Examining the effects of social studies course taught through virtual art galleries on pedagogical art criticism and critical thinking skills

Artistic products can be utilized as an educational tool in social studies lessons that convey the culture and common universal elements of the society in which we live. It may not always be possible to utilize an art gallery in art-based social studies lessons. In such cases, artistic content can be presented through virtual art galleries. The main purpose of this research is to determine the effect of art-based social studies lessons taught with virtual art galleries on middle school students' pedagogical art criticism and critical thinking skills, as well as to evaluate the implementation process based on the views of middle school students. This study was conducted on a total of 29 middle school students attending the 5th grade of a public school in the city center of Afyonkarahisar in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. The quantitative dimension of this study, which was conducted with embedded mixed design, was designed in the form of a quasi-experimental design with pre-test-post-test control group, and the qualitative dimension was designed in the form of basic qualitative research. In the research, data collection tool was used as ''Pedagogical Art Criticism Competence Perception Scale'' and ''Critical Thinking Disposition Scale for Secondary School Students'' were used. The qualitative data set consisted of the course diaries kept by the students during the research process and face-to-face interviews conducted at the end of the research. Quantitative data were analyzed by wilcoxon signed-rank test with jamovi program and qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that art-based social studies lessons taught with virtual art galleries made a significant difference on middle school students' pedagogical art criticism and critical thinking skills. Qalitative results also support the quantitative results. The data obtained are presented in the form of tables and direct quotations. Based on the results obtained from the research, it can be recommended to conduct action research or experimental research at different grade levels and learning areas to determine the effect of art-based social studies lessons taught with virtual art galleries on different skills.