An Investigation into Building Thinking Capacity in Junior High School English Reading Teaching Based on Deep Learning Theory 
Qiong Mei  Lijuan Jiao  Junhong Liu^{（corresponding author）}

School of Foreign Studies, China Three Gorges University, Yichang Hubei, 443002;

Abstract: The concept of deep learning is being actively promoted in junior high school English reading teaching, with thinking capacity cultivation regarded as a crucial component. This study investigates 127 seventh-grade students and three English teachers from a key middle school in Yichang City using questionnaires, test paper analysis, and interviews. The findings show that lower-order thinking skills are well-developed, while higher-order thinking skills lag behind, with evaluation skills showing significant student differences. Thinking capacity cultivation strategies include metacognitive strategies, scaffolding teaching, and concept mapping. However, implementation faces challenges such as insufficient student motivation and inadequate teacher understanding of deep learning.

Keywords: thinking capacity; Deep Learning; English reading in junior high school

Bibliography

[1]Marton, F., & Säljö, R. (1976). On qualitative differences in learning: I-Outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 46(1), 4-11.

[2]He, L., & Li, J. H. (2005). Promoting students' deep learning. Modern Teaching, (5), 29-30.

[3]Sun, Y. L. (2007). Understanding deep learning. Journal of Shaoxing University of Arts and Sciences (Education Edition), (1), 34-36.

[4]Zhang, H., & Wu, X. J. (2012). An analysis of the connotation and cognitive theoretical basis of deep learning. China Educational Technology, (10), 7-11, 21.

[5]He, K. K. (2018). Deep learning: The transformation of learning approaches in the digital age. Educational Research, 39(5), 111-115.

[6] Xu, Z. G., Zhao, C. Y., Wang, Y., et al. (2023). Factors influencing college students' deep learning in smart learning environments. Modern Educational Technology, 33(1), 58-65.

[7]Lu, K., Pang, F., & Shadiev, R. (2022). How to deepen college students' approach to using technologies in T-O-IBL? Examining the mediating influence of deep approaches to using technologies between learning factors and higher order thinking skills. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 39(1), 182-193.

[8]Lee, M., & Lee, J. (2021). Enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education: The case of South Korea. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69(5), 1-25.