"Is that right?" The Critical Thinking of Some Grade 9 Female Students

"Is that right?" The Critical Thinking of Some Grade 9 Female Students

There is very little research on what students do when confronted with a critical thinking task when there is no teacher mediation. In this study, eight Grade 9 females were given two critical thinking tasks in which they had to write a fair-minded essay, one prior to a history unit in which they were taught some of the tools of critical thinking, and one after. The girls were videotaped and audio recorded in groups and then individually interviewed. Results indicated that the girls had problems with using the concepts and standards of critical thinking but improvements were evident between the first and second research sessions. It was also found that positive group interactions led to more confidence in the girls' own ideas and their willingness to ask questions, and that the thinking displayed in the essays was not as adequate as it was in their verbal interactions.