DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING THROUGH CONTEXTUAL TEACHING–LEARNING PROCESS

It is necessary that the process of learning needs to generate meaning by linking academic content with the context of learner’s daily life. Contextual Teaching-Learning may help to break down the barriers between the different learning environments and thus create a context more conducive to learning. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are considered to be the basic skills for younger generation. So the study has been carried out to find out the Influence of Contextual Teaching-Learning Process on Critical Thinking and Problem Solving among the students of class VIII by employing the qualitative data collection and analysis method. The qualitative data was collected in the form of classroom observations, students’ anecdotes, students’ self reports (student maintained reflective diaries), portfolios, and focus group discussion. Here, the investigator has used triangulation for comparing the data collected through classroom observations, portfolios, anecdotes, focus group discussion, reflective diaries, and critical thinking and problem solving test. Triangulation in this study is used to enhance the reliability of the data collected critical thinking and problem solving from a variety of resources. The findings of qualitative data on Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are thoughtfully integrated leading to a deeper understanding of the results. Results revealed that the use of Contextual teaching-learning process was effective in improving Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.