This study aims to analyze the impact of the debate method on the development of critical thinking and speaking skills of first-grade students at an Islamic High School. The research instruments include interviews and observations, with participants divided into two groups, each consisting of three students. Debate is used as a method to train critical thinking and speaking skills, which is believed to foster leadership qualities through students' roles in teams, while transforming students from passive recipients of information into active participants who take responsibility for their learning. Data were collected through interviews, where students were asked questions related to specific topics, as well as observations that monitored students' engagement during the wrong learning process, with these interviews serving as the foundation of qualitative research to explore participants' in-depth understanding. By combining interviews and observations, this study aims to describe the effectiveness of the debate method in the context of active learning. Data analysis was carried out using a structured qualitative framework consisting of three steps: data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. Data condensation helps summarize and filter essential information, while data display visualizes findings to facilitate analysis. The final step, conclusion drawing and verification, generates an in-depth understanding of the impact of the debate method on students' skills. The findings of this study are expected to make a significant contribution to the development of active learning methods, particularly in enhancing students' critical thinking and speaking skills. With a structured approach, this study highlights the importance of the debate method in creating more interactive and meaningful learning experiences for students.
This study examines how critical thinking is integrated into EFL speaking instruction in higher education. A qualitative design was employed to gain an in-depth understanding of lecturers' critical thinking and speaking instruction. The study was conducted at Muhammadiyah University of Bone and involved 4 lecturers and 14 students. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis of lesson plans. The data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in lecturers’ perceptions and instructional strategies. The analysis focused on three interconnected stages of instruction: planning, action, and evaluation. The findings reveal that lecturers perceive critical thinking in speaking as the ability to analyze issues, justify opinions with evidence, and respond thoughtfully to counterarguments. Students’ classroom participation also showed that critical thinking emerged through their ability to ask questions, compare viewpoints, justify opinions with evidence, respond to counterarguments, and reflect on the quality of their oral performance. They believe that students' speaking skills should be evaluated not only on fluency, pronunciation, and grammatical accuracy but also on their capacity to analyze issues, build logical arguments, use evidence, engage with differing viewpoints, and reflect critically on ideas.
Gunawan Gunawan, Sahril Nur, Amirullah Abduh et al.· GLENS: Global English Insigh...· 0 citations
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.
M. B, Sriyanti Mustafa, Marwati Abd. Malik· Frontiers in Education· 0 citations
Recognizing the persistent challenges students face in analyzing social issues, this study investigated the effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) in enhancing the critical thinking skills of Grade 10 students in Social Studies at Camaya-an National High School, Loboc, Bohol during the School Year 2025– 2026. Employing a mixed-methods design, the research integrated quantitative and qualitative approaches to measure both academic performance and students’ learning experiences. The quantitative phase involved pre-test and post-test assessments on three key competencies in Araling Panlipunan 10— globalization, labor issues, and migration—revealing significant improvements in students’ post-test scores, with weighted means ranging from 13.29 to 14.17 and p-values below 0.05. Effect sizes (0.45–0.93) indicated moderate to strong impacts of IBL on student learning. The qualitative findings complemented these results, revealing four major themes: Active Engagement and Curiosity, Analytical and Evaluative Thinking, Collaboration and Communication, and Self- Reflection and Independent Learning. These insights demonstrated that IBL promotes higher-order thinking, collaborative inquiry, and self-directed learning. Overall, the integration of both data sets confirmed that IBL is an effective and learner-centered approach that strengthens students’ mastery of concepts, critical reasoning, and engagement in Social Studies. The study recommends continuous teacher training, administrative support, and curriculum integration of IBL to sustain the development of students’ critical thinking skills.
Learning strategies that are focused not just on academic success but also on the development of social attitudes—particularly tolerance in the setting of a heterogeneous society—are required by inclusive education. The purpose of this study is to examine how collaborative learning in inclusive education helps students at the Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontordevelop attitudes of tolerance. This study combined a case study design with a qualitative methodology. Students, instructors, and caregivers at Islamic boarding schools participated in semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentation to gather data. Thematic analysis approaches were used to analyze the data. The study's findings show that regular use of collaborative learning techniques fosters an inclusive and engaging environment for social interaction in both the Islamic boarding school's formal and informal learning activities. Through processes of positive interdependence within groups, open discourse, collaborative reflection, and institutional support for the inclusion concept, students develop tolerance attitudes. Students can observe firsthand how to manage conflict, appreciate diversity, and develop empathy in the Islamic boarding school's communal life through collaborative learning. By supporting collaborative learning as an educational approach that contributes to the development of emotive and social values, this study makes a theoretical contribution. The study's practical conclusions suggest that enhancing collaborative learning is essential to creating inclusive Islamic boarding school-based instruction.
Project Based Learning encourages students to engage in an active and contextual learning process, where they are faced with real problems that require solving. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Project Based Learning (PjBL) model in optimizing critical thinking skills and collaborative abilities of fifth-grade students on the material "My Earth is Changing"? This study uses a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design to understand in depth how the implementation of the Project Based Learning (PjBL) model can optimize critical thinking skills and collaboration of fifth-grade students on the material "My Earth is Changing". The sample used was determined by purposive sampling consisting of teachers and students as respondents. Data collection techniques with interview and observation guidelines. Qualitative data validity tests include credibility tests (credibility), transferability (transfer value), dependability and confirmability. Data analysis was carried out using qualitative descriptive namely data reduction, data presentation and conclusions. The results showed that the implementation of the Project Based Learning (PjBL) model succeeded in improving critical thinking skills and collaboration skills of fifth-grade students at SD Negeri 23 Bandar Baru. Students were involved in a learning process that required them to analyze environmental issues, ask questions, and formulate solutions. This process trains them to think logically and critically when facing real-life problems.
Qualitative results reflected a paradox in students' perceptions of AI; despite appreciating how AI facilitated skills through the generation of ideas and opportunities for safe practice, students simultaneously expressed concern about cognitive offloading and skill atrophy.
Ibtihal Murad Zangana· مجلة الفتح للبحوث التربوية و...· 0 citations