DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING IN STUDENTS OF PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITIES OF UZBEKISTAN: EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERDISCIPLINARY INTEGRATED COURSES

Abstract

This study is about how students at universities that teach people to be teachers in Uzbekistan're learning to think critically. These universities have classes that combine lots of subjects. I think this is really interesting because places that train teachers really need to teach this kind of thing. The universities in Uzbekistan are trying to help students develop thinking skills by using these special classes. The critical thinking skills are very important for students, at these universities.

The people who did the research used two kinds of methods. They used numbers to see what was going on. They gave the students the Critical Thinking Assessment Test before and after the school year. The Critical Thinking Assessment Test was a part of the numbers part. For the part they looked at the student projects they watched what was happening in the classes and they had conversations with the teachers. The research had 320 students who were in their year. These students were from three universities. The universities were Tashkent State Pedagogical University, Nukus State Pedagogical University and Samarkand State Pedagogical University. The research with the students, from Tashkent State Pedagogical University, Nukus State Pedagogical University and Samarkand State Pedagogical University lasted for one whole school year.

Students who took the courses did really well. The special courses were classes like Logic and Scientific Methodology, History of Science and Critical Analysis and Digital Literacy and Information Evaluation. These classes were very different from the classes. Students who took the courses did a lot better than students who took the regular classes. They got a lot better at thinking. The numbers show that this is true. The special courses students were really good at looking at arguments and figuring out if they make sense. They were also good at testing ideas and solving problems in different ways. This is important because it is useful for when they have to teach others. The special courses, like Logic and Scientific Methodology, History of Science and Critical Analysis and Digital Literacy and Information Evaluation really helped the students.

Putting thinking, into these integrated courses is a good way to train future teachers. Future teachers can then teach their students how to think critically. This is part of modernizing education in Uzbekistan. I do not know how much of an impact this will have outside of Uzbekistan. Some good things happened away. Other good things may take a time to happen.