Problem-Based Learning Strategies and Critical Thinking Skills Among Pre-Service Teachers

Mathematical underachievement among students was not only a source of concern in the Philippines, but has now spread throughout the world. Low critical thinking skill among Filipino students is one of the causes contributing to the country’s poor performance in mathematics. Students’ lack of critical thinking abilities may be due to teachers’ knowledge and expertise. To explore the critical thinking skills of pre-service teachers through the use of problem-based learning strategies is the main objective of the study. Quasi-experimental with a counterbalanced design was employed, presenting two problem-based learning strategies namely authentic strategy and non-linear strategy to two groups of teacher candidates. The results showed that students’ critical thinking skills in evaluating arguments and drawing conclusions are lacking. There is also a substantial difference in critical thinking skills between students in groups 1 and 2, except for the capacity to recognize assumptions. The pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills do not differ significantly by sequence. The study results indicated that the pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills were still low, particularly in terms of evaluating arguments and drawing conclusions due to inadequate background knowledge and lack of in-depth understanding of the mathematics concepts. The results imply that schools focus more on building strategies to improve and develop students’ critical thinking skills in mathematics education. Moreover, the study suggests that further research develop successful techniques for planning effective initiatives to increase critical thinking teaching and learning in higher education and training programs that could help improve the students’ critical thinking skills.