Enhancing critical thinking through the project work:the case of Algerian Secandary School ENGLISH CLASSES

Abstract

Educational institutions all around the world are presently concerned by the introduction of critical thinking and project pedagogy into education. The Algerian educational system is not exempt from that global concern. The evidence, in this case, is clearly stated in the first, second and third-year secondary school English syllabuses. All of them stipulate that English teaching involves the acquisition of linguistic and communicative competencies and the development of a critical mind (MNE, 2006a, 2005c & d). In this context, the present study aims to examine the extent of implementation of project work pedagogy for the enhancement of critical thinking in the secondary-school English classes as recommended by the Ministry of National Education and to explore the role of the third-year secondary school syllabus, the accompanying document and the textbook in nurturing critical thinking. It also investigates whether the current classroom practices embrace a diverse range of active learning and problem-solving strategies and tasks that increase learners' involvement in high-quality discussions and develop their critical thinking skills. For the collection of data, the study has employed a mixed methods research approach in which a variety of data collection tools were used and directed to only a sample of research subjects so as to narrow the scope of the study: (a) questionnaires were handed both to third-year English teachers to identify their attitudes towards critical thinking and project work and to learners to investigate their opinions on English class projects; (b) classroom observation sessions were organized to observe the classroom practices; (c) a sample experiment was conducted to identify the impact of project work in fostering critical thinking; and (d) a sample analysis of the third-year English textbook and syllabus was done to find out whether they embed the core principles of project-based pedagogy and critical thinking. The results of the data analysis of the above-mentioned tools revealed that EFL teachers were reasonably knowledgeable but lacked professional development training on classroom practices, and EFL learners were interested but not motivated to do projects because of inadequate classroom practices such as the lack of active learning strategies and the predominance of the teacher-centredness approach in classrooms. Within this context, the study highlights the importance of project work in fostering and enhancing critical thinking by using the syllabus and the textbook, which are substantially project based. If they were used methodically, they could help teachers implement the Project-Based Learning approach properly and thus enhance learners’ critical thinking. To that end, and since this research is evidence-based rather than content-based, its implications could be generalized to benefit teachers and policymakers and thus help our learners to enhance their higher-order skills and be critical thinkers capable of overcoming the 21st-century challenges to succeed not only in the workplace but also in life. Keywords: Project-Based Learning, project work, critical thinking, active learning