Sharmila Fathima
Sharmila Fathima is a dedicated PhD student with a profound passion for empowering youth and conducting impactful research. She believes in the transformative power of education and is committed to fostering the next generation through developing critical thinking skills, dispositions, mentorship and community engagement. An engineer-turned-educator, Sharmila's research interests are diverse, focusing on areas that aim to bring about positive social change and innovation. Beyond academia, Sharmila loves to travel, finding inspiration and joy in exploring new cultures and environments. This love for travel not only provides a refreshing break from scholarly pursuits but also enriches her research with a broader, more global perspective. Balancing academic rigor with an adventurous spirit, Sharmila is dedicated to making meaningful contributions to both the academic community and the world at large, driven by a vision of a more empowered and interconnected youth.
Mirror to Mind: Unveiling How Reflection Shapes Critical Thinking
How do we go beyond teaching Critical Thinking (CT) as a checklist of skills? This study flips the script by focusing on critical thinking dispositions — habits of mind such as reflection — to explore their transformative power in higher education. Conducted among university students, this study evaluates a bespoke educational intervention that integrated structured reflective practices and a digital reflection module into students’ learning journey. The findings are eye-opening: students shared how reflection reshaped their approach to challenges, making problem-solving more intuitive and decisions more informed. By ‘connecting the dots’ between concepts and contexts, students developed a deeper understanding of their coursework and embraced learning as a rewarding experience rather than a chore. The intervention also catalysed growth in confidence, self-awareness, empathy, time management and the ability to learn from mistakes. The findings imply the holistic impact of nurturing critical thinking dispositions for cultivating lifelong learning habits that empower students to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world. This study bridges the gap between theory and practice, addressing the underexplored terrain of CT dispositions. By modelling and nurturing reflection as a critical thinking disposition, this research presents how students can adopt an identity as critical thinkers, equipping them with the mindset to thrive in an ever-evolving world. For educators, it offers a dynamic approach for moving beyond skills to cultivate the dispositions that make critical thinking actionable, meaningful, and enduring.