Vessela Pavlova
Alexandria Gendjova
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/nat2024-5-6.09
Abstract. Critical thinking is essential in the 21st century and is an educational goal in many countries. This paper aims to systematically design tasks in a real context, with a focus on critical thinking (according to Facione 2011) and to verify their effectiveness. The developed and validated tasks in context on the topic “Natural Sources оf Hydrocarbons” were introduced into the Chemistry and Environmental Protection education of 129 ninth graders in а secondary school. To study the effect of their implementation, the students’ written answers were qualitatively analysed and scored for their level of performance. The levels of critical thinking skills were determined holistically according to Alcantara & Bacsa (2017). When solving the tasks, 27% of the students demonstrated high level skills, 57% – above average, 15% – average, and only 2% – below average. The results suggest that contextualised tasks can be an effective tool to promote students’ critical thinking. Students reported that although the tasks are not easy, they are necessary and useful for developing their thinking and worldview.
Keywords: Chemistry education; critical thinking; context-based tasks
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