Development of Students' Critical Thinking Skills Through Guided Discovery Learning (GDL) and Problem-Based Learning Models (PBL) in Accountancy Education

Abstract

Purpose: Interpersonal skills and critical thinking are criteria for the success in the accounting profession, which requires both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills to think critically when practicing this profession. This study aimed to determine the differences in students' critical thinking skills using the Guided Discovery Learning (GDL) model and the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model Method: The study used quantitative methods through an experimental approach. A pretest and a posttest were used to collect the data. The respondents were 10 accountancy major students, who were divided into control and experimental groups. Findings: The results of the pretest and the posttest showed the improvement and better performance of the experimental group, which had received the treatment by using the GDL approach, in contrast with the control group which was taught the subject using the conventional approach. This is evidenced by the mean, N-gain and percent value for the experimental class which were measured higher than the control class. Findings suggest that there are differences in the effectiveness of the application of cooperative learning models of Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Guided Discovery Learning with conventional methods in improving students' critical thinking. Implications for Research and Practice: The implication of this research is that students are expected to be able to ask questions with a higher level of analysis, and by looking at the problem and being able to solve the problem well. This is also due to the fact that students tend to want to ask a lot of questions to get added value from the tutors. This study can provide useful insights to the educationists who can be benefited by the findings of this research. Future research can be carried out on similar models of learning to judge other educational skills