Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert

Critical thinking is an important quality to possess for an individual as it harnesses good decision-making and problem solving skills. There have been many complaints that Malaysian students lack critical thinking skills but thus far, there is little literature to support this claim. This study was...

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Main Author: Robert, Joanne
Format: Thesis
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/3/Cover_Page.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/2/Content_Joanne.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/1/Appendices.pdf
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author Robert, Joanne
author_facet Robert, Joanne
author_sort Robert, Joanne
building UM Research Repository
collection Online Access
description Critical thinking is an important quality to possess for an individual as it harnesses good decision-making and problem solving skills. There have been many complaints that Malaysian students lack critical thinking skills but thus far, there is little literature to support this claim. This study was formulated as an attempt to bridge this gap. Focusing on Malaysian teenagers studying in a private school, this study attempts to identify and analyse the critical thinking elements seen in the teenager’s verbal arguments. Specifically, it attempts to ascertain the number of valid arguments present in these arguments. Then it examines if there are similarities and differences in the way Malaysian teenagers present themselves in verbal arguments. The study is qualitative in nature as data is composed of the teenager’s spoken words. The spoken words of the teenagers are then analysed using Sinnott-Armstrong’s (2009) and Stapleton’s (2001) framework. In addition, quantitative measurements are also included by attempting to present the findings in percentages. The main findings suggest that this group of Malaysian teenagers produced more invalid arguments than the number of valid arguments. The findings of this study would suggest that critical thinking is indeed lacking among teenagers during verbal arguments. The findings might be useful to educationists who are currently thinking of incorporating critical thinking and problem solving into the curriculum in schools.
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spelling um-54512015-07-24T03:01:18Z Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert Robert, Joanne PE English Critical thinking is an important quality to possess for an individual as it harnesses good decision-making and problem solving skills. There have been many complaints that Malaysian students lack critical thinking skills but thus far, there is little literature to support this claim. This study was formulated as an attempt to bridge this gap. Focusing on Malaysian teenagers studying in a private school, this study attempts to identify and analyse the critical thinking elements seen in the teenager’s verbal arguments. Specifically, it attempts to ascertain the number of valid arguments present in these arguments. Then it examines if there are similarities and differences in the way Malaysian teenagers present themselves in verbal arguments. The study is qualitative in nature as data is composed of the teenager’s spoken words. The spoken words of the teenagers are then analysed using Sinnott-Armstrong’s (2009) and Stapleton’s (2001) framework. In addition, quantitative measurements are also included by attempting to present the findings in percentages. The main findings suggest that this group of Malaysian teenagers produced more invalid arguments than the number of valid arguments. The findings of this study would suggest that critical thinking is indeed lacking among teenagers during verbal arguments. The findings might be useful to educationists who are currently thinking of incorporating critical thinking and problem solving into the curriculum in schools. 2014 Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/3/Cover_Page.pdf application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/2/Content_Joanne.pdf application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/1/Appendices.pdf Robert, Joanne (2014) Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert. Masters thesis, University of Malaya. http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/
spellingShingle PE English
Robert, Joanne
Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title_full Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title_fullStr Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title_full_unstemmed Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title_short Elements of critical thinking in Malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / Joanne Robert
title_sort elements of critical thinking in malaysian teenagers’ verbal arguments / joanne robert
topic PE English
url http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/3/Cover_Page.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/2/Content_Joanne.pdf
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5451/1/Appendices.pdf