Heutagogy Approach Using Trello Online Learning on the Critical Thinking Skills Amongst Students With Different Learning Styles

Introduction

Learning using online learning is a very interesting way to upgrade students learning style. Traditionally, teachers present their teaching lesson to the students using linear model. If the students didn’t pay any attention to the teaching, they will be blamed for not concentrating in their studies. The lack of interest in teaching and learning among the teachers and students makes them feel easily bored while they are learning. Nowadays students are changing radically in receiving more advance in learning and expecting interesting design of teaching with the rise of technology (Prensky, 2001). Steward.M (2005) has mentioned that teachers should use new approach in giving student to develop their ideas in learning new technology with open mind and connect students to the digital natives. That is why it has been an ambition to the Education Ministry of Malaysia to encourage teachers to enhance our education to a schooling culture that encourages critical thinking, and become creative in using technology as teaching and learning tool.

Under the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2015-2025) Higher Education, the Malaysian Education Minister emphasizes on creating long life learners who can survive and thrive in world knowledge and apply information technology to produce integrated thinking skills to help students to apply cognitive strategies in problem solving. The government’s target to create intellectual human capital by the year 2020 depends on the premise of developing the thinking domain of students today. This is called as heutagogy learning environment. It is not easy to produce students to be good self-determine, independent and thinkers if the education system does not allow teacher or students to develop and create using of relevant skills for educational purposes such as the skills of enquiry, reasoning and information organizing (Mohan, 2016). In heutagogy learning environment, new technologies have created a need for considering new pedagogical approaches.

In Universiti Utara Malaysia, Management Foundation Programme emphasizes the application of critical thinking skill subject (CTSS) to be incorporate into the curriculum to help students’ development a well-balanced individual, sensitive people, ability to communicate and make the student to think critically. It is important to accommodate student to thinking maturely, subject that listed in Management Foundation Program course is “Critical Thinking Skill’ (AD0043). Among first year university students’ Critical thinking skill is pertinently important. Particularly, the critical thinking subject is essential for first year students who undertake the General Studies Malaysian Nationhood (GSMN) subject. The course syllabus indicates that students should think independently and apply language proficient. In addition, GSMN aims to broaden student’s global outlook while enabling them to remain mindful of the countries administration and effective communication. In sum, the ability to master critical thinking is the key for first year student in order to achieve the course objectives of GSMN.

Critical thinking skill subject (CTSS) has been documented as an important subject for foundation students. The capability to become critical thinker and give well-reasoned opinions on some issues using effective communication skills are crucial to obtain good grades in CTSS. The abstract and complex nature of the knowledge and subject-matter dealt with in CTSS and the critical thinking skills needed to understand are said to have major influences on students’ learning.

Student should learn how to analyze information and evaluate issues on humanities, social sciences, politics, economics, religion, government policies and law as well as legal procedures and law. CTSS students need to understand that there are many ways for them to discover and process information and apply these skills when the teacher gives them assignments. Bloom (1956) referred this as a way of classifying educational goals in terms of complexity.

To reach well-reasoned conclusions on specific issues, CTSS help the students to use their ability and desire to think critically. This is a heutogogy framework that deals with productive thinking where the students’ ideas are not confined to the analysis of existing argument but concerned with generating ideas and has consequences for action (Baron, 1985). The student will be able to engage in the intellectual activities, which require critical thinking if the students become skillful in evaluating and analyzing information without depending to the instructor (Mertes, 1991).