Abstract
This study reports the results of a learning program especially designed to improve critical thinking abilities of freshman undergraduate students. In this learning program, a variety of 90-minute activities was carried out with the help of worksheets that were used for（a) critical reading and discussion,（b) solving problems in three textbooks, (c) short presentation and small group discussion of controversial issues, (d) cooperative textbook reading by pairs, and (e) reflection about one’s own activities in a discussion. Two experimental class studies (Ns =20,18) examining the changes in students’ critical thinking ability, attitude, and knowledge due to this learning program over the period of one semester were carried out. The results of these two studies revealed that the scores of self-rated scales of critical thinking attitude, skills, knowledge, and perception of effectiveness, media literacy signi.cantly improved from the begin-ning to the end of the program. Although mean scores of the Watson-Glaser critical thinking appraisal did not significantly improve in Study 1, signi.cant improvement was observed in the scores of a new cognitive skill-based critical thinking ability scale in Study 2. Finally, the implications of this new learning program of critical thinking are discussed.
