Instructional Exposure of Senior High School Students to Approaches that Promote Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Abstract

This descriptive study assessed students’ exposure to activities that promote the acquisition of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The study involved 150 randomly selected senior high school students. Results reveal that students have a “great extent” of exposure to instruction that promotes the acquisition of the desired mathematics skills, particularly on the content, strategies, assessment, and instructional materials. Students are exposed to a “great extent” to activities that allow them to predict, gather and organize information, derive conclusions, make judgment or decisions, discuss and justify solutions; however, have a “low extent” of exposure to problem posing. Students were exposed to a “very great extent” to the step by step process in dealing with problems. The students have a “great extent” of exposure to problem-solving strategies that promote verbal-logical, visual-spatial, and organizing skills, however, to a low extent in restructuring and rethinking skills. Students’ exposure to the use of manipulatives or mathematical models, calculators, creative pictures and diagrams, worksheets, online materials, creative PowerPoint presentations, varied textbooks, and scholarly materials in mathematics problem solving was to a “great extent” but “low” on the use of mathematics software and videos. Along assessment, students have a “great extent” of exposure to assessment on knowledge, comprehension, application, synthesis, and evaluation skills but to a “low extent” on assessment that requires metacognitive and reflective thinking.