FUMI TAKEGAMI (PREFECTURAL UNIVERSITY OF KUMAMOTO)

ENHANCING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH LITERATURE: A PRAXIS-ORIENTED APPROACH IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION : CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL LITERACIES

In the realm of university education, the significance of imparting critical thinking (CT) skills cannot be overstated. The ongoing debate surrounding whether CT should be taught as a standalone course or integrated into subject-specific content underscores its crucial role in the curriculum. Regardless, both are relevant to the importance of incorporating CT development in the university curriculum. This paper begins by first offering a baseline definition of CT and amplifies its essential role in university-level education. Then it discusses the highly complementary role that literature plays in developing CT skills, and specifically focuses on the genre of the short story as a most applicable resource. The import of pedagogical knowledge required of the educator for successful implementation of using literature as pedagogical tool for CT skills development is stressed. Classroom lessons are outlined to illustrate suitable pedagogical knowledge and the effectiveness of using short story for CT skill development. Finally, feedback obtained from a questionnaire administered to students in the course to gather insights into their perspectives is presented. The study embraces a praxis-oriented approach in its design. “Praxis” in this context refers to practical implementation of the theoretical perspectives discussed in the study. Practical strategies for effective integration of short stories for developing CT skills, which include carefully scaffolded activities that were used in the author’s course, are shown. This implies that the discussion not only places an emphasis on theory, but also explores practical applications of the concepts discussed.

Fumi Takegami is in Center for General Education at Prefectural University of Kumamoto. She received a MA TESOL degree and a PhD in Applied Linguistics. Her research is classroom-based and focuses on professional development. Her most recent interest has been on alternative pedagogies for critical thinking courses in EMI context.