A Program Based on the Community of Inquiry Framework to Develop English Department Students’ Critical Thinking

Abstract

The study aimed to design a blended learning program based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to develop English Department students’ critical thinking. The study started with a review of literature and previous studies related to the CoI framework, blended learning, Facebook – where the online part of the program took place – as well as critical thinking. The researcher designed the study’s instruments including a list of critical thinking abilities, a pre/post critical thinking test, and a critical thinking rubric. The researcher then designed the study’s proposed program. A group of 2nd year, English Department students (n=33) participated in the study. They received training on critical thinking through the blended learning program’s activities and discussions. The students’ scores on the pre and posttest were statistically analyzed using T-test, and effect size was also specified. In addition, a qualitative analysis of the students’ performance was conducted. Both the quantitative and the qualitative results revealed that blended learning within the CoI framework was effective in developing critical thinking for English Department students.

Keywords: Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework, blended learning, critical