The effect of blended learning on developing critical thinking skills

Transcription

1 Education Journa 2013; 2(4): Pubished onine August 10, 2013 ( doi: /j.edu The effect of bended earning on deveoping critica thinking skis Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi Department of Psychoogy, Education Coege, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Emai address: To cite this artice: Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi. The Effect of Bended Learning on Deveoping Critica Thinking Skis. Education Journa. Vo. 2, No. 4, 2013, pp doi: /j.edu Abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of bended earning on deveoping critica thinking skis of a sampe of students at Teachers' Coege in King Saud University. The study sampe incuded 58 students who were divided randomy into two groups; one was an experimenta group with 27 students and the other was a contro group with 31 students. The foowing toos were used: E-courses, Watson - Gaser Critica Thinking Test (short form.)the researcher taught the experimenta group using bended earning via Backboard, whie the contro group was taught using traditiona education. The resuts showed that: There were no statisticay significant differences between the experimenta group and the contro group in critica thinking skis. Keywords: Bended Learning, Critica Thinking, E-Courses, Watson - Gaser Critica Thinking Test 1. Introduction and Literature Review E-earning has emerged as a mode of earning due to the scientific and technoogica changes which the word is currenty experiencing. As a resut, the traditiona methods are reativey unabe to cope with these changes. Despite the advantages of E-earning, it has some shortcomings represented in the ack of face-to-face interaction which necessitates the avaiabiity of a new mode combining some characteristics of both traditiona earning and E- earning which can overcome the disadvantages of both kinds of earning. Thus, a more advanced mode, Bended Learning (BL) has emerged. It combines the virtua earning environments with traditiona earning environments as it is based on face-to-face earning as a form of synchronous earning as we as introducing information technoogy and teecommunications as an asynchronous mode (Graham, 2006). Besides, it mixes a earning environment based on the Internet and a face-toface traditiona environment in a compementary mode which utiizes a possibe means for both of them in the educationa process (Littejoin & Peger, 2006). Bended E- earning heps find convenient environments for students to achieve their aims more easiy than in traditiona earning environments through appying the most appropriate technoogies in different contexts of cassrooms and under different circumstances and hence cutting down the costs of earning (Korkmaz & Karakusm, 2009). The phiosophy of Bended E-earning is based on the integration of the behaviorist theory which aims at conveying the previousy specified information from the teacher to the student whie the interest is in the succession of transmitting knowedge and sub-skis and the constructivist theory whose supporters think that the acquisition of knowedge can be achieved when the teacher himsef / hersef processes that knowedge in his / her constructivist informationa framework (Xixiang, et a, 2010). Thus, Bended E-earning is one of the modern educationa approaches that reies on the use of information technoogy in designing new educationa contexts which increase active earning strategies and earner-centered strategies. In genera, bended earning has some features of face-to-face earning and e-earning which makes it a new approach to creating educationa programs capabe of taking into account the individua differences between earners and bringing about distinguished earning as we. Bended E-earning improves the effectiveness of earning through providing a better match between the requirements of earners and the educationa program offered (Akhan, 2005). In this respect, one report from the University of Tennessee indicated that Bended E-earning programs achieved better resuts of the eves of earning outcomes by 10 % compared to the traditiona form of earning inside cassrooms and in a time ess than haf the time assigned to the program and for a ess cost (Ibrahim,

2 Education Journa 2013; 2(4): ). More importanty, Bended E-earning guarantees the ease of communication with students as we as providing them with the materia accompanied with drawings, pictures and sound effects which pave the way for a constanty interactive environment that promotes students' motivation and desire to keep earning. A study conducted by Siew-Eng et a reveaed that Maaysian students fee satisfied when they use Bended E-earning in reation to earning and technica content, fexibiity, socia earning, motivation, participation, reaction and sefearning (Siew-Eng, et a, 2010 ). Bended E-earning contributes to mixing cassroom earning with virtua earning in order to achieve a kind of baance in the cost of preparing earning programs which heps reduce the cost of these programs (Twigg, 2003; Ibrahim, 2007 ). So, some researchers recommend that there be some baance in designing the educationa materias by 50% representing face-to-face activities in cassroom contexts and 50% incuding virtua activities on the Internet (Korkmaz & Karakusm, 2009) when designing the Bended E-earning environment. The onine e-eering and traditiona cassroom earning must be utiized and their accompanying disadvantages woud be overcome so that the best earning outcomes which hep earners to manage their time efficienty can be achieved (Riffe & Sibey, 2003 ). Besides, Bended E- earning boosts earners' motivation to earn (Cameron, 2003) and it ensures offering immediate feedback to earners. Bended E-earning is so fexibe that it aows students to receive the same message from various sources in different forms in the ong run. For exampe, a traditiona esson can be given and the same materia can be presented in a different way onine. A practica mode of the same information can be presented as a symposium at a video conference. On the other hand, the promotion of critica thinking skis is an educationa objective because through these skis earners move from earning to thinking about what they earn and not what others have thought about. Thus, critica thinking heps make earners infer from what they read and understand and express that in their discussion with other peope or in what they write. In this respect, critica thinking is one of the basic piars of success in persona and academic ife (Burkhart, 2006 ). However, some researchers think that critica thinking is one of the contemporary educationa aims because the earners' abiity to have these skis and use them in their daiy ife is one of the most important characteristics of the third miennium. Therefore, the individua who is capabe of thinking criticay is mentay independent and responsibe for his / her decisions as he / she receives foods of information from various mass media on a daiy basis (Mackinght, 2000 ). Critica thinking skis have a wide-ranging interest as they are menta skis that can be successfuy deveoped if there is an educationa environment which incudes training situations and interesting exercises to encourage trainees to think criticay (Hapern, 1998 ). Some studies such as Bronson's (Bronson, 2008 ) and Korkmaz & Karakuzm's (Korkmaz & Karakuzm, 2009 ) indicate the possibiity of deveoping critica thinking through some e-earning appications. Besides, Burges' study suggests that Bended E-earning motivates students to be sef-dependent thinkers (Burges, 2009 ). The mechanisms of impementing bended e-earning in the present study are based on using the Learning Management System (LMS) as it is the backbone of e- earning which provides a common and integrated environment to manage a aspects of e-earning. There are many kinds of LMS such as Moode, Backboard and Jusur which are different in their features and capabiities, athough they have some main components in common (Vice-deanship of Deveopment and Quaity, 2010) which are as foows: Course Management System. E-content Management System. Virtua Cassrooms. Testing System. Synchronous and Asynchronous Systems. Students Management System. When we try to understand the reationship between the uses of the LMS in bended earning we find it represented in a number of factors such as constant contact with students through interactive sessions, individua or coective e-mai, forums, postings, promotion of interaction and communication between students, pubishing a to-do ist for students to compete throughout the term, pubishing eectronic handouts, presenting enriching information and inks reated to the content of the ectures, giving an eectronic ecture when attendance is difficut, pubishing sampes of previous exams and providing students with an eectronic environment of cooperative earning (Vice-deanship of Deveopment and Quaity, 2010). Bronson (Bronson, 2008 ) carried out a study to revea the roe of the environment of virtua cassrooms on the Internet in deveoping critica thinking. The sampe consisted of 43 students at the Coege of Medica Sciences and Nursing. The study used Caifornia's Test of Critica Thinking Skis. The pre-measurement of the critica thinking skis of the students was conducted before the experiment in both environments. However, the postmeasurement was conducted in a cassroom environment. The most important findings of that study were the improvement of students' critica thinking skis in the environment of virtua cassrooms, the deveopment of students' critica thinking skis in the environment of traditiona cassrooms and the absence of statisticay significant differences between both environments in terms of the critica thinking skis. In addition, Akyuz and Samsa (Akyuz & Samsa, 2009 ) carried out a study on the effect of the environment of Bended E-earning and the environment of traditiona

3 178 Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi: The Effect of Bended Learning on Deveoping Critica Thinking Skis earning on deveoping critica thinking skis with a sampe of 44 students in the Computer Course at Ankara University in Turkey. During that study, scientific discussions were conducted in cassrooms and in chat rooms and forums on the Internet. A pre-measurement of the critica thinking skis was given before the experiment using Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking Skis. Five weeks ater, a post-measurement was given. The findings showed no statisticay significant differences between the pre-measurement and the post-measurement of the critica thinking skis. The researchers contributed that to the short period of training which did not exceed five weeks. In another study carried out by Burges (Burges, 2009 ), the author examined the effect of a course based on WebCT on deveoping critica thinking, reading motivation and the teacher's roe as a guide. The toos of WebCT were used such as discussion forums for four months as an educationa design to deveop critica thinking skis and reading motivation. The study came to the concusion that there was some improvement on reading motivation and critica thinking skis through integrating this technoogy into the curricua. Moreover, the study showed that the way of integrating e-earning encouraged students to become sef-dependent thinkers. Korkmaz and Karakusm (Korkmaz and Karakusm,2009 ) carried out a study that aimed at identifying the mode of effect of Bended E-earning on students' attitudes towards geography and critica thinking skis. The sampe of the study consisted of two groups; one experimenta with 28 students and the other contro with 29 high schoo students in Turkey. The experimenta group studied one page of the geography course through Bended E-earning, whie the contro group studied in the traditiona way. The researcher used the geography-oriented test and Caifornia's Test to measure critica thinking preparations and skis. The study came to the concusion that there was some positive attitude on the part of the experimenta group students towards the geography course as we as more improvement on the critica thinking preparations and skis for the experimenta group than for the contro group. 2. Question and Justification of the Research The question of the research ies in exporing the effect of Bended E-earning on deveoping critica thinking skis for a sampe of students at Teachers' Coege in King Saud University. The researcher's interest in these variabes is ascribed to a number of justifications: - Bended E-earning combines aspects of e-earning and aspects of traditiona cassroom earning. Some of the toos of e-earning can be used as part of rea cassroom earning through offering experiences that mix face-to-face earning with onine earning. We have to think of remodeing the educationa design on the framework of information technoogy (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008 ). - There is a reative ack of e-earning investment in deveoping students' critica thinking skis to buid their positive menta abiity to successfuy dea with the increasingy rapid current changes because the crucia fied of our age depends on spreading the cuture of creative, critica thinking as peope need to get the necessary information and use it effectivey aong with information technoogy. - There is a need to address students' motivation to earn in an e-earning environment as the teacher tries to increase students' motivation to earn in a traditiona earning environment whie in the e- earning environment when there is no teacher, the student finds hep to boost his / her motivation and keep it high. A number of studies indicate that one of the most significant probems facing e-earning is the decrease in motivation to earn, and we find that earners in the e-earning environment are in dire need of strong motivation which enabes them to earn just ike their peers in a cassroom environment without having to withdraw from an e- earning situation (Miqdad, 2010; Leer & Suzuki, 2004 ). - The studies investigating the effect of Bended E- earning on deveoping critica thinking skis, the intrinsic motivation and academic achievement in the Saud cuture are scarce. The present study might be one of the eariest studies on the Arab eve to combine these variabes. The question of the research can be put as foows: What is the Effect of Bended E-earning in deveoping Critica Thinking Skis for a Sampe of Students at Teachers' Coege in King Saud University The foowing hypotheses stem from the main question of the study: There are statisticay significant differences in the mean scores of the experimenta group and the contro group in reation to the critica thinking skis in favor of the experimenta group. There are statisticay significant differences in the mean scores of the pre-measurement and postmeasurement in reation to the critica thinking skis in favor of the post-measurement. 3. Research Terminoogy 3.1. Bended E-Learning It is a mode of earning that combines face-to-face earning with e-earning, and it is the most favorabe mode for many peope presenty especiay after the emergence of the probem of merey reying on e-earning Critica Thinking and its Skis Critica thinking is a compex kind of thinking that incudes skis, attitudes and knowedge which a invove

4 Education Journa 2013; 2(4): the individua's abiity to identify probems and accept generaizations in case there is ogica evidence to support them. It aso invoves the approaches to ogica investigation, deduction, abstraction and generaization with an aim to identifying the vaue of this evidence and its vaidity, not to mention the appication of these approaches and knowedge (Watson & Gaser, 2008 ). The researcher defines critica thinking proceduray as the overa grade the student gets in Watson and Gaser' Test of Critica Thinking: Short Form which refers to the mean grade in a the dimensions: inference, distinction of assumptions, induction, interpretation, and argument assessment. We can further expain these as foows: 1. Inference: It is represented in the abiity to distinguish between the degrees of the possibiity of a concusion being true or fase according to the degree of its reatedness to specific facts offered to it. The procedura definition of this dimension is that it is the specific grade on Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking which is used to measure after the inference is made. 2. Distinction of Assumptions: This is represented in the abiity to examine the facts and data incuded in some topic so that the individua decides that a certain assumption is acceptabe or unacceptabe according to whether or not it examines the given facts. The procedura definition is that it is the specific grade on Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking which is used to measure the ski of distinguishing the assumptions. 3. Impication: It is represented in the individua's abiity to know the reations between certain given facts so that he / she can decide whether a concusion is fuy drawn from these facts or not in the ight of this knowedge regardess of the vaidity of the given facts or the individua's attitude to them. The procedura definition is that it is the specific grade on Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking used to measure the impication ski. 4. Interpretation: It is represented in the individua's abiity to draw a certain concusion from facts assumed with reasonabe certainty. The procedura definition is that it is the specific grade on Watson- Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking used to measure the interpretation ski. 5. Argument Assessment: it is represented in the individua's abiity to reaize the important aspects reated to a certain matter and the abiity to distinguish the strengths and weaknesses of that matter. The researcher defines it proceduray as the specific grade on Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking used to measure the ski of argument assessment. 4. Research Procedures 4.1. Design The present study adopts the empirica approach which aims at exporing the effect of the independent variabe on the dependent variabe. The experimenta design of this study is based on two groups; one experimenta and the other contro, and uses the pre-measurement and postmeasurement with both groups. The subjects of the sampe were randomy seected and distributed to two groups. Then both groups were given a pre-measurement and a postmeasurement. After making sure that both groups were equivaent in terms of setting the variabes (e.g. age) which woud affect the resuts of the study, both groups experienced the independent variabe of Bended E- earning, whereas the contro group which studied via the traditiona earning was deprived of that variabe. After the experiment period was over, both groups were given a premeasurement test to measure the effect which the appication of the independent variabe had on the experimenta group Research Variabes The research and its experimenta design depended on the foowing variabes: 1. Independent Variabe: It represents Bended E- earning in this research that uses Backboard as an LMS which is adopted by King Saud University. 2. Dependent Variabes: Critica Thinking Skis. 3. Intrinsic Variabes: They represent the ength / period of time Study Sampe The sampe comprises students from Teachers' Coege in King Saud University, and they are 58 reguar students studying at Teachers' Coege in the second semester of the academic year 2011 / The sampe was specificay chosen for the purposes of the experiment, and the students were put into two groups; experimenta group with 27 students and contro group with 31 students after the researcher made sure that foowing variabes had been equivaent: age and pre-measurement of the critica thinking skis and intrinsic motivation. The participants were years od with a mean of years and a deviation standard of The researcher ensured that both groups are equivaent by means of the foowing: 4.4. Setting the Intrinsic Variabes The researcher made sure to set the variabes that might interfere with the independent variabe (Bended E-earning ) in its effect on the dependent variabe (Critica Thinking, Learners' Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Achievement ). The foowing are the most important intrinsic variabes which the researcher finds to affect the dependent variabe: 1. Age: in order to excude the effect of the age

5 180 Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi: The Effect of Bended Learning on Deveoping Critica Thinking Skis variabe in the present study, the researcher chose to make the experimenta group and the contro group equivaent in terms of age. Therefore, he precisey cacuated the significance of the differences in both groups by using the T- test. Tabe 1 shows the vaue of T and the statistica significance of the differences between both groups in terms of the age variabe. Tabe 1: the differences between the experimenta group and the contro group in the age variabe Variabe Age Group N =27 Mean DS T Vaue 1.31 Leve of Significance The tabe shows that the vaue of T was (1.31), and the indicator of statistica significance was (0.194 ) which is statisticay insignificant and refers to the fact that both the experimenta group and the contro group, were equivaent in terms of the age variabe. 2. Pre-measurement of Critica Thinking: the researcher cacuated the significance of the differences between both groups in terms of earners' intrinsic motivation using the T-test for the independent variabes as shown in Tabe 2. Tabe 2: The differences between the experimenta group and the contro group in the pre-measurement of critica thinking Variabe Inference Distinction of Assumptions Impication Interpretation Argument Assessment Overa Grade of Critica Thinking Group Mean DS T Vaue Research Toos Here the researcher expains the research toos which incude: - The course according to the eectronic LMS (prepared by the researcher ) - Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking short form (prepared by Aotaibi, in print ) The Guidance Course according to the Eectronic LMS The eectronic LMS using Backboard contains a homepage which is an introduction to the course through which its options can be edited and the content, activities, assignments and evauation can be added. The system homepage incudes the foowing components: - Bar: It incudes upper contro eements which are inks to the current user's settings, inks to the homepage, instructions page and ogging out of the system. - Main Categories: They incude the foowing: - University: it contains the user's toos, information and preferences. It aows the user to add and deete units according to his / her preferences. - Study Course: this aows the user to access the course he / she is studying in the current semester. - Group: it contains a group of unmethodica courses or activity courses at the eve of the department, coege or university. - Content Group: it contains a number of academic contents, prepanned and ready for use. - Services: they provide a number of services which the system offers through the various activities of the university. - Digita Library: it aows the user to access the services of the digita ibrary provided by the university. - Branch Categories: the branch categories which appear to the user differ according to main active categories. - Adding Units: this aows the user to add typica units to the homepage where he / she can choose from various units provided by the system. - Customization of the System Homepage: this aows the user to modify the appearance of the system as we as enabing him / her to rearrange the units on the page. - Dispay Area: the units opted for by the user appear in this area. The course of Students ' Guidance has been prepared and designed as an eectronic course on the Internet in accordance with the eements above-mentioned. The course has been distributed according to its items over 15 weeks as foows: 1. Introduction to Students' Guidance 2. Fieds of Guidance: chidren' guidance, guidance of teenagers and youth, guidance of the edery and guidance of those with specia needs.

6 Education Journa 2013; 2(4): Guidance Theories: theory of psychoanaysis, behaviorist theory, theory of patient-centered therapy, theory of menta and emotiona therapy. 4. Guidance Process: the context of the guidance process, methods of guidance, guidance reationships. 5. Toos of Guidance: interviews, notes, case study, comprehensive record, psychoogica tests. 6. Guidance responsibiity at schoo: teacher guidance responsibiities, students counseor (counseor's academic and practica preparation, quaities, and guidance skis he / she shoud have ). 7. Psychoogica and socia probems facing Saudi youth and ways of overcoming them. In addition, there are a number of eements to which the students in the experimenta group refer which are the forums reated to the Students' Guidance aiming at fostering interaction and communication among students, setting various inks to guidance psychoogy and upoading assignments and tests onto the system. The students have been trained to dea with eectronic LMS so that each student can og in to the eectronic course page through his academic number. The students can og in to the website of the LMS on the foowing ink: Eectronic office hours have aso been specified so that the researcher can communicate with his students in the experimenta group via the onine contact system where he can answer his students' questions, offer soutions to the probems facing them in their study of the course. We can iustrate this further by ooking at the foowing image of the program: Image (1) shows the beginning of ogging in to the eectronic LMS Image (2) shows the different components of the eectronic LMS The technica support unit at the Deanship of E-earning at King Saud University examined the eectronic course in order to measure its vaidity. The remarks made by the technica support team were very enightening Watson-Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking Short Form This test was prepared by Watson and Gaser in 1994 to hep reduce the time required to answer the questions of the

7 182 Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi: The Effect of Bended Learning on Deveoping Critica Thinking Skis test. It was modeed on the origina form of the test "Form A" and is caed "Form S". The test consists of 16 scenarios (probems ) measured in 40 items and requires 30 minutes to answer in addition to 5 10 minutes for the test instructions. The test aims at measuring the abiity of thinking criticay, and incudes 40 items which measure the foowing dimensions: inference, distinction of assumptions, impication, interpretation, and argument assessment. The researcher appied this test previousy to a random sampe of 400 students at Teachers' Coege in King Saud University who represented various scientific and theoretica majors. He aso checked the coefficient vaidity of the test which measured five dimensions, and the vaues of the correation coefficients between the dimensions and the tota grade of the test ranged between which indicates its structura vaidity. Besides, the resuts of the study indicated that the test was reated to a number of critica thinking tests; which refers to the vaidity of the test. The coefficient of the test constancy by means of retesting was 0.78 and was 0.80 by means of Cronbach' Apha. Thus, this test has some psychometric reiabiity characteristics (Aotaibi, 2012 ). 5. Procedures of Experiment Execution 1. The researcher chose two groups; one experimenta with 27 students and one contro with 31 students representing the sampe of the study registered in the course of Students' Guidance at Teachers' Coege in King Saud University for the second semester of the year The researcher then gave the experimenta group and the contro group a pre-measurement as the first stage of carrying out the experiment at the beginning of the second semester of the academic year 1432 AH. 3. The researcher met with the members of the experimenta group to train them to use the eectronic LMS and how to view the content of the course with the hep of one of the technica support team members at the Deanship of E-earning and Distance Learning The researcher taught the students of the experimenta group the proposed course using the strategy of Bended E-earning which is based on mutua invoovement of both the traditaiona cassroom earning and e-earning in one ecture provided that the ecture begins with the traditiona cassroom earning foowed by e-earning, and the evauation shoud be eectronic for one fu semester over 15 ectures. 5. The researcher encouraged the students of the experimenta group to use the ski of asking 1 The researcher woud ike to thank Mr. Khaed Abdurahman A-Saif, member of the technica support team at the Deanship of E-earning and Distance Learning, for his hep and cooperation. questions to deveop their critica thinking in cass and eectronic contact hours during the ecture in order to be abe to pass critica judgements through getting used to some technicaities such as earning how to ask, when to ask, what to ask, how to expain, when and how to expain the ways used? 6. As regards the contro group, the researcher taught it using the traditiona earning strategy of the course by depending on traditiona ecturing in addition to the proposed textbook which is " Psychoogica and Educationa Guidance " by Mahmoud Ata Hasan. 7. The post-measurement was then appied to both the experimenta group and the contro group at the end of the second semester of the academic year 2012 AH. Later on, appropriate statistica anayses were conducted and duy discussed. Review of Resuts: in this part of the study, the researcher reviews the resuts of the statistica anaysis as foows: 6. The Resuts Reated to the First Construct Which States that Tabe 3: Differences in the mean scores of the experimenta group and the contro group in the post-measurement of Watson Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking Variabe Inference Group Mean DS Distinction of Assumptions 0.30 Impication Interpretatio n Argument Assessment Overa Grade of Critica Thinking T Vau e Leve of Significance Insignificant Insignificant Insignificant Insignificant Insignificant Insignifican t

8 Education Journa 2013; 2(4): There are statisticay significant differences in the mean scores of the experimenta group and the contro group in terms of critica thinking skis for the sampe of the study in favor of the experimenta group. To check this construct, the researcher used the T-test for the independent variabes. Tabe 6 iustrates this. It is cear from the resuts of Tabe 3 that there are no statisticay significant differences between the experimenta group and the contro group in critica thinking skis which means that the first construct is not vaid. 7. The Resuts Reated to the Second Construct Which States that There are statisticay significant differences in the mean scores of the pre-measurement and the post-measurement of the critica thinking skis for the sampe of the study in favor of the post-measurement. To check this construct, the researcher used the T-test of the correated variabes. Tabe 4: Differences between the mean scores of the pre-measurement and the post-measurement in the critica thinking skis for the experimenta group. Variabe Measurement Mean DS T Vaue Leve of Significance Inference Post Distinction of Assumptions Post Impication Post Interpretation Post Argument Assessment Post Overa Grade of Critica Thinking Post It is cear from the resuts of Tabe 4 that there are no statisticay significant differences between the premeasurement and the post-measurement in critica thinking skis which means that Bended E-earning is ineffective in promoting critica thinking skis. 8. Interpretation and Discussion of the Resuts By reviewing the resuts of the first construct, we notice that there are no statisticay significant differences between the experimenta group and the contro group in the postmeasurement of the critica thinking skis at the end of the training period immediatey. This ceary refers to the fact that Bended E-earning has no positive effect, and this finding is in keeping with the resuts of a study carried out by Akyuz & Samsa (Akyuz & Samsa, 2009 ) which indicated the absence of any positive effect for Bended E- earning on deveoping the critica thinking skis for the sampe of students at Ankara University in Turkey. Besides, Bronson's study aso referred to the fact that there are no statisticay significant differences between students' performance in the virtua earning environment on the Internet and the traditiona earning environment according to Caifornia' Test of Critica thinking skis (Bronson, 2008 ). This finding means that the performance of the experimenta group on the Watson Gaser's Test of Critica Thinking in the post-measurement was cose to their performance in the pre-measurement. This aso means that the critica thinking skis after the period of time specified for appying bended earning did not improve. The researcher ascribes this resut to many factors, one of which is that the content of the materias does not foster critica thinking skis. In this particuar context, Wiiams (Wiiams, 2003 ) suggested that the nature of the content of the course materia which triggers off critica thinking shoud incude questions and tasks that require thinking, not to mention the students' proficiency in practicing critica thinking. Simiary, some researchers think that deveoping critica thinking skis using bended earning shoud invove some educationa activities that encourage critica thinking through managing synchronous and asynchronous eectronic communication as we as activating the roe of discussion forums (Akyuz & Samsa,

9 184 Khaed Nahs Raqas Aotaibi: The Effect of Bended Learning on Deveoping Critica Thinking Skis 2009 ). In the same context, the resuts of the second construct suggest that there are no statisticay significant differences between the pre-measurement and the postmeasurement in the critica thinking skis in favor of the post-measurement. This means that bended earning has no positive effect on deveoping critica thinking skis, and is out of keeping with Burges' study (Burges, 2009 ) and Korkmaz and Karakusm's study (Kokmaz & Karakusm, 2009 ) and this refers to a deveopment in critica thinking skis due to the use of bended earning. The fact that bended earning has no positive effect on deveoping critica thinking skis can be attributed to the idea that deveoping critica thinking skis via bended earning is not restricted to various educationa toos ony but students shoud aso be perseverant and take the initiative in various discussion situations with other peope without fear of being evauated or cricized. Likewise, some researchers suggest that some university students are not adequatey interested in deveoping critica, innovative and metainformationa thinking skis. This makes them in need of more effective efforts to be made by various socia institutions to upgrade their abiities (Aotoum, et a, 2009 ). 9. Recommendations and Suggested Research There shoud be more attention given to critica thinking skis in an academic environment in order to upgrade students' skis in various speciaties. University staff members shoud be trained to use e- earning methods in teaching rather than traditiona methods which do not promote thinking. Eectronic courses and teaching methods shoud be upgraded to meet the requirements of earning through an LMS in various programs at the university. More research needs to be done into the effectiveness of using bended earning in achieving better earning outcomes in various educationa programs and courses. Staff members' motives for teaching through an LMS shoud be measured as there are some driving eements which affect the extent of their acceptance of teaching via an LMS (Gautreau, 2011 ). The effectiveness of using an LMS in deveoping critica thinking skis for a sampe of university students shoud be duy investigated. The effect of sef-conscious effectiveness on accepting Bended E-earning or refraining from Bended E-earning. 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