CRITICAL THINKING AND SOCIAL INTERACTION IN ACTIVE LEARNING: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE ONLINE DISCUSSION

Abstract

Effective communication and critical thinking skills are a necessary feature of a successful school graduate. Obviously, classroom discussion is an effective model that can be used to improve such skills. To date, studies on the impact of discussion on the development of critical thinking and communication skills in students during online lessons have not been conducted extensively enough.The purpose of our research is to consider online discussion as a way to increase the activity of students during online classes and form their critical thinking in the learning process. The purpose of this study is to identify and demonstrate the advantages of conducting online classes in a discussion format for social interaction and the formation of critical thinking in students of schools in Kazakhstan. The participants were 30 high school students attending optional English classes, selected by the target selection method. Structured surveys and interpretive analysis were used to collect and process the data. The results of the study showed that the students participating in the discussion showed more critical thinking skills, which is undoubtedly an advantage in relation to the outdated teaching format, in which the teacher is the only source of information that does not need to be analyzed or requested. In addition, during the study, students showed elements of social interaction. These positive effects manifest themselves at the personal and social levels, reflecting the dynamic aspects of culture. The application of this teaching method in schools based on discussion groups is the ultimate goal of this study.