A Study on the Effectiveness of Lessons to Improve Critical Thinking Ability in University Students

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of lessons on critical thinking-related subjects operated in basic liberal arts and major subjects and seeks ways to improve critical thinking skills. The research design is a mixture of pretest-posttest and posttest designs. The critical thinking test was administered from the second semester of the 2022 academic year to the second semester of the 2023 academic year. Analysis of the study showed no statistically significant difference between the pretest-posttest critical thinking ability of students in the experimental group in the pretest-posttest design. On the other hand, the posttest designs showed that the experimental group had higer critical thinking ability than the control group, showing a statistically significant difference. When comparing the effectiveness of critical thinking ability by teaching method, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups regarding the total score, but the experimental group was more effective when it came to the rational evaluation subscale. This study found that short-term education does not necessarily lead to overall improvement in critical thinking ability and suggested continuous research expansion on critical thinking ability and evaluation of long-term effects.