USING THE BLENDED CLASSROOM TO CULTIVATE CRITICAL THINKING FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN CHINA – International Journal of Research in Education Humanities and Commerce

USING THE BLENDED CLASSROOM TO CULTIVATE CRITICAL THINKING FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN CHINA

Author: Li Hao

ABSTRACT

Critical thinking is considered to be the foundation of creative and innovative capability, therefore modern education attaches great importance and emphasis to the cultivation of students’ critical thinking ability. However, the cultivation of college students’ critical thinking ability in China is a complicated issue and it involves cultural and cognitive habits of both students and teachers. This article explores how to use the emerging blended learning model to explore disruptive innovation within and outside the English classroom, encouraging and organizing students to engage in critical knowledge acquisition, peer discussion, and thinking activities, and ultimately achieving the cultivation of creative and innovative capability. This study also suggests solutions in some concrete problems in a blended English classroom, and emphasizes that blended classrooms should break away from the idea of technology supremacy and introduce substantive elements of critical thinking.

Keywords: critical thinking; blended classroom; English major students; innovative capability.

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