Promoting Critical Thinking through Socratic Questions in Health Sciences Work-Integrated Learning

Zijing Hu

Abstract


Critical thinking is an essential skill that needs to be developed in students to provide quality support, care and well-being for their patients. It is an important skill that includes critical decision-making, evaluating the situation, communicating and participating in the decision-making. These skills are aligned with the 21st century work skills required for efficient and quality outputs. The Socratic question technique has been found to be an effective approach to promote and enhance students’ critical thinking during their work-integrated learning. This study aimed to explore students’ experiences of Socratic questioning to promote their critical thinking skills during the work-integrated learning of an acupuncture programme at a South African higher education institution. This study used a qualitative case study design embedded within an interpretivist paradigm. The research setting was a public university in Gauteng province. The purposive sampling technique was used to invite participants. Six (6) participants voluntarily agreed to participate. The data collection instrument was text-based interviews. Data were analysed inductively whereby themes were identified and analysed. Trustworthiness and its relevant principles were adhered throughout the study.  The findings of this study revealed that students acknowledged the value of Socratic questioning in work-integrated learning to improve critical thinking. They further agreed that the technique gave them the opportunity to be self-reflective. However, participants indicated that there is a need for academics to be thoroughly familiar with Socratic questioning to add value to their learning. More time should be allocated for Socratic questioning during work-integrated learning. This study concluded that Socratic questioning was essential and pertinent to promote students’ critical thinking during work-integrated learning. There is a need to provide training for academics and clinical instructors to be knowledgeable on how to utilise Socratic questioning methods appropriately. Further studies are recommended to be conducted at international levels with different research approaches.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.6.8


Keywords


socratic questioning; critical thinking; work-integrated learning; higher education; clinical training

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abidah, U. F. U. (2022). Reasoning Socratic questioning method to enhance university students’ critical reading in critical reading course. Research on English Language Teaching in Indonesia, 10(1), 1-8.

Acim, R. (2018). The Socratic method of instruction: An experience with a reading comprehension course. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 8(1), 41-53.

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing, Abridged Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Barari, N., RezaeiZadeh, M., Khorasani, A., & Alami, F. (2020). Designing and validating educational standards for E-teaching in virtual learning environments (VLEs), based on revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Interactive Learning Environments.

a. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1739078

Barnes, B., & Payette, P. (2017). Socratic questioning. The National Teaching & Learning Forum, 26(6), 1-12.

Çekin, A. (2015). The investigation of critical thinking dispositions of religious culture and ethics teacher candidates (The case of Ankara University and Kastamonu University in Turkey). Journal of Education and Learning, 9, 158-164.

Chandio, M. T., Pandhiani, S. M., & Iqbal, R. (2016). Bloom’s Taxonomy: Improving assessment and teaching-learning process. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 3(2), 203-221.

Chian, H. M. (2020). Targeting misconceptions using Socratic questioning. International Journal for Cross-disciplinary Subjects in Education, 11(1), 4216-4220.

Ennis, R. H. (1987). A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities. In J.B. Baron, & R.J. Sternberg (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New York: Freeman.

Dinkins, C. S., & Cangelosi, P. R. (2019). Putting Socrates back in Socratic method: Theory-based debriefing in the nursing classroom. Nursing Philosophy, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12240.

Fahim, M., & Bagheri, M.B. (2012). Fostering critical thinking through Socrates’ questioning in Iranian language institutes. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(6), 1122-1127.

Govender, C. M., & Wait, M. (2018). Work-integrated learning benefits for students’ career prospects – mixed mode analysis. South African Journal of Higher Education, 31(5), 49-64.

Grondin, A. (2018). Effectiveness of the Socratic method: A comparative analysis of the historical and modern invocations of an educational method (unpublished thesis). Columbia: South Carolina Honors College.

Hu, Z., Venketsamy, R., & Razlog, R. (2022). Exploring health sciences students' experiences of interprofessional education to improve quality learning outcomes. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 10(3), 385-398.

Hu, Z., Venketsamy, R., & Pellow, J. (2022). University students’ experiences of the teaching and learning of an acupuncture programme: A South African case study. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 21(12), 107-125.

Jeong, S., & McMillan, M. (2015). Work-integrated learning (WIL): Integrating frameworks for education and practice. Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 2(1), 1-10.

Katsara, O., & De Witte, K. (2019). How to use Socratic questioning in order to promote adults’ self-directed learning. Studies in the Education of Adults, 51(1), 109-129.

Kinney, J. (2022). Revisiting the Socratic method of teaching to improve third-year pharmacy students critical thinking and advanced pharmacy practice experience readiness in a critical care elective. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 14(4), 499-506.

Kusmaryani, W. (2020). The effect of Socratic Questioning method in improving students’ speaking skill and critical thinking in English as a foreign language learning. In W. Kusmaryani, Arifin, J.B. Darmayasa & S. Wulandari. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Innovation in Education and Pedagogy. Indonesia: Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research.

Mason, J. (2011). Cognitive engagement and questioning online. In A. Mendez-Vilas (Ed). Education in a Technological World: Communicating Current and Emerging Research and Technological Efforts. Atlas: Formatex.

Nair, V. G., & Ramasubramaniam, S. (2021). Role of Socratic questioning in improving critical thinking skills among nursing students. Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research, 12(3), 3235-3238.

Nguyen, T. V., & Liu, H-E. (2021). Factors associated with the critical thinking ability of professional nurses: A cross-sectional study. Nursing Open. 8(4), 1970-1980.

Oraison, H., Konjarski, L., & Howe, S. (2019). Does university prepare students for employment? Alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 10(1), 173–194.

Overholser J. C. (2018). The Socratic Method of Psychotherapy. New York: Columbia University Press.

Oyler, D. R., & Romanelli, F. (2014). The fact of ignorance revisiting the Socratic method as a tool for teaching critical thinking. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(7), 1-9.

Papathanasiou, J. V., Kleisiaris, C. F., Fradelos, E. C., Kakou, K., & Kourkouta, L. (2014). Critical Thinking: The Development of an Essential Skill for Nursing Students. Acta Informatica Medica. 22(4), 283-286.

Paul, R. (1988). Critical thinking in the classroom. Teaching K-8, 18, 49-51.

Paul, R. (1990). Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World. Rohnert Park, CA: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). The Art of Socratic Questioning. California: Foundation for Critical Thinking.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2008). Critical thinking: The art of Socratic questioning, Part III. Journal of Developmental Education, 31(3), 34-35.

Pihlgren, A. S. (2014). Thoughtful dialogues and Socratic seminars. Available from: http://ignitere- search.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Thoughtful-Dialogue-and-Socratic-Seminars-Students- reading-comprehension.pdf

Sahamid, H. (2016). Developing critical thinking through Socratic questioning: An action research study. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 4(3), 62-72.

Suhardiana, I. P. A. (2019). Socratic questioning to promote EFL students’ critical thinking in a language learning. Journal of English language Education, 2(1), 83-102. Doi: https://doi.org/10.25078/yb.v2i1.994.

Venkatesan, S. (2020). Socratic questioning enabled analysis of problem behaviours. Journal of Psychology, 11(1-2), 12-22.

Venketsamy, R., & Hu, Z. (2022). School leaders’ responsibilities for ensuring safe schools for teaching and learning during COVID-19. Perspectives in Education, 40(2), 3-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v40.i2.2

Venketsamy, R., Hu, Z., Helmbold, E., & Auckloo, P. (2022). Implementing the Japanese Lesson Study as a professional development tool in South Africa. Journal for the Education of Gifted Young Scientists, 10(3), 349-362.

Venville, A. (2018). A systematic approach to the evaluation of the student experience in work-integrated learning. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 19(1), 13-21.

Wilson, D., Aggar, C., Massey, D., & Walker, F. (2022). The use of mobile technology to support work integrated learning in undergraduate nursing programs: An integrative review. Nurse Education Today, 116. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105451

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods (6th ed.). The United States of America: Sage.

Zare, P., & Mukundan, J. (2015). The use of Socratic method as a teaching/learning tool to develop students’ critical thinking: A review of Literature. Language in India, 15(0), 256-265.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493