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Exploring the Cultivation of Critical Thinking in Art History Courses from a Student Perspective

Author(s)

Shunqi Cao*

Affiliation(s)

University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Critical thinking, as an important component of the core competencies in higher education, serves as a key carrier for the "education through beauty and culture" goal in art history courses. Currently, academic research on university art history courses and the cultivation of critical thinking mostly focuses on the supply-side perspectives such as course design and teacher practice. However, as the learning subjects, students' perception of the course's effectiveness, their demands, and suggestions regarding the course have not yet been systematically summarized. This study takes the "student perspective" as the core entry point, and from three dimensions: the current perception status of students on the cultivation of critical thinking in art history courses, the key influencing factors from the student perspective, and the optimization demands and suggestions proposed by students for the courses, it systematically reviews the existing research results. The study finds that students have "cognitive differentiation" regarding the value of critical thinking cultivation in art history courses. The main constraints are the fixed teaching methods, the single course content, and the rigid evaluation system. While "strengthening interactive discussions", "enriching diverse historical materials", and "reforming the evaluation methods" are the most core optimization demands of students. Finally, this paper points out the deficiencies in method integration and subject specificity in current research, and proposes prospects to provide references for subsequent empirical research and curriculum reform.

Keywords

Student Perspective; College Art History Course; Critical Thinking; Curriculum Cultivation

References

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