How can I encourage my pupils to think critically through collaborative online-learning?

Abstract

In this paper I show how I study my teaching, as a student on a Masters degree (M.Sc.) programme in Education and Training Management (e-learning strand) at Dublin City University. As I explain my teaching as a History teacher, I show how I locate myself within Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and within education in Ireland. The source-literature examines critical thinking, social software and collaborative online-learning environments. These help me to understand the processes in my research question. I seek to explore my embodied educational values, and use them as a standard of judgement for my research. I work in a collaborative-dialogic way with all the research participants, establishing an online-classroom in order to help them to think critically. I come to several conclusions about collaborative online-learning, critical thinking and my own educational values. I believe I create a space for students to think critically through my enthusiasm and the students’ ease in an online-environment. I show that positive educational change is possible when using a collaborative dialogic approach to teaching and learning.