Analyzing students’ critical thinking processes based on falsification heuristic experiment

Abstract

This study explored the critical thinking processes of high school students in the context of genetic mutations by focusing on how they handled conflicting evidence during a falsification heuristic experiment. Of a convenience sample of 104 11th-grade students from Xi'an, China, who participated in a pen-and-paper test designed to identify a specific understanding of genetic mutations, eight students were ultimately chosen for the falsification heuristic experiment. Based on the data collected from the pen-and-paper tests and classroom dialogues conducted during the experiment, we used Strauss and Corbin's qualitative coding method to analyze the students’ critical thinking processes. The findings indicate that questioning can prompt students to re-evaluate and shift their evaluation criteria. While the reasoning process influenced the students’ approaches to problem-solving, it did not directly determine their final judgments. Instead, students’ well-structured experiential knowledge guided their ability to accurately judge and adapt to conflicting evidence. Furthermore, falsification heuristic tools enhanced students’ critical thinking by facilitating a shift from confirmation to falsification when faced with contradictory evidence. These empirical insights may develop educational interventions to foster students’ critical thinking skills.