CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
3.5 Social interaction and development of learners’ critical thinking skills
The social constructivist theory is based on the belief that young learners construct knowledge through an active mind-engaging process where critical thinking skills may be developed by mentally acting upon information during the teaching and learning situation. Hurst, Wallace and Nixon (2013) submit that, while social interaction becomes part of the classroom system, teaching becomes active with interaction going amongst young learners and between teachers and learners.
In their Missourian research study, Hurst, Wallace and Nixon (2013) sought to find out how social interaction contributed to learning. In an analysis of 180 responses regarding how social interaction
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affected learning, four themes accounted for 57% of the responses. Of the findings, 23% indicated that social interaction helps learners learn from others, 16% indicated that social interaction makes learning fun, 10% got learners interested and engaged, and 8% allowed learners to talk in the classroom.
An analysis of the data generated from the aforementioned research study indicated that young learners learn from others through active engagement of prior knowledge. Learning may happen by engaging comprehension through asking questions to make conclusions and consolidate ideas.
The research study also revealed that social interaction created a positive working environment and provided a means for young learners to view the world from multi-perspectives to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving. Based on Hurst et al. (2013) research study, social interaction may be important in the teaching of mathematics for the development of critical thinking skills in young learners. In other words, interacting with peers during the teaching of mathematics contributes greatly to learning by young people. Social interaction in group activities in which young learners assist each other increases the responsibility of the individual in his thinking process thereby increasing critical thinking skills of each learner (Geng, 2014). Along similar lines, Ryu, Parsons and Lee (2014), in their research study conducted in Poland, revealed that collaborative learning in which young learners assist one another challenges every learner to help develop critical thinking skills.
This notion of social interaction is strongly supported by Dewey (1963) who argues that conversation helps individuals make sense of their world. Hurst et al. (2013) contend that learners learnt from each other, thus enhancing comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge and making connections which lead to the consolidation of new ideas. Social constructivists include critical thinking skills as one of the lists of the essential skills needed in life and believe that young learners need critical thinking skills for their future use (Galinsky, 2013). The social constructivists acknowledge that learning involves building on the background knowledge the young learner brings to the classroom. In other words, learning occurs within social contexts that young learners bring to their environment. It is most likely therefore that young learners become mathematically literate if the teaching of mathematics is related to the contexts in which they live.
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According to Dewey (1963), the concept of teachers doing all the talking during the teaching of mathematics is in direct contrast to the philosophy that learning is primarily a social activity.
Deducing from the given views, one way for young learners to shoulder the responsibility for learning during the teaching of mathematics is for them to become critical thinkers could be through active engaging in social interaction with others. The social constructivist theory is based on the belief that individuals construct knowledge and understanding and that constructing understandings of one’s world is an active, mind engaging process (Hurst et al., 2013, p.377).
In a research study conducted in Nairobi, Kibiu (2012) noted that the acquisition of critical thinking skills by young learners is important if they are going to face challenges posed in society. The aforementioned research study established that it is not necessarily the case that use of social interaction by teachers of young learners leads to improvement of critical thinking skills. On the contrary, in another research study in Iran, Hajhossein, Zandi, Shabana and Madana (2016) revealed that the components of critical thinking dispositions and social interaction were mostly displayed during discussions. Brookfield (2012) is one of the proponents who claim that critical thinking and social interaction can be facilitated through discussions. Hajhossein et al. (2016) and Brookfield (2012) concur that young learners may also be given the opportunity to discuss freely in their groups during the teaching of mathematics for them to acquire critical thinking skills. The given views illustrate an assumption that young learners’ autonomy may lead to development of critical thinking skills. Findings of the research study by Hajhossein et al. (2016) showed that discussion-based teaching promotes deep understanding by making young learners question their mathematical knowledge. Ultimately involvement of young learners in class discussions or group discussions seem to have benefits as compared to the traditional way of teaching where the teacher would convey knowledge to passive recipients who do not even discuss or question. Teachers, therefore, should not control everything during the teaching of mathematics but should make learners responsible for their learning by granting the young learners the responsibility to construct knowledge. Social constructivists believe that young learners from different backgrounds often bring different cultural knowledge and social perspectives into classrooms. This subsequent interaction is more likely to enhance critical thinking through learning of new mathematical understanding or mathematical literacy.
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