Plickers and 3-2-1 Journal: An Integrated Approach in Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills in General Physics 1

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, strong critical thinking skills (CTS) are essential, especially in the context of 21st century science education, where students engage in analysis and reasoning beyond simple memorization. This study examined the effectiveness of integrating Plickers and the 3-2-1 journal to enhance the CTS of grade 12 STEM students. A quasi-experimental research design was employed to evaluate the enhancement of CTS through conventional approach and integrated approach. The evaluation was guided by Facione’s CTS indicators: interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation. Pretest results indicated that students in both approaches initially in low level of CTS in all CTS indicators. However, the posttest showed an increase in the level of CTS across all indicators in both approaches, with the integrated approach yielding significantly higher results (M = 83.4; SD = 2.4) than the conventional approach (M = 76.1; SD = 4.09). Furthermore, the Mann-Whitney U analysis revealed a significant difference in the mean gain scores between the approaches (p <.001) in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation, suggesting the effectiveness of the integrated approach. However, the inference indicator showed no significant difference, suggesting that both approaches are similarly effective, and that further or alternative instructional interventions may be needed to improve students’ inference skills. These findings suggest that integrating Plickers and 3-2-1 journals significantly enhances students’ critical thinking in General Physics 1, demonstrating its effectiveness as a pedagogical tool.