The Role of Blended Learning in Cultivating EFL Students Critical Thinking Skills

Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in blended learning and teaching. The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of blended learning on cultivating critical thinking skills of a sample of students at a university in Iran. Fifty-three EFL students were recruited for this study. They were divided randomly into two groups: one was an experimental group with 26 students and the other was a control group with 27. In fact, the study adopted empirical approach which aims at exploring the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. After making sure that both groups were equivalent in terms of setting the variables (e.g. age) which would affect the results of the study, both groups experienced the independent variable of Blended E-learning via Blackboard, whereas the control group which studied via the traditional learning was deprived of that variable. After a period of 8 weeks of instruction was over, both groups were given a posttest to measure the effect which the application of the independent variable had on the experimental group. E-courses, Watson - Glaser Critical Thinking Test (short form) were used as the main tools of the study. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in critical thinking skills. In light of the study results, pedagogical applications of the study were discussed and it was recommended that blended teaching programs should be given due attention in Iranian education system and universities should consider incorporating blended instruction programs in their curriculum.