The effect of reflective thinking activities on students' achievement in social sciences course and their learning and innovation skills

The social studies course is a course that aims to make individuals an active member of the society in which they live within the framework of three basic approaches. In this context, students are expected to construct their own learning with the reflective approach, which is one of the basic approaches of the social studies course. The main purpose of this research is to reveal the effect of reflective thinking activities on students' achievement in social studies course and their learning and innovation skills. In accordance with the purpose of the study, a quasi-experimental design from quantitative research methods was used. The study group of the research consisted of 67 students studying at the 5th grade level in Aksaray city centre in the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. In order to obtain research data, reflective thinking activities designed by the researcher were implemented for eleven weeks (11). Twenty-four (24) social studies teachers were consulted before the reflective thinking activities were prepared and the activities were prepared within the framework of the social studies curriculum. 'Learning and Innovation Skills Scale', 'Academic Achievement Test' and 'Semi-structured Interview Form' designed by the researcher were used to obtain the research data. In addition, teacher observation notes and student evaluations related to the implementation process were added to the study as support data. The quantitative data of the research were analysed by applying independent t-test through SPSS software. The qualitative data of the study were analysed by content analysis. According to the post-test data after the experimental process carried out using reflective thinking activities, it was found that reflective thinking activities increased students' achievement in social studies course. In addition, it was found that reflective thinking activities positively affected students' learning and innovation skills. It was seen that reflective thinking activities are an effective method in social studies teaching. In addition, it was observed that the course teacher and experimental group students expressed positive opinions about reflective thinking activities. As a result of the data obtained, it was revealed that there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups. According to the results of the research, suggestions for the implementation process and future studies were presented.