Effects from the Socratic Dialogue About Critical Thinking In College Students

Abstract

In this study –based on Richard Paul’s perspective- the general objective was to prove the effectiveness of the Socratic dialogue in relation to critical thinking in university students. To do this, a quasi-experimental design was selected, and techniques such as observation and discussion were used. Protocols, diaries, video recorder, TV, VHS, and a training handbook for Socratic dialogue were used as instruments. Results show that a total of 706 questions were asked. From them, the critical thinking subcategories “clarity” (68%) and “precision” (19%) are highlighted as a trend. The rest of the subcategories are: “accuracy” (0%), “relevance” (1%), “depth” (9%), “breadth” (0%) and “logic” (3%).

It can be stated that the proposed objective was achieved because the findings show –based on the statistical process carried out through “Z”, “U” and “W” tests – that the students of the experimental group surpassed in a significant way to those of the control group in the subcategories “clarity” and “precision”, taking into account intra and inter group analyses: a) Total and specific frequencies of the Socratic questions asked by teachers, considered as “pre” and “post” conditions of the groups, and b) “Low”, “medium” and “high” scores in students’ critical thinking answers to teachers’ questions in such groups and conditions.