Objective: To investigate how Literature Circles can be pedagogically adapted to the Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context to foster students' critical thinking while accommodating curriculum requirements, students' language proficiency, and classroom learning needs in support of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. Method: A qualitative case study was conducted at an Indonesian senior high school involving one English teacher and twelve eleventh-grade EFL students. Data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, including lesson plans, students' worksheets, dialogue journals, and learning products. The data were analyzed using coding, categorization, thematic analysis, and triangulation. Results: The findings revealed that Literature Circles were successfully adapted through modifications to instructional procedures, collaborative learning stages, reading materials, and role assignments, including the addition of Text Analyzer and Grammar Pointer roles to align with the Indonesian genre-based curriculum. These adaptations promoted six dimensions of critical thinking interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation while enhancing students' affective, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in collaborative learning. Novelty: The study proposes a contextualized adaptation model of Literature Circles for Indonesian secondary EFL classrooms, demonstrating how collaborative reading can be integrated with curriculum demands to foster critical thinking, student engagement, and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) through student-centered learning.
This study aims to address the growing need for critical thinking in the information age, and the documented challenges of fostering critical thinking among Chinese EFL learners who are often constrained by linguistic limitations and a cultural reluctance to challenge authority. Based on a single-case implementation of an adapted literature circle activities model with intermediate English majors at a private Chinese college, and using James Joyce’s “Araby” as the focal text, the researcher intends to determine whether, and through what mechanisms, critical thinking can be developed in this context. Data were collected through classroom video recordings, student work samples, teacher reflective journals, and pre- and post-lesson interviews. The findings indicate marked improvement in five dimensions of critical thinking which are active participation, reasoned discussion, curiosity and confidence, multiple perspectives, and empathetic engagement, and this improvement is attributed to three interacting factors: the intrinsic properties of the literary text, the streamlined four-task circle design, and the teacher’s scaffolding role. Therefore, the case study suggests that adapted literature circle activities can effectively bridge language teaching and intellectual growth to cultivate in students a disposition toward questioning that begins with textual interpretation and extends to self-reflection.
The development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is an important agenda for 21st-century education, but pedagogical mechanisms explaining how HOTS develops in junior high school classroom practices, particularly in mathematics learning, are still limited. This qualitative study explores the role of transformative learning in mediating students' HOTS development through critical reflection, epistemic dialogue in the classroom, and the meaning of learning experiences. The study used an interpretative-constructivist paradigm with an instrumental qualitative case study design. Data were collected through learning observations of 77 students (grades VII = 27; VIII = 25; IX = 25), in-depth interviews with three teachers (G1-G3), semi-structured interviews with 15 students, and analysis of learning documents. Thematic-reflective analysis resulted in four themes: (1) the gradual and contextual development of HOTS across levels, (2) critical reflection as the main trigger for analysis and evaluation, (3) epistemic dialogue as a space for testing and assessing arguments, and (4) the transformation of learning orientation from a focus on answers to the quality of thinking processes and justification. The findings suggest that HOTS develops through a spiral trajectory influenced by the intensity of reflective scaffolding, norms of classroom dialogue, and a classroom culture that is safe for experimenting and revising reasoning. This study contributes by mapping the mechanisms of how and why transformative learning facilitates HOTS in a junior high school context while also offering practical implications for the design of sustainable reflective and dialogic learning.
The cultivation of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) has emerged as a fundamental priority in modern education, particularly in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Educational discourse increasingly emphasizes the need for learners to develop analytical, evaluative, and creative capacities that extend beyond the acquisition of linguistic knowledge. Within this framework, deep learning, conceptualized as a pedagogical approach that prioritizes meaningful understanding, inquiry, and active knowledge construction, is widely regarded as an effective pathway for enhancing cognitive engagement. Despite its theoretical appeal, empirical examinations of how deep learning facilitates HOTS in real classroom environments remain relatively scarce, especially when viewed through the lens of teachers’ experiences. This study adopted a qualitative descriptive methodology to investigate the enactment of deep learning practices in an EFL classroom at SMA Negeri 7 Denpasar. Data were obtained through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with an English teacher, and analysis of instructional documents. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret recurring instructional patterns and cognitive processes. The findings reveal that deep learning strategies, including student-centered activities, inquiry-based questioning, collaborative interaction, and contextualized tasks, were associated with the development of HOTS. These results underscore deep learning’s potential to foster cognitively rich and reflective language learning experiences
Critical thinking development remains a persistent challenge in teacher education programs, particularly in developing contexts where traditional lecture-based approaches dominate instructional practices. This study employed a design-based research (DBR) methodology to develop and evaluate the Problem-Based Learning and Case Method (PBLCAMET) instructional model, which systematically integrates pedagogies within Indonesian language education for pre-service primary teachers. Thirty-two third-year undergraduate students participated in a six-week intervention at the Muhammadiyah University of West Sumatra (UMSB), Faculty of Islamic Studies, during the 2024–2025 academic year. Data collection employed mixed methods including pre- and post-critical thinking assessments, expert validation surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), learning journals, and classroom observations. Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvements across all critical thinking dimensions (Cohen’s d = 2.05, p < 0.001), with particularly strong gains in analysis (d = 1.96) and evaluation skills (d = 1.86). Expert validation yielded high content validity scores (M = 3.78/4.0), while student assessments indicated strong model practicality (M = 3.64/4.0) and effectiveness (M = 3.69/4.0). Qualitative findings demonstrated progressive development from superficial to sophisticated analytical reasoning through collaborative problem-solving and structured case analysis. The study contributes to the instructional design literature by providing empirical evidence for hybrid pedagogical model effectiveness while demonstrating successful cultural adaptation of Western educational approaches to Southeast Asian contexts. The PBLCAMET model offers a viable framework for teacher education reform seeking to enhance critical thinking while maintaining cultural relevance and implementation feasibility.