Enhancing Critical Thinking in Malaysian Primary School Students through PLS Method

Year 2018, , 243 - 257, 15.11.2018

Abolfazl Shirban Sasi

https://doi.org/10.12973/ijem.4.4.243

Abstract

Pictologics (PLS) is a language teaching method which relies on imaginative usage of pictures. The current paper reports the effects of applying this method on enhancing critical thinking ability of the Malaysian students. 69 students (32 boys & 37 girls) in two classes in a public primary school in Penang, Malaysia participated in this study. The experiment covered ten 1-hour sessions which were all audio-recorded and video-taped. The main objective was to engage the students in short conversations in English by using new words that they were learning via PLS. The following qualitative instruments were employed in this study: interviews with the teachers, focus group interviews with the students, a group interview with students’ parents, class check-list of the students’ behavior during the sessions, photos, and video footages. The findings reveal significant patterns of critical thinking among the students such as recognizing and criticizing assumptions, giving reasons to support a conclusion, incorporating isolated data into a wider framework, and using analogies to solve problems. The author strongly recommends application of adopted PLS techniques to be used either alone, or combined with the other conventional language teaching methods.

Keywords

Pictologics, critical thinking, imagination, interview, PLS

References

• Aizikovitsh-Udi, E., & Amit, M. (2011). Developing the skills of critical and creative thinking by probability teaching. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1087-1091.
• Allen, G. D., Rubenfeld, G., & Scheffer, B. K. (2004). Reliability of assessment of critical thinking. Journal of Professional Nursing, 20(1), 15-22.
• Angeli, C., & Valanides, N. (2009). Instructional effects on critical thinking: Performance on ill-defined issues. Learning and Instruction, 19, 322-334.
• Arnheim, R. (1997). Visual Thinking. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
• Badrul, I. (2006). Multiculturalism in art education: A Malaysian respective. Retrieved on April 27, 2009 from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/29700/11376859351isa_badrul.pdf/isa_badrul.pdf.
• Bloor, M., Frankland, J., Thomas, M., & Robson, K. (2001). Focus groups in social research. London: Sage Publications.
• Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
• Chan, Z. C. Y. (2011). Role-playing in the problem-based learning class. Nurse Education in Practice, 12(1), 21-27, doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2011.04.008.
• Dondis, D. A. (1973). A Primer of Visual Literacy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Dwyer, F. M. (1978). Strategies for Improving Visual Learning. State College, PA: Learning Services.
• Glassner, A., & Schwarz, B. B. (2007). What stands and develops between creative and critical thinking? Argumentation? Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2, 10-18.
• Halpern, D. F., & Sanders, B. R. (2004). Teaching Critical Thinking Skills Across the Curriculum. [Participant Packet: December 1, 2004; 1:30 – 3:0 PM CT: STARLINK.]
• Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. England: Longman.
• James, R. (2000). The Lozanov method (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertations). University of San Francisco. C.A., USA.
• Ku, K. Y. L. (2009). Assessing students’ critical thinking performance: Urging for measurements using multi-response format. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4, 70-76.
• Larsen-Freeman, D., & Anderson, M. (2011). Techniques & principles in language teaching (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Leong, L. M. (2004). The effects of multimedia annotations on vocabulary learning in expository texts by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) science students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang.
• Lozanov, G. (1978). Suggestology and the Outlines of Suggestopedy. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Publishers.
• Marin, L. M., & Halpern, D. F. (2011). Pedagogy for developing critical thinking in adolescents: Explicit instruction produces greatest gains. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 6, 1-13.
• Meijer, P. C., Verloop, N., & Beijaard, D. (2002). Multi-method triangulation in a qualitative study on teachers’ practical knowledge: an attempt to increase internal validity. Quality & Quantity, 36, 145–167.
• Messaris, P. (1994). Visual literacy: Image, mind, and reality. Boulder, CO: Waterview Press.
• Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Nakagawa, T. (2011). Education and training of creative problem solving thinking with TRIZ/USIT. Procedia Engineering, 9, 582-595.
• Ng, S. H. (2001). Effects of Suggestopedia on the critical thinking skills of selected Malaysian form two students. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.
• Obama, B. (2009). President Obama Urges Education Reform - March 10, 2009- CNN. Retrieved on March 29, 2009, from www.critical thinking.org/resources/new/index.cfm.
• Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. NY: Rinehart and Winston Publishers.
• Paivio, A., & Begg, I. (1981). Psychology of language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Popil, I. (2011). Promotion of critical thinking by using case studies as teaching method. Nurse Education Today, 31, 204-207.
• Ruff, L. G. (2005). The development of critical thinking skills and dispositions in First-Year college students: Infusing critical thinking instrument into a First-Year transitions course. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, the University of Maryland, Maryland.
• Sadoski, M. (2005). A dual coding view of vocabulary learning. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 21(3), 221-238. DOI: 10.1080/10573560590949359
• Shirban Sasi, A. (Designer), & Kalantari, J (Director). (2003). Let’s Learn English. [Educational TV Program]. Tehran: Educational Channel of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2004). Pictologics system, elementary: textbook. Tehran: Peyk-e Zaban Publishers.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2006). Pictologics system, intermediate: textbook. Tehran: Peyk-e Zaban Publishers.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2008). Towards a New Usage of Pictures in Teaching Languages, or PICTOLOGICS. Proceedings of the 17th MELTA International Conference, Penang, Malaysia, May 26-27.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2009). Improving imagination in EFL/ESL classes: The case of PICTOLOGICS. Proceedings of Asian EFL Journal 7th International Conference, Pusan, South Korea, 10-11 April.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2012). The effects of applying Pictologics (PLS) method on English vocabulary learning by Malaysian year six primary school students. Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
• Shirban Sasi, A. & Chang, T.C. (2013). Developing a Virtual English Language Institute Using the PLS Method. In J. Herrington, A. Couros & V. Irvine (Eds.), Proceedings of EdMedia 2013--World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (pp. 2286-2291). Victoria, Canada: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved April 10, 2018 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/112290/.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2017). Pictotherapy: Training high school teachers in quake-stricken areas to rethink communication skills. Journal of Educational Research and Review, 5(5), 79-89.
• Shirban Sasi, A. (2018). Pictologics: A Teaching Method by Imaginative Usage of Pictures. MEXTESOL Journal, 42(1), 1-11.
• Thopson, S. D., Martin, L., Richards, L., & Branson, D. (2003). Assessing critical thinking and problem solving using a web-based curriculum for students. Internet and Higher Education, 6, 185-191.
• Thornbury, S. (2004). How to Teach Vocabulary. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd.
• Wolcott, S. K., Baril, C. P., Cunningham, B. M., Fordham, D. R., & St. Pierre, K. (2002). Critical thought on critical thinking research. Journal of Accounting Education, 20, 85-103.
• Yan Piaw, C. (2010). Building a test to asses creative and critical thinking simultaneously Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 551-559.
• Zakaria, E., & Iksan, Z. (2007). Promoting cooperative learning in science and mathematics education: A Malaysian perspective. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 2007, 3(1), 35-39. Retrieved on May 14, 2009 from http://www.ejmste.com/v3n1/EJMSTEv3n1_Zakaria&Iksan.pdf