The Ibn Rushd College of Education for Humanities at the University of Baghdad discussed a PhD dissertation entitled “The Effectiveness of a Teaching–Learning Program Based on the Fink Model in Enhancing Sustainable Development Course Achievement and Higher-Order Thinking among Students of the Open College of Education.” The dissertation was presented by Salim Mohammed Shabada, a PhD candidate from the Department of Educational and Psychological Sciences, specializing in Curricula and Methods of Teaching.
The dissertation defense committee was chaired by Prof. Dr. Zainab Hamza Raji, with Prof. Dr. Azhar Alwan Kashash serving as both supervisor and committee member, alongside a distinguished panel of faculty members. Prof. Dr. Raad Khalaf Mohammed from the College of Education for Humanities, University of Tikrit, participated as the external examiner.
The study aimed to develop a teaching–learning program based on the Fink Model and examine its effectiveness in improving students’ achievement in the Sustainable Development course and enhancing their higher-order thinking skills among third-year students at the Open College of Education.
The findings demonstrated that the Fink Model-based teaching–learning program significantly improved students’ academic achievement. The experimental group outperformed the group taught through conventional instructional methods, highlighting the model’s effectiveness in organizing and delivering course content through a structured and integrated approach. Furthermore, the diverse learning activities incorporated into the program fostered greater student engagement and active participation, contributing to the systematic development of higher-order cognitive processes and critical thinking skills.
