The Effect Of Problem-based Learning To The Cultivation Of Critical Thinking Ability

Critical thinking, as the foundation of creative thinking, has been one of the hottest issues discussed in education circle among many countries. During our curriculum reform, the cultivation of critical thinking ability has also become a significant goal of talents training in higher vocational colleges. The characteristic of English course, with each unit sticking to a hot topic, provides an environment for higher vocational college students to have a critical thinking training. However, traditional English teaching merely lays stress on language knowledge, neglecting students’ learning motivation stimulating and critical thinking training. The problem-based learning based on constructivism theory conforms to the teaching goals and characteristics of higher vocational education. In view of researches on critical thinking at home and abroad, this paper probes into the PBL teaching approach in English class in order to test the effect of PBL to students’ critical thinking ability.The students of two classes who participated the experiment are freshmen of Accounting Major coming from a Tourism Vocational College. One class adopts PBL teaching approach while the other still use traditional teaching approach. It takes three months to conduct the experiment. In order to measure participants’ general CT level, both California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory---Chinese Version(CCTDI-CV) and the Cambridge Critical Thinking Skills Assessment(CCTSA) were applied. Considering the characteristics of higher vocational college, the two instruments were modified. To measure the effect of PBL on language acquisition, a model and an official Practical English Test for College(PRETCO)- Level B wereused before and after the experiment. Also, an interview was arranged at the end of the experiment. With the instruments above, following research questions are supposed to be answered in this study:1. To what extend can PBL work on CT ability and English learning generally?2. According to the framework of CT ability, how are different aspects of CT ability and English learning skills developed?3. What are the perceptions of participants regarding PBL and CT after the experiment?After the quantitative analysis with SPSS 17.0, the results display that as a whole, there is no significant difference between experimental class(EC) and control class(CC) before and after the experiment in critical thinking dispositions and skills. But some sub-dispositions such as truth-seeking, analyticity, self-confidence and some sub-skills such as interpretation, analysis, and evaluation have achieved remarkable progress. Moreover, students in EC improved greatly in language learning, showing significant difference from CC, especially in reading, translating and writing. In addition, the interview reflects a rough conclusion of their optimistic attitudes toward PBL and CT in English class.In conclusion, applying PBL into English class in higher vocational college will promote the cultivation of students’ critical thinking ability. However, the cultivation requires enough time and much effort, which is a long process.Finally, some pedagogical implications are put forward in order to offer valuable classroom experiences for teachers and students, which lay a foundation for the cultivation of critical thinking in PBL environment. In addition, some limitations about this study suggestions for further study are proposed.