Development and Validation of a Reading-Writing Module to Enhance Students' Critical Thinking and EFL Writing

This study reports the development and content validation of a reading–writing module for Chinese EFL undergraduates. The module integrates Paul–Elder critical thinking framework into a POA instructional process. Guided by the ADDIE model, a needs analysis was conducted with university English instructors, and a CT‑POA module was then designed and developed. Content validity was examined using the Content Validity Index (CVI) by four experts rated on a 4-point scale. All items achieved item-level CVI (I-CVI) of 1.00, and the scale-level CVI (S-CVI/Ave) was 1.00, indicating unanimous expert agreement on relevance and clarity. The findings suggest positive content validity and alignment with instructional objectives in the Chinese college EFL context. It can be concluded the content validity of the module meets the threshold of the CVI and can be used to test the causal effects on students' critical thinking and writing performance.