Critical thinking development through the implementation of problem-based learning

Abstract The current educational process involves the teacher and the student in active roles applying new strategies. The purpose of the study was to determine if the application of Problem-Based Learning in Biomedical Engineering students at a private university in Bogotá can favor the achievement of generic competences, especially critical thinking. The type of study was mixed, quasi-experimental and transactional. It was used for the quantitative approach, through a questionnaire of individual generic competences validated by Olivares and Wong (2013), associated with three dimensions of critical thinking: interpretation, judgment and inference. In turn, they were evaluated qualitatively by heading four categories related to the teaching strategy: autonomy, participation, communication and critical thinking disposition. Although the quantitative approach did not produce decisive results for the change in critical thinking, changes were found through qualitative analysis, especially in analysis, interpretation and evaluation.

摘要：当前教育过程中，教师与学生均承担积极角色，践行新型教学策略。本研究旨在探究，波哥大一所私立大学的生物医学工程（Biomedical Engineering）专业学生参与基于问题的学习（Problem-Based Learning），是否有助于其达成通用能力培养目标，尤其是批判性思维（critical thinking）的培育要求。本研究采用混合研究设计，涵盖准实验与事务性研究范式。定量研究环节，使用Olivares与Wong（2013）开发并验证的个体通用能力问卷，该问卷关联批判性思维的三大维度：阐释、判断与推理。与此同时，研究以四大与教学策略相关的类别作为评估框架开展质性评估：自主性、参与度、沟通能力与批判性思维倾向。尽管定量研究未得出批判性思维提升的显著性结果，但质性分析发现了显著变化，尤其体现在分析、阐释与评价维度。