Mathematical achievement and critical thinking skills in asynchronous discussion forums

Abstract

The connection between critical thinking (CT) skills and mathematics scores of students of an engineering mathematics unit is explored in this paper through two batches of students. The DF postings resulting from participation in two online Discussion Forum (DF) problem solving sessions were analyzed for CT skills through CAIS model and a weighted CT score was given to each student. Mathematical achievement was measured through final examination scores, and initial mathematics ability was measured through an initial test. A significant linear relationship was observed between CT and mathematical achievement. The initial mathematics ability and CT scores showed a significant linear relationship only for one batch of participants. The study concluded that CT skills, when properly encouraged, could result in improvement in mathematical achievement.