Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education

This study seeks to contribute to the development of critical thinking (CT) skills and nature of science (NOS) concepts in primary education – more specifically, argument analysis (CT) and certain aspects of the external sociology of science, such as scientific decision making and the compromise be...

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Main Authors: Vanessa Ortega-Quevedo, Cristina Gil-Puente, Cristina Vallés Rapp, Carmela García-Marigómez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul 2025-05-01
Series:Investigações em Ensino de Ciências
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Online Access:https://ienci.if.ufrgs.br/index.php/ienci/article/view/4155
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author Vanessa Ortega-Quevedo
Cristina Gil-Puente
Cristina Vallés Rapp
Carmela García-Marigómez
author_facet Vanessa Ortega-Quevedo
Cristina Gil-Puente
Cristina Vallés Rapp
Carmela García-Marigómez
author_sort Vanessa Ortega-Quevedo
collection DOAJ
description This study seeks to contribute to the development of critical thinking (CT) skills and nature of science (NOS) concepts in primary education – more specifically, argument analysis (CT) and certain aspects of the external sociology of science, such as scientific decision making and the compromise between the positive and negative effects of science and technology (NOS). The study involved the participation of 72 students from 5 different schools. It was a mixed-design study, using tools such as questionnaires, observation charts and interview scripts. The results showed significant improvement in argument analysis questionnaire scores and in NOS concepts after the explicit and reflective work done in a teaching-learning sequence. These results were confirmed by classroom observation, the analysis of workbooks and student interviews within a month of the intervention. This enabled us to conclude that the intervention had a positive impact on the development of the skills and concepts under study, even in the face of variation as a result of differences in teaching-learning sequence implementation by different teachers in different contexts. The reflective teaching approach can be identified as one of the keys to intervention success.
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publisher Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
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series Investigações em Ensino de Ciências
spelling doaj-art-747bfdc8ebef44e3ad2ca280e6eb68032025-08-20T02:28:11ZengUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulInvestigações em Ensino de Ciências1518-87952025-05-0130110.22600/1518-8795.ienci/2025v30n1p313Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary EducationVanessa Ortega-Quevedo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5742-4678Cristina Gil-Puente1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5794-5564Cristina Vallés Rapp2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6772-0606Carmela García-Marigómezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2642-9265Universidad Complutense de MadridUniversidad de ValladolidUniversidad de Valladolid This study seeks to contribute to the development of critical thinking (CT) skills and nature of science (NOS) concepts in primary education – more specifically, argument analysis (CT) and certain aspects of the external sociology of science, such as scientific decision making and the compromise between the positive and negative effects of science and technology (NOS). The study involved the participation of 72 students from 5 different schools. It was a mixed-design study, using tools such as questionnaires, observation charts and interview scripts. The results showed significant improvement in argument analysis questionnaire scores and in NOS concepts after the explicit and reflective work done in a teaching-learning sequence. These results were confirmed by classroom observation, the analysis of workbooks and student interviews within a month of the intervention. This enabled us to conclude that the intervention had a positive impact on the development of the skills and concepts under study, even in the face of variation as a result of differences in teaching-learning sequence implementation by different teachers in different contexts. The reflective teaching approach can be identified as one of the keys to intervention success. https://ienci.if.ufrgs.br/index.php/ienci/article/view/4155nature of sciencecritical thinkingelementary educationreflective teaching
spellingShingle Vanessa Ortega-Quevedo
Cristina Gil-Puente
Cristina Vallés Rapp
Carmela García-Marigómez
Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
Investigações em Ensino de Ciências
nature of science
critical thinking
elementary education
reflective teaching
title Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
title_full Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
title_fullStr Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
title_full_unstemmed Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
title_short Explicit and reflective teaching for the development of Critical Thinking skills and Nature of Science and Technology understandings in Primary Education
title_sort explicit and reflective teaching for the development of critical thinking skills and nature of science and technology understandings in primary education
topic nature of science
critical thinking
elementary education
reflective teaching
url https://ienci.if.ufrgs.br/index.php/ienci/article/view/4155
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AT cristinavallesrapp explicitandreflectiveteachingforthedevelopmentofcriticalthinkingskillsandnatureofscienceandtechnologyunderstandingsinprimaryeducation
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