INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY TO FOSTER CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS INTHE CLASSROOM

Abstract

The rapid advancement of digital technology has transformed teaching and learning practices in higher education, making the development of students’ critical thinking skills a key priority in the 21st century. This quantitative correlational study examined the extent of technology integration in classroom instruction and its relationship with students’ critical thinking skills at the university level. Data were collected from 100 undergraduate students through a structured 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire, and analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistics and
Pearson correlation. The findings revealed that most students perceived technology as being regularly used in classrooms and agreed that technology-supported activities enhanced their analytical, evaluative, and problem solving skills. The results further indicated a significant positive relationship between technology integration and students’ critical thinking skills, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. However, challenges such as exam oriented teaching, uneven digital literacy, over reliance on AI-generated responses, and limited pedagogical guidance were also identified. The study concludes that technology can effectively foster critical thinking when integrated intentionally with appropriate pedagogy and recommends focused teacher training, structured instructional design, guided use of AI tools, and curriculum reforms to maximize the benefits of technology enhanced learning.