Extended Abstract: Online Critical Thinking Pedagogy in an "Engineering-Heavy" Humanities Classroom in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Teaching critical thinking can be difficult to conceptualize and achieve in any setting, but teaching critical thinking online, during the pandemic, especially for students who are not already strong, independent thinkers may be especially challenging. This paper aims to examine obstacles to critical thinking that have been particularly important during the past two years of online instruction in Saudi Arabia. Some obstacles, like student busyness, worries about what others may think, and lack of previous experience with critical thinking-based teaching and problems with multiple, correct answers already are prevalent within in-person classes. Online education during the pandemic has heavily exacerbated other problems, like overloaded schedules, lack of focus, technical difficulties, and student stress. The process of critical thinking involves rough, practical reasoning, which may also make adapting to it challenging for some engineering students who have previously had success in more traditional, "one right answer" educational settings. The paper suggests some pedagogical approaches and techniques that have been helpful for confronting these problems in online, synchronous classrooms.