A Study On The Cultivation Of Critical Thinking Of High School Students In Geography Based On Problem-based Teaching

The geography curriculum reform advocates cultivating students’ higher-order thinking,especially students’ innovative thinking,and critical thinking is a prerequisite for the formation of innovative thinking.At present,in geography teaching,some geography teachers are not deeply aware of the importance of cultivating students’ critical thinking,and focus on instilling knowledge to students in the classroom,but pay less attention to cultivating students’ critical thinking.Students passively accept knowledge without thinking and discriminating,forming thinking inertia,lacking the critical thinking tendency of not being afraid of authority,daring to question,daring to ask questions and the critical thinking skills of thinking deeply from many aspects and cooperating and communicating and exploring,resulting in the overall low level of students’ critical thinking in geography.Problem-based teaching is a teaching mode that guides students to actively discover problems,ask questions,analyze and solve problems through group cooperation,transfer and apply them,and conduct timely evaluation and reflection,which is highly consistent with the cultivation of critical thinking.Therefore,this paper focuses on how to cultivate critical thinking in geography for high school students based on problem-based teaching.This paper mainly adopts literature research method,action research method,questionnaire survey method,classroom observation method and interview method to conduct the research.First,we collected and analyzed the literature related to problem-based teaching and critical thinking,and determined the background,significance,and research methods and ideas used in the study;second,we defined the core concepts of problem-based teaching and critical thinking,and elaborated the theoretical basis of this paper;third,we used questionnaires to understand the current situation of high school students’ critical thinking level in geography and teachers’ opinions on cultivating critical thinking based on problem-based teaching.Fourth,we summarize the basis of the case design based on the results of the survey and the basic theories of problem-based teaching and critical thinking proposed by previous authors,and design and implement the case on this basis;fifth,we reflect on and improve the problems that arise during the implementation of the case to improve the case design.Combined with classroom observation and interview method to analyze and summarize the implementation effect;sixth,put forward suggestions for cultivating critical thinking of high school students in geography based on problem-based teaching;finally,summarize the main conclusions,innovations,shortcomings and outlook of this paper.Through the investigation of the current situation,the following problems are found:(1)the level of geography critical thinking of high school students is in a paradoxical state,and the overall level is low;(2)teachers have an incomplete understanding of the problem-based teaching model;(3)teachers have insufficient cognition of geography critical thinking cultivation;(4)teachers use problem-based teaching less in the classroom to cultivate students’ geography critical thinking.According to the current situation of the survey and the existing research,we summarize and refine the basis of the teaching case design of this paper:(1)problem-based teaching should adhere to the orientation of curriculum standards,emphasize the carrier nature of the problem,and the authenticity of the situation creation;(2)the main aspects of problem-based teaching to cultivate students’ critical thinking include creating problem situations(the brewing of critical thinking),asking questions(the occurrence of critical thinking),analyzing problems(the development of critical thinking),and developing critical thinking.(the development of critical thinking),search for solutions(the formation of critical thinking),presentation,reflection and summary evaluation(the formation of critical thinking),the use of transfer(the transfer of critical thinking);(3)critical thinking development strategies include group discussion,questioning,roleplaying,etc.On this basis,a case study was designed with the lesson "Atmospheric Thermal Circulation" and implemented in three parallel classes of senior classes(3),(4)and(5)of Kaifeng Senior High School in Henan Province.The results of the case implementation were analyzed by interview method and found that:(1)students’ ability to analyze problems was improved;(2)students’ ability to express themselves was improved;(3)students thought about problems more deeply and comprehensively;(4)students’ participation in class was higher;(5)students basically mastered the methods of critical analysis and problem solving;(6)students’ learning initiative and critical thinking level were both improved.Based on the relevant research,combined with the design and implementation of the case,we propose the following suggestions for cultivating critical thinking of high school students based on problem-based teaching:(1)improve teachers’ awareness of the problem-based teaching model and their own critical thinking ability;(2)set effective problems in class and give students sufficient time to think and communicate;(3)create a relaxed learning atmosphere for students and encourage them to question;(4)to guide students to reflect;(5)to evaluate students in a timely and effective manner.The innovation of this paper is to explore the cultivation of critical thinking of high school students in geography from the perspective of problem-based teaching: combining problem-based teaching with the cultivation of critical thinking in geography,using problem-based teaching as a path to effectively cultivate critical thinking of high school students in geography as the goal,combining the problem-based teaching mode and the basic theory of critical thinking teaching as well as the current situation of cultivation,and determining the basis of teaching case design.Based on the theoretical basis,we design and implement the lesson of "Atmospheric Heat Circulation",and propose teaching suggestions for cultivating critical thinking of high school students in geography based on problem-based teaching on the basis of analyzing the implementation results,summarizing and reflecting.