This article talks about learners' critical thinking and their learning style

1. 3rd Conference on New Trends in English Language
Teaching and Testing (NTELTIRAN), Sep 05, 2018
The Relationship between Iranian Teachers’ Critical
Thinking Ability and Their Reflection upon Their Work
Mohammad Goodarzi
Safir Language Academy
www.NTELTIR.COM
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2. Critical thinking (CT) which is not a very new area of study
(Hashemi & Ghanizadeh, 2012) is largely known to be under
the influence of the work of John Dewey (1933) who
probably introduced the concept of CT in education for the
first time and Paulo Freire (1970) who focused on the
relationship between CT and notions like emancipation and
power. Dewey considers CT and the process of learning to
think “as a primary purpose of education” (Dewey, 1933,
p.8). However, it was not since Freire (1970) considered a
classroom environment as a political scene where there is an
ongoing challenge between those with power and those
without.
2
Introduction

3. Another term which can be found in educational fields and
studies is teaching reflectivty . In order for the teachers to be
able to be aware of the processes taking place in and out of
classroom, theyneed to have the ability to think about
different theories and how these theories may be related to
one another and may be put into practice (Schon, 1983).
They also need to compare their own experiences with the
findings of research (Dubs, 1981).
Having considered the above notions, this study is aimed to
investigate the relationship between the teachers’ ability to
think critically and their capability to reflect upon their own
work.
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Introduction

4. The areas of CT and reflective teaching, like other areas, are
not without their setbacks. The problem associated with the
area of CT is the insufficient consideration given to teachers’
CT skills. In other words, despite a relatively large number
of studies which focused on students’ CT ability (e.g. Bers,
2005; Hashemi, 2011Aloqaili, 2012; Bagherinejad, 2012;
Dabaghi, 2012), few studies have attempted to concentrate
on teachers’ CT skills and their roles in the field of
education.
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Statement of the Problem

5. The drawback found in the area of reflective teaching is the
experts’ excessive concern for its theoretical aspects. In spite
of numerous articles and texts written on theoretical issues of
teaching reflectivity (e.g. Calderhead, 1989; Richards, 1991;
Lockhart, 1994; Kuit, 2001; Hansen, 2008), little has been
done on putting these theories into practice.
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Statement of the Problem

6. A number of studies have been carried out on CT. Most of
them, however, focused on students’ ability to think critically
and how this may be related to other areas of language
learning. Few attempts have been made to gain an
understanding of how teachers’ CT ability can influence the
outcome(s) of a classroom or an educational system.
However, teachers can have a great impact on language
learners’ types of learning; they promote learners’ CT skills
as well as help them in their educational fields (Shirkhani &
Fahim, 2011).
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Significance of the Study

7. In addition to their ability to think critically, teachers' ability
to reflect upon their practices and classroom processes may
affect the outcomes of a system. Westbury (2000) points to
the necessity for the teachers to have the ability to interpret
the standards and the curriculum mandated by the authorities
and to reflect upon their teaching experiences (Westbury,
2000, as cited in Hansen, 2008).
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Significance of the Study

8. Critical thinking (CT) is not a novel idea. Its origin can be
traced back to two thousand years ago when Socrates
introduced this mode of thinking (Fisher, 2001). However, as
Hashemi and Ghanizadeh (2012) mention, in spite of its long
history, no clear-cut “agreed-upon” definition can be found for
the term CT. The modern origins of CT can be trailed back to
the work of John Dewey (Stapleton, 2011). Dewey proposes
one of the very first definitions in the history of CT (1933). He
defines reflective thinking as “active, persistent, and careful
consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the
light of the grounds which support it and the further
conclusions to which it tends” (p. 9). He also refers to CT “as a
primary purpose of education” (p.8).
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Review of the Related Literature
Definition of Critical Thinking

9. Critical thinking is not just about abstract thought. It is also about
self-improvement and your whole development as a person”
(Boss, 2010, p. 13). Developing our “self” requires an awareness
of our strengths and weaknesses. To improve our “self” requires
us to monitor and examine our lives. This self-examination
enables us to, instead of leaving our fate to chance and
coincidence, take control of our lives by means of regulating our
choices. We set, in order of importance, a hierarchy of objectives
to be attained in our life plan. Having our short-term and long-
term goals in mind, we devise reasonable strategies to achieve
them. On our way to make it through our life plan, we may face
certain encounters and being prepared to challenge traditional
beliefs and systems of thought with courage is a contributing
factor in surmounting these obstacles.
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Review of the Related Literature
Benefits of Critical Thinking

10. The idea of reflection, as mentioned before, was introduced into
the field of education by the work of John Dewey (1933) but
introducing the notion of reflectivity as guiding principle for
teacher education started and flourished in the early 1970s and
mid-1980s through the work of educators such as Alan Tom,
Kenneth Zeichner, Donald Cruickshank, and Donald Schon
(Markham, 1999). Since then, the concept of reflective teaching
has been obtaining increasing attention in the field of second and
foreign education since the early 1990s (Farrell, 2007).
“Reflective teaching is an outstanding model in teacher education
which has been taken into consideration by educators in foreign
and second language teacher education” (Fatemipour, 2013, p.
1388). It is a useful tool which teachers can utilize in order to
monitor and improve their teaching practices and techniques.
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Review of the Related Literature
Definition of Reflective Teaching

11. Teaching reflectivity is a “professional responsibility” which enables
teachers to “identify how to improve their professional activity in
order to improve the quality of pupils' learning” (Rose, 2007, p.1). It
helps teachers to scrutinize their teaching practices and foster
changes in students’ learning behavior. It promotes cooperation
among teachers which, in turn, leads to valuable partnerships
resulting in more effective teaching practices. Reflective teaching is
not just about observing teaching practices and finding problems. “It
is not simply being able to identify problems and frame solutions,
although both are crucial” (Graves, 2002, as cited in Fatemipour,
2013, p. 1399). The main purpose of reflective teaching is
investigating the roots of the problems observed and seeking their
underlying causes. A teacher who benefits from the principles of
reflective teaching is able to change their understanding and observe
a broader range of effective choices.
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Review of the Related Literature
Benefits of Reflective Teaching

12. "In problem-posing education, people develop their power to
perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which
and in which they find themselves; they come to see the
world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in
transformation" (Freire, 1970, p.80).
This study attempts to investigate the relationship between
CT and reflective teaching. It also seeks to find out whether
any meaningful relationship can be found between different
components of the two variables in question.
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Purpose of the Study

13.  Is there a significant relationship between Iranian teachers’
CT ability and their teaching reflectivity?
 Is there any significant relationship between the different
components of the two variables in question?
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Research Questions

14. The Study (Methodology)
Initially, 58 male English teachers of Safir Language
Academy were asked to cooperate in the data collection
procedure. Due to the length and difficulty of the CT test,
participants were chosen based on the convenience method
of sampling. The participants’ teaching experience ranged
from one to 13 years and their ages from 23 to 39.
The two instruments utilized in this study were the California
Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) Form A developed by
Facione et al. (1990) and the Reflective Teaching Instrument
developed by Akbari et al. (2010).
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15. The Findings
In order to examine the probable relationship between
Iranian EFL teachers’ CT ability and their teaching
reflectivity, the Pearson correlation coefficient was
conducted.
As can be seen in this table, the significance and the
correlation values are (P < 0.05, R = 0.65), thus, there is a
strong positive relationship between these two variables.
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Table 1 - The Pearson correlation coefficient: the relationship between CT and reflective teaching
Sig.
Pearson Correlation
N
.000
.65
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16. The Findings
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Table 2 - The Pearson Correlation Coefficient: the relationship between components of CT
and reflective teaching
Variable Practical Cognitive Affective Metacognitive Critical
Teaching
Reflectivity
Analysis .43** .33** .25* .44** .69** .38**
Evaluation .53** .54** .24* .37** .42** .20*
Inference .33** .25* .26* .22* .51** .46**
Induction .49** .29* .30* .44** .59** .39**
Deduction .32** .35** .21* .28* .57** .46**
Critical Thinking .30* .50** .57** .51** .68** .65**
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.

17.  The analysis component of CT has the strongest relationship with the critical
component of reflective teaching (R = 0.69**) and the weakest relationship with the
affective component (R = 0.25*).
 The evaluation component of CT has the strongest relationship with the cognitive
component of reflective teaching (R = 0.54**) and the weakest relationship with the
affective component (R = 0.24*).
 The inference component of CT has the strongest relationship with the critical
component of reflective teaching (R = 0.51**) and the weakest relationship with the
metacognitive component (R = 0.22*).
 The induction component of CT has the strongest relationship with the critical
component of reflective teaching (R = 0.59**) and the weakest relationship with the
cognitive component (R = 0.29*).
 The deduction component of CT has the strongest relationship with the critical
component of reflective teaching (R = 0.57**) and the weakest relationship with the
affective component (R = 0.21*).
 CT has the highest correlation with the critical component of reflective teaching (R =
0.68**) and the lowest correlation with the practical component (R = 0.30*).
 Reflective teaching has the highest correlation with the inference component of CT
(R = 0.46**) and the lowest correlation with the evaluation component (R = 0.20*).
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The Findings

18. Discussion
The present study focused on the probable relationship
between two critical variables in the field of teaching in
general, and language teaching in particular, i.e. CT and
reflective teaching.
Regarding the first research question, the findings of this
study showed that there is positive relationship between
Iranian EFL teachers’ CT abilities and their teaching
reflectivity.
The results of the study on the second research question
revealed that the components of these two variables are also
positively correlated.
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19. Implications And Suggestions For Future Research
 Implications for Researchers
 Implications for Teacher Trainers
 Implications for Teachers
 Suggestions for Further Research
 Experience
 Gender
 Causality
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20. Conclusion
In spite of the relatively similar historical background,
almost no studies, at least to the knowledge of the
researcher, have been done on the relationship between CT
and reflective teaching. Whether they really go hand in hand
in educational processes and settings is the question that the
present study attempted to investigate.
The findings of the study, which focused on the relationship
between CT and reflective teaching, revealed that both the
variables and their components are correlated with each
other.
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21. Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Safir English
Language Academy, my wife, and all my colleagues for
their invaluable support and assistance in the completion of
the study.
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22. Thank you!
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