A discrepancy in the improvement of critical thinking skills exists between ESL and non‐ESL students after content‐based instruction and peer discussion (531.19)

In students with English as a second language (ESL), language instruction based on relevant discipline specific content can be used to assist students to achieve better learning outcomes. However, a limitation is that it may not develop higher order critical thinking skills. Here we describe a pilot study that uses a peer discussion activity in addition to content‐based instruction, to enhance critical thinking skills in both ESL and non‐ESL Biomedical Science undergraduate students. Students were provided with a protocol for the analysis of a scientific manuscript. Then, they participated in a peer discussion following a Socratic format. Students wrote evaluative pieces to summarize the manuscript’s topics before and after the discussion. Using a Bloom’s taxonomy score to rank the students evaluative pieces, only 20% of ESL students improved their critical thinking score, compared to 42% of non‐ESL students. Despite this, survey data demonstrated that all students agreed that the peer discussion improved their understanding of the content in the manuscript and enhanced their ability to review scientific literature. Importantly, ESL students believed that the discussion made them feel positive about their ability to read scientific literature. Thus, further development of specific tools for enhancing critical thinking in the ESL student group is warranted.