THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PROPOSED STRATEGY ACCORDING TO ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN CRITICAL THINKING AMONG SECOND-GRADE INTERMEDIATE FEMALE STUDENTS IN PHYSICS.
Abstract
The current research aimed to explore the effectiveness of a proposed strategy according to active learning strategies in enhancing critical thinking among second-grade intermediate female students. This was achieved by examining the hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level between the average scores of the experimental group students, who were taught using the proposed strategy, and the control group students, who were taught using traditional methods, in a critical thinking test. The study focused on female students of the second-grade intermediate level at a middle school affiliated with the Directorate of Education in Al-Rusafa 3 for the academic year 2023-2024, covering the first three chapters of the physics textbook. The researchers randomly selected two sections out of six for the second-grade intermediate level, resulting in a sample of 64 students (32 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group). The students of both groups (experimental and control) were equated in variables such as chronological age in months, intelligence, prior knowledge, and critical thinking skills. To achieve the research objective, the researchers developed a set of plans according to the proposed strategy after preparing its steps and ensuring its applicability to the students. Additionally, a critical thinking test consisting of 45 items was developed, and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The experiment was conducted during the academic year 2023-2024, lasting twelve weeks with two sessions per week for each group. After the experiment, data were analyzed using SPSS, and the results showed that the experimental group students who were taught with the proposed strategy outperformed the control group students taught with traditional methods in the critical thinking test. Consequently, the researchers made several recommendations and suggestions.
