Practicing Socratic questioning in a blended learning environment: an innovative strategy to promote critical thinking

Abstract

This study aims to determine if practicing Socratic questioning (SQ) can promote students’ critical thinking (CT). Participants were an intact class of undergraduate students enrolled in a course blog. To expand students’ understanding of using thoughtful questions, the researcher used a systematic step-by-step process to teach SQ in a blended learning environment. The main purpose of face-to-face sessions was to prepare students to practice Socratic discussions on the blog. The study employs a mixed-method design to integrate qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Students’ questions in four Socratic discussions were collected and coded by using a content analysis approach. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X (CCTT-X) was applied to assess students’ CT ability. The results indicate that practicing SQ in a blended learning environment was significantly effective in fostering students’ CT.