Sahika UNLU
Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, TURKEY.
DOI: 10.14689/ejer.2018.76.9

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The existence of teachers who think critically and reflect this in their profession is an attribute that should not be abandoned in the process of generating a free, critical thinking, and democratic society. Teachers are the most important role models students have in shaping their behavior in all environments. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to possess the skills of the new era, and the continuity and support of their professional development is fundamental. One of the foremost objectives of the education programs in Turkey is providing students with critical thinking ability. However, a teacher education program intended to support critical thinking in teachers, the executors of the program, is not available. The purpose of this study is to develop an educational program intended for primary education teachers that supports critical thinking and makes reflective evaluations. Research Methods: This research used the “Taba-Tyler Model,” a curriculum development model. This research method was selected because a new education program is designed in this study.

Findings: In the “Draft Supporting Critical Thinking Curriculum” that was formed as a result of the research, 12 objectives are presented under five themes (open-mindedness, questioning of the accuracy and reliability of information, reason-evidence seeking, openness, asking high-level questions). The application of the draft requires 15 hours. As a result of the reflective evaluation, the objectives and content of the draft program were found to be relevant regarding the learning experiences and the purposes of assessment and evaluation were consistent within themselves.

Implications for Research and Practice: It is proposed that “Supporting Critical Thinking Curriculum” be developed for teachers working at different levels of education, because critical thinking education is a process that involves all levels of education.

Keywords: Teaching critical thinking, teacher training, teacher behaviors, reflective assessment.