Abstract

Innovation means a lot to individual and social development. And the key to cultivate students’ innovation is to cultivate their critical thinking. Primary school English teaching is a fundamental part of development of students` English thinking abilities, and primary school is also a key stage to cultivate students’ critical thinking. This thesis is based on Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives in cognitive domain. Classroom observation and interview are adopted to answer the three following research questions: First, what types of mind mapping are used in primary English class? Second, what are the characteristics of the mind mapping used by the teachers? Third, what are problems or difficulties in using mind mapping in teaching? The research indicates that most of the English teachers in primary schools have awareness to use mind mapping to cultivate students’ critical thinking, but because of different teaching experience and educational background, their awareness are imbalanced. And they have tried many types of mind mapping to drive classes and inspire students’ thinking, which makes students think actively and also makes classroom atmosphere active. It is found that the effective application of mind mapping plays an important role in the development of critical thinking of primary school students in English class.

Key words: mind mapping; critical thinking; primary school English class

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One  Introduction- 1 -

1.1 Research Background- 1 -

1.2 Research Purpose- 2 -

1.3 Significance of the Research- 2 -

1.4 Structure of the Thesis- 3 -

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW- 5 -

2.1 Introduction to Mind Mapping- 5 -

2.2 Introduction to Critical Thinking Skills- 7 -

2.3 Review of Previous Research- 8 -

Chapter Three Methodology- 11 -

3.1 Research Questions- 11 -

3.2 Participants- 11 -

3.3 Research Methods- 13 -

3.4 Data Analysis Method- 14 -

Chapter Four Findings and Discussions- 16 -

4.1 Types of the Mind Mapping used in Primary English class- 16 -

4.1.1 Circle maps-defining in context- 16 -

4.1.2 Bubble maps-describing qualities- 17 -

4.1.3 Flow maps-sequencing- 18 -

4.2 Characteristics of Mind Mapping- 19 -

4.3 Difficulties in Using Mind Mapping in Teaching- 20 -

Chapter Five Conclusion- 22 -

5.1 Implications- 22 -

5.2 Limitations- 22 -

Appendix- 23 -

Appendix Interview- 23 -

Bibliography- 24 -

Acknowledgements- 26 -