Teachers’ Professional Skills as a Factor in the Development of Students’ Critical Thinking

Abstract

The modern generation of students actively use technology and have access to information at any time. However, having access to information and being able to competently work with information are two different tasks. The use of information in any form is impossible without the use of critical thinking skills, therefore the level and quality of critical thinking is of paramount importance. Considering that in the modern education system, the traditional type of teaching is quite common — the classroom-lesson form of teaching, where the teacher is the leading figure, providing students with ready-made knowledge at lectures. At the same time, students take a passive position in relation to the assimilation of knowledge. Is it becoming important to understand how to develop students’ higher-order skills, including critical thinking, in this type of learning? In a study conducted on a sample of students from one of the leading national research universities in Russia (4,897 students), using the multivariate regression method, it was proved that teaching within the framework of the traditional type of education can be positively associated with the level of development of critical thinking if teachers have developed subject-logical and organizational competence.