Towards the development of Critical Thinking Framework for enhanced student learning in Higher Education Institutions

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Ahmed, Fahim (2025) Towards the development of Critical Thinking Framework for enhanced student learning in Higher Education Institutions. In: 15th Canada International Conference on Education, 2025-07-22 - 2025-07-24. (In Press)

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Abstract

There is extensive literature that exists on "critical thinking” in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)," so proposing a new framework may appear redundant. However, this work focuses on adopting a practical classroom perspective on critical thinking instead of emphasizing philosophical taxonomies. The researcher identifies four key components of the framework based on student feedback collected over years of teaching. Educators often feel pressured to implement innovative technological advancements or complex pedagogical heuristics, which are valuable but should not detract from fundamental teaching methods. By integrating straightforward innovative elements into a critical thinking framework, student engagement and inclusivity can be enhanced, leading to improved learning outcomes through increased classroom interactivity. The proposed framework has shown positive results in both undergraduate and postgraduate modules, with course evaluations consistently highlighting the “interactive class” experience. Students feel engaged, and their voices are acknowledged during sessions. The paper also addresses the challenges, and future work.

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