The Impact of Project-Based Learning in Fostering Critical Thinking Skills of the 1st year TFL Students
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Date
2025
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Publisher
SDU University
Abstract
The following research study aims to investigate the impact of Project-Based Learning on improving the critical thinking capabilities of the first-year students majoring in the “Two Foreign Languages” (TFL) specialty at one private university in Kazakhstan. The study implements a mixed research method incorporating the elements of quantitative and qualitative research instruments and data analysis. The quantitative part of the research is demonstrated by the quasi- experimental study conducted among 66 students who voluntarily agreed to be proceeding participants. 40 students have received PBL intervention, while the rest, 26 students, have been selected as a control group and followed the traditional project method. After gaining official permission from the Research Ethics Committee and spreading consent letters, voluntary students have been provided with the Watson- Glaser Critical Thinking Test to write before and after the intervention of PBL into mainstream education to address the main objective of the study. The qualitative part of the study is represented by the pre-perception and post-perception interviews complemented with reflective essays of students written at the end of PBL intervention. “The Gold Standard PBL” projects have been implemented among the first- year students within 15 weeks of the semester. The quantitative results of the study, which contain pre-test scores, post-test scores, and gain scores (post-test – pre-test) of control and experimental groups, have undergone descriptive statistical analysis, followed by normality distribution tests and inferential statistical analysis of overall critical thinking gains (Student’s t-test) and individual critical thinking dimensions (Paired t-test). While qualitative data have been analyzed using a 6-step thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke (2006). The pre-test scores have shown that all students started at the same level of critical thinking. Despite the fact that mean results have demonstrated a slight increase in treatment groups in post-test and gain score results, according to inferential statistics outcomes, this small increase is practically insignificant (p>0.05). Additionally, the treatment group has mainly developed their interpretation (+0.43) and argumentation (+0.25) subskills. Moreover, the results of qualitative data have shown a highly positive perception of PBL by students who noted that PBL improved their critical thinking skills through research analysis and iterative problem-solving.
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Keywords
Impact, PBL, critical thinking, first-year students, Two Foreign Languages
Citation
Lyadova L / The Impact of Project-Based Learning in Fostering Critical Thinking Skills of the 1st year TFL Students / SDU University / Faculty of Education and Humanities