The Psychological Influence of Online Community of Inquiry on University Students' Critical Thinking Dispositions and English Academic Level

Abstract

Critical thinking is becoming part of core competences for the future career development and it is also a crucial objective for talent development at the information age. Critical thinking encompass both cognitive skills and disposition to think. The better the development of critical thinking dispositions, the stronger the individual's critical thinking ability is. However, There is comparatively little empirical study on critical thinking dispositions among students who do not major in English in China. As a result, the usefulness of online community of inquiry in improving Chinese university students' critical thinking dispositions and English academic level were investigated in this study. 50 freshmen enrolled in a College English course at a university in Tangshan, Hebei, China, took part in the study. The study's findings suggest that online community of inquiry can improve students' English academic level and critical thinking dispositions with significantly positive impact on students' English academic level but without significant positive influence on students’ critical thinking dispositions. The limitations of research and their implications are also discussed.