21st-century learning requires a more student-centered, suitable, and interactive approach that stimulates their interest in learning. In addition, one of the basic skills is critical thinking skills. Of course, students' interests and critical thinking skills are greatly influenced by the selection of learning models. The objectives of this study are: (1) to determine the critical thinking skills of students taught without the POGIL model; (2) to identify the critical thinking skills of pupils taught with the POGIL model; and (3) to determine the learning interests of learners taught without the POGIL model. (4) to determine students' learning interest in what is taught by the POGIL model; (5) to establish the impact of the POGIL model on the critical thinking skills of the pupils; and (6) to determine how the POGIL model affects the learning interest of students and pupils. This quantitative research has a quasi-experimental design using a non-equivalent control group design. The population of this study was class X MAN 2 Soppeng, which totaled 119 people, and the samples used in classes X1 and X2 totaled 38 pupils. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The instruments used were critical thinking skills tests, learning interests, and observation sheets. The analytical techniques were descriptive and inferential. According to the results, the control class students' critical thinking abilities scored 73.5, which is in the highest group, and 83.53, which is in the very high category. The POGIL model had a significant impact on critical thinking skills, as indicated by the independent sample t-test results of 0,000 < 0,05 for critical thinking. The result is different from learning interest, where the independent sample t-test results showed 0,115 > 0,05 meaning that the model had no significant effect on the learning interests of the students.