چکیده (انگلیسی):

The authors reviewed 42 empirical studies of teaching of critical thinking skills in postsecondary
education published between 1994 and 2009. The instructional intervention, test measure, and
research design of the studies were analyzed. Study results suggest that: (1) the same instructional
interventions can lead to different results, depending on the intervention’s implementation; (2)
qualitative data can inform researchers about intervention effects that are not easily captured by
quantitative instruments; and (3) most studies reviewed are subject to limitations in research
design, sample size, or sample representativeness. The following recommendations are made: (1)
statistical significance should not be the only criterion for instructors to consider when choosing
new teaching methods; (2) multiple test measures, including quantitative and qualitative, should
be used to assess changes in students’ critical thinking skills; (3) future research should properly
address internal validity threats, e.g. by adopting at least a quasi-experimental design, in order to
establish causal relationship between intervention and changes in students’ critical thinking skills.