The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote critical thinking in a grade ten Life science class

Abstract

This report investigates the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to promote and enhance critical thinking in learners in a secondary school in South Africa. The aim is to uncover how a teacher incorporated ICTs in her classroom teaching in order to develop the five intellectual resources within critical thinking, as argued by Bailin (1999). The focus is on how the teacher found a preferable teaching approach to enhance critical thinking through specific ICT tools. Case study findings illustrate how ICTs were incorporated within a grade ten class to promote critical thinking. In order to promote the five intellectual resources of the critical thinking process in line with Bailin (1999), data was analysed qualitatively from class observation, a questionnaire, interview and samples of learners’ tasks. The theoretical focus comprises of constructivism theory, the critical thinking perception of Bailin (1999), and the specific five intellectual resources. The main purpose of the report is to explore how the teacher used ICTs to create a learning environment where learners were encouraged to interact and engage with their peers and teacher. Thus, this report demonstrates the ICT types that the teacher incorporated in her Life Science classroom to stimulate and promote those intellectual resources that learners require for deliberate thinking.