Impact of a philosophical didactic approach on the development of critical thinking: qualitative evidence from the teaching of quantum physics

Abstract Critical thinking remains an underdeveloped cognitive skill among engineering students whose deficit is often associated with academic difficulties and school dropouts. This qualitative study evaluated the evolution of higher-order critical thinking skills —analysis, synthesis, and evaluation— using a philosophical strategy based on Socratic dialogue, oriented toward the learning of quantum physics basic principles. For this purpose, a ten-session didactic sequence was designed, focusing on the wave-particle duality topic and using an expert-validated assessment instrument composed of open-ended questions. The research was conducted with students from various engineering programs at a university from the Colombian Caribbean, in two cohorts of 14 and 11 students respectively. Based on content analysis and deductive categorization from Bloom's taxonomy, a polarisation ratio (varying between -1 and + 1 points) was used to assess response quality. Results showed an average increase in the analytical cognitive level, starting from the fourth session of 0.16 points/session in one cohort, and 0.20 points/session in the other. The synthesis cognitive level also showed improvements, although smaller, while the evaluation yielded less consistent results, with fluctuations in the range of $$(-0.33, 0.17)$$ ( - 0.33 , 0.17 ) points. With the help of ATLAS.ti software, the content analysis demonstrated the positive effect of the philosophical strategy on the development of the analysis elements and principles, as well as the importance of gathering and communicating information on the synthesis level. Accordingly, this proposal provides a flexible and replicable teaching sequence that allows for integration of philosophical reflection into STEM contexts, offering a practical path to foster critical thinking and understanding of the principles of quantum physics without relying on mathematical formalism.