1

DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

Context and Rationale

In today’s fast-paced changing world, where almost anything and everything

is accessible by just a single click or tap of a finger in the online world, people reach

for their desires instantly. Having quick and easy access to personal needs diminishes

one’s capabiltiy to explore, thus reducing the opportunity to analyze, scrutinize, and

be skeptical on matters concerning one’s issues.

One of the emerging trends nowadays is the growing concern on critical

thinking as one of the primary goals of the basic education system. In fact, it has been

a constant challenge for educators to develop critical thinking skills among learners

throughout their delivery of instruction in the teaching-learning process.

Critical thinking is the ability of a person to analyze and evaluate an issue or a

circumstance in order to formulate a judgement. It involves careful analysis of facts

through rational and unbiased considerations of factual evidences. Critical thinking

works best by having effective communication and systematic problem-solving skills

as well as commitment to overcoming negative thoughts and isolation. Critical

thniking is therefore inclusive.

The Department of Education, Division of Pampanga, through its

memorandum order number 42, series of 2017, better known as National Adoption

and Implementation of Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers, reiterates the

importance of carrying out the roles and responsibilities of teachers in the delivery of

instruction in the classroom setting. Particularly, it specifies the roles of raters in

evaluating the performance of classroom-based teachers and devoloping their

competence through the technical assistance provided to them. Futhermore, the

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 2
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

aforementioned memorandum order indicates how teachers are evaluated through the

indicator lists reflected on the rating sheet which will be accomplished by the rater

after conducting the classroom observation. Specifically, the third element of the

indicator list which requires teachers to apply a range of teaching strategies to develop

critical thinking and creative thinking among learners.

The researcher, as a Master Teacher and a rater at the same time, wishes to

pursue a study on the extent on how teachers in the Senior High School department

integrate teaching strategies that would develop and enhance the critical thinking

ability of learners in their delivery of instruction. In addition, the researcher would

also like to explore on the level of challenges and difficulties encountered by teachers

in employing critical thinking in their strategies if factors on their demographic profile

will be considered. Lastly, the researcher would like to be inspired and enlightened on

how the Senior High School teachers will be empowered in accepting the challenge to

enhance the critical thinking abilities of the learners.

This study mainly aims to determine the extent as to how the Senior High

School teachers of San Simon High School employ teaching strategies that will

develop the critical thinking skills of the learners with regard to factors such as art of

questioning, method of instructional delivery, and activities utilized for learning

enhancement.

Specifically, this study seeks to achieve the following:

1. To identify the extent on how the Senior High School teachers employ

strategies that will help develop the critical thinking skills of the learners,

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 3
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

2. To determine the challenges and difficulties encountered by the Senior

High School teachers in the deployment of of critical thinking skills for the

learners,

3. To know if there is a significant difference on the extent of deployment of

strategies to develop critical thinking skills among learners when teachers

are grouped according to their profile,

4. To find out if there is a significant difference on the level of challenges

and difficulties among teachers in the deployment of critical thinking skills

when they are grouped according to their profile,

5. To develop a program that will guide the Senior High School teachers to

craft effective teaching strategies to enhance the critical thinking skills of

learners during the teaching-learning process.

Review of Related Literature

In ancient Greece over 2,500 years ago, Socrates began teaching with what is

today known as critical thinking: he has been heralded as the first teacher of critical

thinking (Irfaner, 2006; Rozgay-Miller, 2009). This method of teacher and student

volleying information and questions back and forth in order to share dialogue and

engage in an exchange of ideas has been dubbed the Socratic Method (Chapman,

n.d.). This method brings the students’ eagerness to learn alive by probing their

beliefs and achieving a higher level of understanding rather than spewing memorized

facts (Chapman, n.d.; Le & DeFilippo, 2008; Rozgay-Miller, 2009)

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 4
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

Critical thinking is a necessary skill all students need to develop in order to

fully understand information presented in lessons (Lambert & Cuper, 2008). Students

that fail to develop their critical thinking skills accordingly typically suffer with lower

academic grades (Quitadamo, Faiola, Johnson & Kurtz, 2008). Understanding the

disconnection between the information presented and the students’ ability to deduce

the information is a vital component to change teaching methods and approaches in

the classroom (Dewey & Bento, 2009; Lucariello, 2012).

Fully addressing the gaps in education, meaning rote memorization versus the

facilitation of critical thinking skills, the goal of of teaching needs to be concerned

with encouraging students to become receptive, perceptive, reflective, critical, and

question inconsistencies within the lesson presented (Edmonds, Hull, Janik, &

Rylance, 2005; Irfaner, 2006; Sezer, 2008; Slavin, 2012; Webster 1994).

The lack of critical thinking skills utilized within the classroom greatly

diminishes the students’ chance for success (Irfaner, 2006).

Research Questions

The study seeks to be enlightened with the following general statement of the

problem:

How do Senior High School teachers develop critical thinking skills among

learners in their delivery of classroom instruction?

Specifically, it would like to answer the following questions:

1. To what extent do Senior High School teachers employ strategies that will

develop the critical thinking of learners with regard to:

1.1 Art of questioning?

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 5
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

1.2 Method of instructional delivery?

1.3 Activities utilized for learning enhancement?

2. What challenges and difficulties do Senior High School teachers encounter in

the deployment of critical thinking skills for the learners?

3. Is there a significant difference on the extent of deployment of teaching

strategies to develop critical thinking skills for learners among teachers after

they are grouped acording to their profile in terms of their age, educational

attainment, numbe rof years of experience, and area of specialization?

4. Is there a significant difference on the level of challenges and difficulties

among teachers in the deployment of critical thinkin gskills when they are

grouped according to their profile?

5. What program can be developed to craft effective teaching strategies to deploy

critical thinking skills during the teaching-learning process?

Significance of the Study

The study on the strategies employed by the Senior High School teachers is

timely and relevant as it addresses the emerging trend in the basic education system,

which is develop and enhance the crtical thinking skills of learners through effective

strategies employed during the teaching-learning process.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 6
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

The following are the beneficiaries of this study:

Senior High School Teachers

The Senior High School teachers of San Simon High School will greatly

benefit from this study as they have direct contact with the learners. The teachers are

the one responsible for developing the critical thinking skills of the learners as they

deliver every lesson during the teaching-learning process.

Senior High School Learners

The Senior High School learners will be the recipient of the efforts of the

Senior High School teachers as they will experience more efficient implementation of

instruction through the effective teaching strategies that will be employed by the

Senior High School teachers.

Senior High School Master Teacher and School Head

The Senior High School Master Teacher and the School Head will also

benefit from this study as they serve as raters and evaluators of the Senior High

School teachers during classroom observations. They are both providers of technical

assistance and developers or intiators of classroom interventions to strengthen and

maximize teaching-learning experience.

Community

The municipality of San Simon and other nearby communities will benefit

from this study as it will become a haven for learners who have impeccable critical

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 7
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

thinking skills, and a home of experienced and accompished teachers in developing

and enhancing the critical thinking skills of learners.

Scope and Limitations

This study will only deal with the experiences of the Senior High School

teachers of San Simon High School for the school year 2019-2020 with regard to

strategies they employ in developing the critical thinking skills of the learners.

Furthermore, this study is limited to the following considerations:

1. Sample under this study will include the 14 Senior High School teachers of

San Simon High School,

2. The study shall only be conducted for the school year 2019-2020,

3. Rating sheets that would reflect the result of classroom observation conducted

by the Senior High School Master teacher and School Head with particular

reference to the third indicator, and

4. Demographic factors affecting the Senior High School teachers which will be

limited as to their age, educational attainment, number of years of teaching

experience, and field of specialization.

Hypotheses

1. There is a significant difference on the extent of the deployment of teaching

strategies to develop critical thinking skills among Senior High School

learners among teachers when they are grouped according to their profile.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 8
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

2. There is a significant difference on the level of challenges and difficulties

among Senior High School teachers in the deployment of of critical thinking

skills among learners when they are grouped according to their profile.

Method

This study will employ Quantitative Research. This method will emphasize

objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of

data collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre-

existing statistical data using computational techniques.

The researcher will employ a survey questionnaire to be able to determine the

the extent to which Senior High School teachers develop critical thinking skills

among learners in the teaching-learning process. This study will also be able to

establish if there is a significant difference on the extent of deployment of strategies

among Senior High School teachers in developing the critical thinking skills of

learners when they are grouped according to their profile. In the same way, this study

will also be able to identify if there is a significant difference among Senior High

School teachers in the level of difficulty and challenges encountered in developing

critical thinking among learners if they are grouped according to their demographic

profile.

The researcher will also implement a semi-structured interview to gather

information as to the difficulties and challenges encountered by the Senior High

School teachers in developing the critical thinking skills of the learners during the

teaching-learning process.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 9
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

Respondents

The respondents of this study are the fourteen (14) teachers of the Senior High

School department of San Simon High School for the school year 2019 to 2020.

Among the fourteen Senior High School teachers, two are male respondents and the

remaining twelve respondents are female. The ages of the Senior High School

teachers vary from twenty to fifty years old. The respective number of teaching

experience of the fourteen Senior High School teacher-respondents also vary from

three year to twenty years, both from the private and public sector. The area of

specialization of the Senior High School teacher-respondents include English,

Mathematics, Science, Social Science, TLE-TVL, and MAPEH.

Sampling Method

This study will use Purposive Sampling. It will utilize the total population

which will include the fourteen Senior High School teachers of San Simon High

School for the school year 2019 to 2020. Using this sampling method, the study will

heavily rely on the results of the survey questionnaire and answers on the interview

questions which will be facilitated by the researcher.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 10
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

Sources of Data

The researcher will use primary and secondary data. Primary data will be

collected based on the information which will be supplied by the teacher-respondents

from the administered survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview. Secondary

data will also be utilized based on available recorded information and materials from

the Internet, books, periodicals and publications. Rating sheets of the Senior High

Scool teachers on their classroom observation may be utilized as reference on some

findings. Reports on technical assistance on classroom observation will also be used

and records or minutes of specific Senior High School faculty meetings will also be

regarded for this research.

Proposed Innovation/Intervention/Strategy

A Capacity Building/Workshop will be crafted to be administered to the

Senior High School teachers to help them implement effective teaching strategies that

will develop critical thinking skills of learners during teaching-learning process.

Data Collection Procedure

Ethical considerations will be of utmost importance in the data collection

process. A letter to conduct action research will be initiated by the researcher. Once

approved, consent forms will be accomplished by the teacher-respondents. Teacher-

respondents will also be assured of the confidentiality of their identity as well as

results of the data collection process. Data collection will be done by the researcher

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 11
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

by distributing survey questionnaires, conduct of semi-structured interview, and

analysis of existing reports on classroom observation. A focus group discussion may

also be employed to gather supplemental data.

Instruments

This study will make use of a survey questionnaire to know the extent on how

Senior High School teachers employ strategies that will develop the critical thinking

skills of the learners. A semi-structured interview will also be used to gather

information about the challenges and difficulties encountered by Senior High School

teachers in employing strategies that will develop and enhance critical thinking skills

among learners. Guide questions will initially be prepared by the researcher but such

questions are not limited and may be subject for follow-up questions depending on the

responses of the sample. Analyses of available data such as rating sheets, observation

notes form, and technical assistance report may also be utilized to have a better

understanding of the school’s current condition.

Ethical Considerations

Before conducting the data gathering, a conforme from the school head will be

secured as proof of permission to conduct research. Teacher-respondents will be

asked to fill up personal information sheet to gather personal details. Teacehr-

participants’ personal profile will be kept confidential to protect their identities.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction
 12
DIVISION OF PAMPANGA

Data Analysis

For the quantitative element of the study, the responses of the sample under

study will be interpreted through SPSS. Meanwhile, in gathering answers about the

difficulties and challenges encountered by the Senior High School teachers, the

process of coding will be implemented.From the data analysis, dependent and

independent variables will be determined to form the conceptual framework of the

study.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills for Senior High School Learners: Towards
Crafting Effective Strategies for Classroom Instruction