BALEAP 2023 conference

"Critical thinking skills development is at the core of not only university studies but also information management and global citizenship. Our work as EAP practitioners involves teaching the language of criticality as well as developing a disposition that embraces inquiry, questioning views and developing arguments, qualities that are valuable at all levels of study, professional and social life. How is that managed in the EAP classroom? What lessons have been learned reflecting on current provision which ranges from providing specifically designed modules (generic or discipline-specific) to weaving the relevant skills and language through our sessions to providing online guides and short courses? To what extent student needs and discipline-specific priorities are catered for?

In this open session, we aim to bring these questions to the fore and encourage critical reflection and discussion. We will present a small-scale survey distributed to colleagues in different departments and HE institutions investigating how critical thinking skills are taught in different settings, if it is part of the remit of the EAP department or not, as well as the EAP practitioners’ evaluation of the current provision and views on what the problems are and how it can become more effective. The results of this survey will serve as a background for a few initial questions and a springboard for expressing views and generating ideas. Our contribution to the discussion will also involve evidence from preliminary research results of a larger scale project on critical thinking skills provision at the University of Northampton. This project involves collecting evidence from the student body on perceived needs regarding critical thinking skills and whether these are met through current provision as well as discipline specific priorities as viewed by lecturers in different departments.

The first 15 minutes of the session will involve setting up the scene for an informed discussion based on evidence from our survey on colleagues' thoughts and views. The rest of the session will be an open discussion in 2 stages – about 20 minutes each:

- Deconstruction – the normative: what we do, why we do it, is it effective, why (not), what are the major issues we are facing both in terms of approach and practice, what we keep, what we change

- The transformative: new ideas, innovative practices, new directions, approaches and pedagogies, areas for further research

A Mentimeter open question survey will be open throughout the discussion so more views and comments can be collated and shared. The discussion will close with a short summary of the issues and ideas discussed. "