J. EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING RESEARCH, Vol. 31(2) 181-208, 2004 SCAFFOLDING CRITICAL THINKING IN AN ONLINE COURSE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY PRIYA SHARMA The Pennsylvania State University MICHAEL HANNAFIN University of Georgia ABSTRACT This study examined the influence of scaffolding on the development of critical thinking skills in an online course on Instructional Design. Data were collected through interviews and document artifacts from five participants of the online course. Findings indicated that participants’ critical thinking moved through three stages from mirroring, to distortion, to re-construction. Engagement in critical thinking was affected by reflection, feedback, project context, self-perceptions as learners, and prior knowledge. INTRODUCTION Critical thinking is a higher order skill associated with the ability to think rationally, to evaluate actions and beliefs according to certain criteria, and to correct actions or beliefs based on such evaluation (Ennis, 1985a; Glaser, 1985; Lipman, 1988; Paul, 1990). Although definitions vary, the teaching of critical thinking skills is mostly associated with teaching how to think as opposed to what to think (Beyer, 1995; Ennis, 1985a). Various strategies have been sug- gested for facilitating the development of critical thinking skills in classroom and other face-to-face instructional environments (see, for example, Beyer, 1997). Scaffolding is one method that has proven especially useful in developing higher order thinking skills, and includes the use of Socratic questioning, modeling, and externalization of reflection within the instructional context. As the prevalence of 181 Ó 2004, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.