Transdisciplinary approach as a resource for the development of critical thinking in higher mathematical education

Introduction. In a modern digital and globalized society, the higher education system is faced with the task of developing critical thinking skills in graduates that allow them to solve complex problems through the integration of knowledge from various disciplines at a new transdisciplinary level of knowledge. Such integration seems possible based on the use of modeling methodology, methods of computational and discrete mathematics, and mathematical cybernetics, which form the foundation of the language of information technology and processes. The purpose of the study is to identify the role of the transdisciplinary approach in the development of students’ critical thinking through mathematics. Materials and methods. 76 students of the Vyatka State University majoring in 06.03.01 Biology took part in the study, covering 2022–2023. The main methods for measuring critical thinking, presented by the UF/EMI Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument and The Critical Thinking Barriers Scale (CTBS), were supplemented with diagnostic tools from specially designed tasks, taking into account specifics of teaching mathematics to future biotechnologists. Statistical analysis of the obtained results was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results. A number of methodological conditions have been formulated to ensure the development of students' critical thinking in the process of teaching mathematics, which corresponds to the priority goals of modern higher education. The expediency of using contextual mathematical problems containing a real data set, the method of mathematical modeling, the inclusion of modern mathematical theories and their applications in the teaching content, a joint form of work in the classroom and work with scientific articles is substantiated. A quantitative analysis of the results confirmed the significance of the differences (Uemp = 65 < Ucr = 66; р < 0,01), which indicates the effectiveness of the intervention based on the proposed methodological conditions. Conclusion. The practical significance of the study is determined by the possibilities of using its results in improving the critical thinking skills of students in the process of teaching mathematics.