Exploring Factors Influencing ChatGPT-Supported Critical Thinking Skill Cultivation in English-as-a-Foreign-Language Classrooms
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In the artificial intelligence (AI) era, critical thinking encompasses the capacity to scrutinise data, assess diverse viewpoints, and construct logical arguments, all within the context of AI-driven platforms. This competency is becoming increasingly important as AI technology becomes more pervasive in various spheres of life and work. The wide application of ChatGPT, a state-of-the-art AI chatbot, has given rise to heated discussions on its effect on students’ critical thinking. However, little is known about the factors influencing ChatGPT-supported critical thinking skill cultivation. To fill this research gap, the present study aims to explore the factors influencing a teaching programme designed to leverage ChatGPT for critical thinking skill cultivation among English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners at a university in Macau. Based on thematic analysis of 55 student reflection journals, along with the teaching materials used in the teaching programme, this study identified four factors: the ChatGPT-supported critical thinking activity, the reading topic, the SMART group discussion, and the way of posing questions to ChatGPT. The findings shed light on the refinement of the framework for fostering critical thinking through educational technology. They also yielded significant implications for the instruction of critical thinking skills and for future research directions.
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