The Study of the Instructional Method to Develop Critical Thinking in Upper Secondary School Physics : Through the Unit of "the Movement of Objects"

Abstract

In this study, we propose an instructional method to develop "critical thinking in physics" through a unit for upper secondary school students. In this method, students will do the following two learning activities in the unit. First, students will make "the causal relation map" which illustrates reasoning processes of causal relations, in order to learn a technique for critical thinking. Second, students will apply the technique to observations and experiments in their classes by using a worksheet designed for the technique. The instructional method was performed in a class in order to investigate its effectiveness. The respondents are 38 students who take the course "Physics I" at an affiliated senior high school. Based on the students' writings on questionnaires and worksheets for the class, we conclude that our method can improve their scientific inquiry skills and rational thinking skills, which are part of the critical thinking attitude necessary in science.