in everyday life. The collaborative partnership between facilitators and parents further strengthens reflective dialogue and supports the development of critical thinking beyond formal learning settings. This study contributes to the literature on Islamic pedagogy by demonstrating that integrating theological concepts within PjBL can function as an effective framework for cultivating critical thinking in aqidah akhlaq education, particularly within alternative learning environments such as homeschooling.

This study specifically examines the English teaching material needs of lecturers at STIT Tanggamus and STIT Pringsewu to enhance students’ critical thinking skills. Recognizing that critical thinking is an essential competence in higher education, particularly in English language learning, this research adopts a mixed-methods design to explore the types of materials currently in use, lecturers’ perceptions of students’ critical thinking abilities, and the gaps between existing resources and instructional needs. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis for data collection. The findings highlight a prevalent reliance on authentic materials, underscoring the need for explicit critical thinking frameworks and contextual relevance within the Islamic educational environment. Lecturers expressed concerns regarding students’ limited critical thinking capacity, citing language barriers, insufficient scaffolding, and lack of pedagogical support. It is crucial to redesign English teaching materials systematically to integrate higher-order thinking tasks, align with students' cultural and religious backgrounds, and provide clear instructional guidance. The findings highlight the essential requirements for both material development and professional training to enhance the cultivation of critical thinking in English language education within Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions.

It is essential for nurses to develop critical thinking skills to ensure their ability to provide safe and effective care to patients with complex and variable needs in ever-changing clinical environments. To date, very few studies have been conducted to examine how nursing orientation programs develop the critical thinking skills of novice critical care nurses. Strikingly, no research studies could be found about the American Association of Critical Care Nurses Essentials of Critical Care Orientation (ECCO) program and specifically its effect on the development of nurses' critical thinking skills. This study explored the perceptions of new graduate nurses regarding factors that helped to develop their critical thinking skills throughout their 6-month orientation program in the intensive care unit. A convenient non-probability sample of eight new graduates was selected from a hospital that used the ECCO program. Data were collected with demographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. An exploratory qualitative research method with content analysis was used to analyze the data. The study findings showed that new graduate nurses perceived that they developed critical thinking skills that improved throughout the orientation period, although there were some challenges in the ECCO program. This study provides data that could influence the development and implementation of future nursing orientation programs.