Creative Education

2013. Vol.4, No.12A, 40-45

Published Online December 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.412A1006

Developing Students’ Critical Thinking Skills by Task-Based

Learning in Chemistry Experiment Teaching
Qing Zhou1*, Qiuyan Huang2, Hong Tian3
1
Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education of China and Shaanxi
Normal University, Xi’an, China
2
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
3
Lanzhou Petrochemical College of Vocational Technology, Lanzhou, China
Email: [email protected]

Received August 27th, 2103; revised September 27th, 2013; accepted October 4th, 2013

Copyright © 2013 Qing Zhou et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons At-
tribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited. In accordance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights ©
2013 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intellectual property Qing Zhou et al. All Copyright © 2013
are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian.

Task-Based Learning (TBL) is a student-centered, teacher-guided and task-performed teaching approach.

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of task-based learning (TBL) in chemistry experiment
teaching on promoting high school students’ critical thinking skills in Xi’an, China. To achieve the aims,
a pre-test and post-test experimental design with an experimental group and a control group was em-
ployed. Students in the experimental group were taught with TBL, while students in the control group
were taught with lecturing teaching methods. Five chemical experiments were selected, and 119 students
aged at 17 - 19 voluntarily participated in the research which lasted one semester. The California Critical
Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was used as a data collection tool. Results showed there was an obvious
significant difference (p < 0.05) in the dimension of analyticity in the experimental group after TBL,
while there were no significant differences in the total score, the evaluation and inference of CCTST. The
findings provide an effective way for chemistry teachers to improve students’ critical thinking analyticity
skills.

Keywords: Critical Thinking Skill; Task-Based Learning; Chemistry Experiment Teaching

Introduction 13). Besides, there are also other curriculum statement and
stands which focus on critical thinking from a wide range of
It is generally accepted that critical thinking should be an jurisdiction, including the Ministry of Education, Singapore
important dimension of science education (Bailin, 2002). Criti- (2007); the National Academy of science, USA (1996); the
cal Thinking (CT) should be not only educational choice, but department for education, England (1999).
rather an inseparable part of education. Since the world has
changed quickly, it demands that education should develop Definition of Critical Thinking
students’ critical thinking at all levels rather than teaching ob-
solete knowledge. The Australian Curriculum Science (2012) Although CT is an important cognitive skill that schools aim
has one of its aims which develop students’ an understanding of to train up, there are differences of opinions existing in defining
the nature of scientific inquiry and the ability to use scientific it. CT is a rich concept which has been developing for 2500
inquiry methods. So many items focusing on the critical think- years. The intellectual root of CT originated in the method of
ing are included, for example “they develop critical and crea- questioning proposed by Socrates who established the impor-
tive thinking skills and challenge themselves to identity ques- tance of asking deep questions that probe profoundly into
tions and draw evidence-based conclusions using scientific thinking before we accepted ideas as worthy of belief. Since
methods.” (p. 3); “critical and creative thinking are integral to then, different people studied the concept in different views of
activeties that require students to think broadly and deeply us- cognitive development, which led to the diversity of the con-
ing skills, behaviors and dispositions such as reason, logic, re- ceptions (e.g., Brell, 1990; McPeck, 1981; Norris, 1985; Rogers,
sourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas 1990; Seigel, 1988; Siegel & Carey, 1989). The most widely
at school and in their lives beyond school.” (p. 13); “In the sci- used definition made by Ennis (1991) is that “reasonable reflec-
ence learning area, critical and creative thinking are embedded tive thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” (p. 6).
in the skills of posing questions, making predictions, speculat- According to the definition, CT was an important component of
ing, solving problems through investigation, making evidence- the process of problem solving. Ennis (1991) divided critical
based decisions, and analyzing and evaluating evidence.” (p.
thinking into critical thinking abilities and critical thinking dis-
*
Corresponding author. position, but it was still lack of assessment criteria. The Ame-

40 Open Access
 Q. ZHOU ET AL.

rican Philosophical Association (APA) sponsored a two-year The results indicated that the implementation of the chemical
Delphi research project which was included 46 persons active inquiry experiments improved the analysis and evaluation in
in critical thinking research, education, and assessment, and CTS and the analyticity in CTD significantly (p < 0.05), but
they conceptualized the critical thinking and constructed objec- other dimension of the two subscales did not show significant
tively scored standardized instruments the California Critical difference. Besides, in Zhou’s study (2012) the WebQuest
Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the California Critical Think- teaching method was applied to improving the high school
ing Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). The panel’s conceptualiza- students’ critical thinking. There were significant differences (p
tion of the critical thinking construct was summarized by Fa- < 0.05) between before and after WebQuest learning in the
cione (1990): CCTDI scores and the subscale scores of truth-seeking, inquisi-
We understand critical thinking to be purposeful, self-regu- tiveness, analyticity, systematicity and self-confidence. For the
latory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, eva- CCTST, there were significant differences in the total score,
luation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, and the subscales scores of analysis and evaluation. The find-
conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual con- ings indicated the WebQuest teaching in chemistry might be an
siderations upon which that judgment is based. effective method to develop high school students’ critical think-
A good critical thinking includes both a skill dimension (Cri- ing.
tical Thinking Skills, CTS) and a disposition dimension (Criti-
cal Thinking Disposition, CTD). CTS include 1) interpretation, Task-Based Learning in Chemistry Experiment
2) analysis, 3) evaluation, 4) inference, 5) explanation and 6) Teaching
self-regulation. Interpretation is to categorize the problem, to
define its characteristic, to decode and to clarify the meaning. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is defined as the student-
Analysis is to distinguish the relationship among things. Eva- centered and self-directed pedagogical approach (Barrows,
luation is to make judgments on the credibility of statements. 1996; Kek & Huijser, 2011). PBL requires that the learning is
Inference is to reason and to make logical conclusions. Expla- done a small group which consists of 6 - 10 persons ideally.
nation is to state results, to justify procedures and to present Problems form the basis of the learning focus on and simulate
arguments. Self-regulation is to reflect, to make self-assess- the students’ cognitive development. Task-based learning (TBL)
ment on one’s cognitive activities and to correct the errors. is also the learner-centered teaching methods. Student-centered
CTD contain 1) truth-seeking; 2) inquisitiveness; 3) ma- tur- leaning is that the students must take responsibility for their
ity; 4) analyticity; 5) open-mindedness; 6) systematicity and 7) own learning, identify what they need to know, manage the
self-confidence (Margaret & Colucciello, 1997). Truth-seeking problem on which they are working and determine where they
is to be eager for exploring the knowledge even when the will get that information, and the teacher is as the facilitators or
knowledge does not support one’s self-interests or one’s pre- guides (Barrows, 1996). The previous studies had shown the
conceived viewpoints. Inquisitiveness is to be inquisitive to PBL was a powerful pedagogical approach to promote CT (e.g.
obtain knowledge even when the knowledge is not used imme- Joe & Elizabeth, 1999; Magnusseen, Ishida, & Itano, 2000;
diately. Maturity is cautious to make, to suspect and to revise Celia & Gordon, 2001; Cook & Moyle, 2002; Williams, 2002;
decisions. Analyticity is to apply reasoning into solving prob- Yuan & Qian, 2003; Wang, Lu, & Ze, 2004; Choi, 2004; Ti-
lems and tend to expect the results. Open-mindedness is to be wari, Lai, So, & Yeun, 2006; Wang, Tsai, Chiang, Lai, & Lin,
tolerant of diverse views. Systematicity is to be organized or- 2008; Yuan, Williams, & Fan, 2008; Ozturk, Muslub, & Diclea,
derly, focused and engaged in handling the problems. Self- 2008; Kek & Huijser, 2011; Martyn, Terwijn, Kek, & Huijser,
confidence is to believe in one’s own inference and tend to use in press; Choi, Lindquist, & Song, in press). For the CTD, PBL
the skills to solve problems. promoted the senior nursing students’ truth-seeking and open-
CT is the human nature, but it’s not natural for humans to mindedness (Tiwari et al., 2006; Ozturk et al., 2008). And PBL
think well. Being a critical thinker refers to obtain the critical influenced the students’ CTS (Williams, 2002; Martyn et al., in
thinking skills and the readiness, willingness and inclination to press; Choi et al., in press). Since CT is an outcome of PBL
apply those skills. CTS are essential to any educated individual, (Worrell & McGrath, 2007), we supposed that TBL also could
and it’s particularly necessary that they could be used and de- improve the students’ CT.
veloped by students. There is consensus about the importance TBL was mainly applied in medical education (Harden,
of CT, but differences of opinions exist in how CT should be Crosby, Davis, & Struthers, 2000; Ozan, Karademir, Gursel,
taught. Some (Brookfield, 1987) insisted that there was no Tanskiran & Musal, 2005), language learning (Gass, Mackey,
standard approach to facilitate critical thinking, while others & Feldman, 2011; Hashemi, Azizinezhad, & Darvishi, 2012)
(Barrows, 1986) advocated the use of specific strategies. Che- and computer-aid learning (Whittington & Campbell, 1998; Lee
mistry, a subject where critical thinking is applied in various & Shin, 2012). But there were few about the TBL applied in
ways, plays an important role in fostering students’ CT. So chemistry experiment teaching (Zhou et al., 2010c). In the
there are many approaches to improve students’ critical think- chemistry experiment teaching, TBL is more suitable than PBL,
ing (e.g. Charen, 1970; Seymour, 1973; Zhou et al., 2010a; because TBL makes it possible for small group learning to take
Zhou, Guo, & Wang, 2010b; Zhou, Shen, & Tian, 2010c; Zhou place without mobilizing tutors, while PBL needs the guide of
et al., 2012; Evren, Bati, & Yilmaz, 2012). For the literature instructors, especially in China where a class has about 50 stu-
mentioned above, most of the researches have focused on the dents on average or even more, the teacher may feel exhausted
influence that teaching methods had on critical thinking. For and tired when they are guiding the chemistry experiment. The
example, in Zhou’s study (2010a, 2010b) the inquiry-based task is like the driving force that makes learning occurs proac-
chemical experiment was used to develop pre-service teachers’ tively. By working towards task realization, the current knowl-
critical thinking. The CCTST and CCTDI were used to assess edge and resource are used immediately by students, making
the pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills and disposition. learning initiatively and exploring independently. This is can be

Open Access 41
 Q. ZHOU ET AL.

explained by social constructivism. Social constructivism the- level were selected in the two groups. Finally, all the partici-
ory emphasizes the critical importance of culture and the social pants were taught by the same teacher who used the same
context for cognitive development. Knowledge is constructed teaching content to reduce the effect of the non-research vari-
through collaboration—interactions among students and be- ables (e.g. the teaching style, the teaching standard), and the
tween students and teachers, connected by task in TBL (Atwa- course goals were the same for both the experimental group and
ter, 1996). The learning results are not only the tasks but also the control group. The differences lay in the teaching method
the concepts and mechanisms underlying the tasks (Harden et that the teacher used. In the control group, the teacher gave a
al., 2000). Moreover, the cooperation in students is utilized lecture directly to the students about the chemistry experiment
fully and the team spirit is fostered through TBL. So TBL is a which included the experiment principle, instruments and pro-
good choice for teachers in the chemistry experiment teaching. cedures and so on. The lecture is defined as of more or less
TBL has been applied in high school chemistry experiment uninterrupted talk from the teacher. Lecture notes were pro-
teaching and has been tested the effect of critical thinking dis- vided for the students for each of the experiment. Then the
position in Zhou’s research (2010c). The result showed there students did the experiments according to the procedures in the
were significant differences on the CCTDI total score and the notes.
subscale score of self-confidence between the experimental In the experimental group, the teacher used the TBL to help
group and the control group in the posttest. There is the evi- the students construct the knowledge. Take the topic “Reaction
dence that critical thinking disposition correlates with critical between sodium peroxide and water” for example to illustrate
thinking skills (Facione & Facione, 1997). Since the TBL is an the TBL teaching.
effective method for developing students’ critical thinking dis- Firstly, the teacher presented the task background and as-
position, the hypotheses of this study the students’ CT skills signed the task. The products of the reaction between sodium
can be developed and fostered by TBL. So the focus of this peroxide and water were sodium hydroxide and oxygen. After
paper still examines whether the TBL influences on the stu- the reaction phenolphthalein was dropped into the solution, it
dents’ critical thinking skills in high school. showed red for some period of time, which was the normal
phenomenon because phenolphthalein became red in the so-
Methodology dium hydroxide solution. However, the eight to ten drops of
phenolphthalein was dropped into the solution, and it appeared
Research Design red. But when the tube was oscillated, the red color disappeared.
To achieve the aims, a pre-test and post-test experimental It seemed strange. So the task was inquiry on the fading reason
design with an experimental group and a control group was of the reaction between sodium peroxide and water.
employed. Students in the experimental group were taught with Secondly, the students were divided into small groups with a
TBL, while students in the control group were taught with tra- unit of six persons, based on their interests, ability and desire.
ditional teaching methods in the experiments. Five chemical Secondly, according to the teaching target and content, each
experiments were chosen as the main instructional materials student in a group was given different role to complete the task.
because they represented that the chemistry knowledge applied There were mainly six roles: 1) Planner, who organized the
in real life, which were “Reaction between sodium peroxide group members, made a schedule and supervised the imple-
and water”, “Esterification”, “Alum for water purification”, mentation; 2) Information collector, who assigned the collect-
“Preparation of silicic acid” and “Preparation of ferrous hy- ing materials task to the members and gathered the information
droxide”. The experiment lasted one semester. The California in chief, such as the physical properties, the chemical properties
and the use of sodium peroxide; 3) Data organizer, who ar-
Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was used as the data
ranged the information systematically; 4) Scheme designer,
collecting tool. At the beginning of the semester, the CCTST
who make the designing scheme exploring the fading phenom-
was conducted in the control group and the experimental group
ena of the reaction between sodium peroxide and water; 5)
to assess their CT skills level and examine whether there were
Experiment preparation, who prepared the experimental drugs
differences. At the end of the semester, the CCTST was also
and equipments according to the scheme; 6) Presenter, who
implemented in the two groups to make a comparison with the
displayed the experiment scheme based on the group member
pre-test and test the hypotheses.
argument.
Thirdly, after the division of labor, each group member de-
Participants fined his /her role and task depended on the fact. A fixed group
The selected sample in this study was 119 students whose leader was not set, and each member served as the leader by
ages ranged from 17 to 19 years at grade 3 in YuJin Middle turns.
School, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. There were 59 stu- Before the experiment, 5 minutes were given to each group
dents in the experimental group which were taught by TBL, and to present the reason analyses on the fading phenomena and the
60 students in the control group which were taught with the corresponding experiment scheme.
lecturing teaching method. And the teacher evaluated the scheme, discussed with the
classmates, and produced the optimum solution. Under the
Procedures teacher’s guidance and supervision, the students did the experi-
ment. After completing the experiment, the students communi-
In order to guarantee the results were objective and authentic, cated with each other on the things they had gained in the proc-
several treatments were conducted. First of all, an introduction ess. Besides, the teacher evaluated and summed up the knowl-
about the concept of CT to all the participants was made before edge and skills. TBL required the teacher make the timely
the experiment to ensure that they were able to use it. Secondly, evaluation to stimulate the students’ interests and motivation.
before the experiment the students who had similar learning There were four methods which were the self-evaluation, in-

42 Open Access
 Q. ZHOU ET AL.

tra-group evaluation, inter-evaluation among groups, and tea- perimental group, while the score of the post-test was lower
cher-evaluation. Self-evaluation could develop the students’ in- than the pre-test in the control group. No significant difference
dependent consciousness. Students learn to appreciate other was found in the overall score. Compared the subscales scores
people and make judgment through intra-group evaluation and in the two groups, the experimental group’s score was lower
inter-evaluation among groups. And teacher could point out the than the control group’s score in the pre-test, but in the post-test
problem existing in process. the control group’s score was lower than the experimental
group’s. There were no statistically significant differences in
Instrument the subscales of the two groups. The relationship of three skills’
scores on the CCTST no matter in pre- or post-test or in the two
The framework of CCTST is based on the APA Delphi con- groups the sequences are E > A > Inf (Analysis, Evaluation,
sensus conceptualization of critical thinking (1990) and devel- Inference).
oped by Facione (1994). It is a 34-item standardized multi- The second method was used the paired-sample t-test (see
ple-choice test and is aimed at college students and adults, but Table 2). Despite the overall score growth in the post-test, from
also suitable for advanced and gifted high school students. The 10.05 to 10.58, the score in the post-test was not significantly
skills of analysis, evaluation and inference, deductive reasoning different from those in the pre-test. The mean score of analysis
and inductive reasoning are specifically targeted by the CCTST.
in the experimental group is 3.49 in the pre-test and it is 3.96 in
The Inductive and deductive scales overlap with the analysis,
the post-test, increasing by 0.47 point (t = 2.065, p < 0.05),
inference, and evaluation scales. Analysis, inference, and eva-
which showed significant difference. The consequence indi-
luation add up to the CCTST total score. Induction and deduc-
cated that TBL could develop students’ analysis skills in chem-
tion also add up to the CCTST total score. The deductive rea-
istry experiment teaching. The other two subscales Evaluation
soning and inductive reasoning were integrated into the three
and Inference have no statistically significant differences in the
subscales of the analysis (A) (0 - 9), evaluation (E) (0 - 14) and
two tests. Figure 1 also demonstrated the change of the critical
inference (Inf) (0 - 11) in the Chinese-version CCTST (2002),
thinking skills subscales in the experimental groups in the pre-
which produces an yields an overall score (0 - 34) on critical
and post-test, and there was an increasing in the analysis and
thinking skills, Pearson r = 0.63, p < 0.01, r/2 = (0.75 - 0.80), p
almost no change in the evaluation and inference, which proved
< 0.01, and shows a good reliability, and good construct valid-
the students’ analysis skills, can be improved by TBL in chem-
ity.
istry experiment teaching.
Data Analysis
Discussion
The data were analyzed using the SPSS17.0 for windows
The above results showed that there was a significant differ-
versions. Independent sample t-test analysis and paired sample
ence of subscale analysis score in the experiment group in the
t-test were employed to compare CCTST scores before and
after TBL. pretest and posttest (p < 0.05). It indicated that the students’
analysis skills level could be improved by the TBL in chemistry
experiment, though it had little impact on the other two skills –
Results and Discussion evaluation and inference. In CCTST, analysis has two meanings.
Two methods were employed to compare the differences in On the one hand, it means categorization, decoding sentence
the statistics. The first method was used the independent sample and clarifying meaning. On the other hand, it means examining
t-test (see Table 1). As shown in Table 1, the overall mean ideas, identifying arguments and analyzing arguments (Facione,
score of the critical thinking skills in the experimental group 1990). A good teaching method is the one that implies relevant
was 10.05 ± 2.66 in the pre-test and 10.58 ± 2.76 in the post- and visible training values which shall motivate students and
test, and the score in the control group was 10.65 ± 2.67 in the make them aware of their understanding and reflection, help
pre-test and 10.05 ± 2.80 in the post-test. But the overall mean them make up their critical thinking which will guarantee their
score of the post-test was higher than the pre-test in the ex- trust in their own forces (Iurea et al., 2011) TBL is a good tea-

Table 1.
Comparison of pre- and post-test on CCTST in the experimental group and control group (independent sample t-test).

Experimental Group Control Group Levene’s Test for Equality

t-test for Equality of Means
CCTST (N = 59) (N = 60) of Variances
X ± sd X ± sd F P1 t P2
Pre-test 3.49 ± 1.43 3.85 ± 1.45 .0081 .9285 −1.3584 .0430
Analysis
Post-test 3.97 ± 1.30 3.69 ± 1.65 5.0092 .0271 1.026 .3070
Pre-test 4.03 ± 1.61 4.25 ± 1.53 .3424 .5596 −.7497 .4549
Evaluation
Post-test 4.05 ± 1.78 3.82 ± 1.57 .4326 .5120 .7549 .4518
Pre-test 2.53 ± 1.25 2.55 ± 1.41 .3806 .5385 −.1120 .9110
Inference
Post-test 2.55 ± 1.32 2.54 ± 1.21 .5033 .4795 .0792 .9370
Pre-test 10.05 ± 2.66 10.65 ± 2.67 .1540 .6954 −1.2251 .2230
Total scores
Post-test 10.58 ± 2.76 10.05 ± 2.80 .0085 .9265 1.0387 .3011

Open Access 43
 Q. ZHOU ET AL.

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