The effect of critical thinking power levels of middle school 8th grade students in science course on their perceptions of new generation science questions

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of the critical thinking power levels of 8th grade students in science class on their perceptions of new generation questions. The relational screening model was used in this study. The study was conducted with 340 students in 5 middle schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Altıeylül district of Balıkesir province, determined by easily accessible sampling, in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. The research data were collected with the Sociodemographic Information Form, "the Critical Thinking Power Scale of 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Middle School Students in Science Class" and "the Perception Scale for New Generation Science Questions." In the analysis of the data, number, percentage, mean and standard deviation, min-max values, Pearson product-moment correlation analysis, t-test in groups showing normal distribution, one-way ANOVA test, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H test and linear regression analysis were used in groups not showing normal distribution. The significance level was taken as p<0.05. The average age of the middle school students participating in the study was 13.80±0.50 and 51.2% were male. The students' total CTPS score average was 29.69±3.88 and their perception of critical thinking power was found to be at a moderate level, and the total PSNGSQ score average was 81.04±6.42 and it had the highest score among the sub- dimensions of the Self-efficacy scale. It was found that having a nuclear family and finding oneself successful at school had a significant relationship with the total CTPS score average (p<0.01). It was found that gender, liking science class, finding science class difficult and finding oneself successful at school affected the PSNGSQ score (p<0.01). A moderately positive and significant relationship was found between the CTPS and PSNGSQ scores. As a result of the research, as the total CTPS score of the 8th grade students increases, the total PSNGSQ score increases (p<0.001). Activities that appeal to the affective domain and support students' critical thinking skills in science classes can be designed.