Abstract
This research case-study was motivated by the need to explore the implementation of critical thinking, as well as the instructional implications of promoting critical thinking in a foundation phase classroom, by determining whether Grade 3 math teachers prioritize the promotion of effective critical thinking skills in the subject of mathematics. The following research question guided the research study: “What effective approaches do foundation phase teachers employ, as a teaching strategy, to promote effective critical thinking skills in a Grade 3 mathematics classroom”. To address the main question, the following sub-questions were posed:
What is Grade 3 math teachers’ understanding of critical thinking?
How do Grade 3 math teachers foster critical thinking skills in their math classrooms?
How does learners’ prior content knowledge impact influence their critical thinking skills?
The case study made use of a qualitative research design in the form of a case-study to answer the above questions. The research sites were two primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The sampled participants for this study were two Grade 3 classes from which 18 learners were purposively selected. The data collection instruments that were used included interviews, field notes and learners’ written assessments. The learner assessments were conducted prior to the learner interviews. The results of learners’ assessments and interviews were assessed and compared to determine whether teachers’ implementation of their various critical thinking strategies was effective and promoted critical thinking skills within learners, when they took the assessments. Learners solved problems and explained the rationale behind how they solved the word problems in more detail during the interview. Learners could give verbal accounts of their methods during the interview. Both the assessments and interviews made way for the researcher to rate learners’ critical thinking skills using the Learners’ Interview and Assessment Analysis Grid (LIAAG).
The study found that there were three main factors that influenced the effectiveness of teachers’ approaches towards implementing and promoting critical thinking as a teaching strategy, in a mathematics classroom. These were namely: teachers’ understanding of critical thinking skills; teaching methods; and learners prior content knowledge. These factors manifested through a reflection of high levels and stages of the Learning Framework in Numbers (LFIN) as well as Stages of Early Arithmetic Learning (SEAL), in the learners’ problem-solving strategies...
M.Ed.