Improving Critical Thinking Skills in Teaching through Problem-Based Learning for Students: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Critical thinking is an important skill for graduates in 21st century teaching and learning. One of the modern educational pedagogies which can be utilized by educators to inculcate students’ critical thinking skills and improve student learning effectively is the problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest databases have been used to source published scientific literature on this topic and develop themes of critical thinking abilities in teaching through PBL for students. This study revealed four major themes and nine sub-themes with regards to critical thinking skills in teaching in relation to PBL. The major themes consisted of the learning environment, content, process, and human capital. The review revealed that most of the studies were conducted to understand critical thinking skills in problem-based learning. This study found that PBL was a major approach used in teaching students, as well as a wide range of other techniques that may develop diverse abilities, such as thinking critically and creatively, solving problems, collaborating, communicating effectively, and global literacy. This paper also highlights the challenges in developing critical thinking among students and identifies topics for further research.