Students' critical thinking skills can be enhanced through various approaches. Homework, as one of these pedagogical strategies, has been integrated into teaching to foster critical thinking across different subjects. This paper aims to review research on homework, with a specific focus on its integration in STEM education. The study reviewed fifteen (15) research articles that examined the effectiveness of homework in STEM education. The results indicate that, among the various types of homework, project/research-based and collaborative homework have significant potential to improve students' critical thinking skills. However, while there are many benefits to using homework to develop critical thinking skills, this review also highlights that limitations in resources, along with variations in students' learning styles and social skills, can negatively impact the improvement of critical thinking. Moreover, the findings suggest that well-planned, high-quality homework, when assigned in smaller quantities, can significantly enhance students' critical thinking. Nevertheless, the generalisability of these results is subject to certain limitations, as most studies claiming the effectiveness of homework in promoting critical thinking are short-term. Therefore, longitudinal research is necessary to evaluate the long-term impact of homework on enhancing students' critical thinking skills.

Authors:
Charitha Jayamini Samarawickrama, University of Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Charitha Jayamini Samarawickrama, a doctoral student, interests lie in educational technologies, investigating strategies to enhance learning and teaching practices through the integration of educational technologies

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charitha-samarawickrama

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charitha-Samarawickrama

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