Predicting students’ critical thinking skills in chemistry based on teaching and learning styles

Document Type : Original research

Authors

1 Department of Educational Administration, Payme Noor University, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Educational Administration, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objective: Teachers’ teaching styles and students’ learning are among the influential variables in providing education appropriate to the development of critical skills of learners. The aim of this study was to predict students’ critical thinking skills in chemistry based on teaching and learning styles.
Materials and Methods: The research method was a descriptive correlational type. The statistical population was 720 second-year high school students in Tabriz, of whom 256 were selected by means of Krejci and Morgan table using cluster sampling. In order to collect the data in this study, Grasha and Riechmann (1996) teaching style questionnaire, Towler and Dipboye(2003) learning styles, and Ganji et al. (2013) critical thinking skills (2013) were used. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and multiple regression were used to analyze the data.
Findings: The results showed that there is a significant relationship between teaching and learning styles and students’ critical thinking skills in chemistry. The predictor variables were able to predict 68.4% of the changes in the critical thinking skills variable. Among the predictor variables, facilitation teaching style has the highest predictive power, followed by the interactive, observational, formal authority, personal, experimental, and group styles, respectively. Also, the predictive power of specialized, exploratory, and structured styles is not significant.
Conclusion: The results emphasize the role of teaching and learning styles in increasing students’ critical skills in chemistry.

Keywords

References

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Research in Chemistry Education
Volume 8, Issue 3 - Serial Number 31
September 2026
Pages 153-169

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