Developing critical thinking across the curriculum through embedded personal epistemology: An immersion approach

Abstract

In the present-day information age, it has become more crucial than ever to be equipped with an intellectual compass that can help an individual to navigate the overwhelming deluge of information, messages, and discourses. The efficiency of higher education in teaching students to think critically is debatable as most institutions treat these skills in isolation from the rest of educational goals. This paper explored a holistic approach to enhancing critical thinking across the curriculum. It involves the promotion of learners’ epistemological beliefs. The study explored a potential causal relationship between critical thinking skills and epistemological beliefs among undergraduates at the Department of English at Khenchela University, Algeria. In a quasi-experimental design, sophomores received a two-semester treatment instruction designed to promote their critical thinking skills. These latter were tested in pre-and post-tests to evaluate the effect of the course. T-test results revealed a significant change in the experimental group’s post-test means as compared to their critical thinking pre-tests. Keywords: Critical thinking; epistemic climate; higher education; immersion; personal epistemology.