An Exploration of Critical Thinking Skills in the Teaching and Testing of Reading Comprehension at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2023-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study aimed at exploring critical thinking skills in the teaching and testing of reading comprehension at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University. To achieve the intended goal, mixed methods research design was employed. The study participants were randomly selected 320 first year students and 6 English language teachers in Addis Ababa Science and Technology University. Questionnaire, Interview, Document Analysis and observation were the data gathering tools employed to collect data to achieve the objectives of the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data from student participants of the study. The qualitative data was collected using interviews held with the 6 English language teachers participated in the study, classroom observations of teachers teaching reading comprehension and document review of reading comprehension exercises in teaching material and reading comprehension tests used by the teachers. While a thematic content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data, percentages were used to analyze the quantitative data. The study found out that English language teachers rarely or never make students employ a variety of critical thinking strategies that engage students in processing information at higher cognitive levels, such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating. There was little opportunity for students to approach the reading texts critically and gain a thorough understanding of them.The majority of the questions in reading comprehension exercises and in reading comprehension tests are lower-order questions which are questions of remembering and understanding designed to elicit lower thinking skills from students. The study also found out that teachers have a better understanding of critical thinking. They have also strong belief that integrating critical thinking in the practice of teaching and testing reading comprehension should be among the responsibilities of English language teachers in order to enhance learners’ critical thinking skills. However, the teachers' classroom practices of teaching reading comprehension and its testing did not correspond to their identified knowledge and beliefs about critical thinking. Based on the findings, it has been recommended that English language teachers should have a planned approach for strengthening learners' critical thinking skills during teaching and testing reading comprehension. English language teachers should adapt questions in reading comprehension exercises of the material currently in use. Furthermore, the reading comprehension exercises in the module Communicative English Language Skills I should be revised to include a sufficient number of higher-order questions so that students can practice thinking at a higher level and gain a thorough understanding of the texts they read. Finally, producers of English language materials used at higher education institutions should incorporate critical thinking skills in reading comprehension exercises during the preparation of the materials.
Description
Keywords
To achieve the intended goal, mixed methods research design was employed.