Practicing Socratic questioning in a blended learning environment: an innovative strategy to promote critical thinking Online publication date: Fri, 28-Feb-2014
by Zahra Shahsavar
International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments (IJSMILE), Vol. 1, No. 2, 2013
Abstract: This study aims to determine if practicing Socratic questioning (SQ) can promote students' critical thinking (CT). Participants were an intact class of undergraduate students enrolled in a course blog. To expand students' understanding of using thoughtful questions, the researcher used a systematic step-by-step process to teach SQ in a blended learning environment. The main purpose of face-to-face sessions was to prepare students to practice Socratic discussions on the blog. The study employs a mixed-method design to integrate qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Students' questions in four Socratic discussions were collected and coded by using a content analysis approach. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X (CCTT-X) was applied to assess students' CT ability. The results indicate that practicing SQ in a blended learning environment was significantly effective in fostering students' CT.
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