The investigation of the effect of problem based teaching approach on students' problem solving skills and academic achievments in science course

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of problem-based teaching approach on academic achievement and problem solving skills which is one of the higher order thinking skills. A concurrent transformative design which is one of the mixed method designs was used in the study. In the quantitative part of the study, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. The experimental group was taught with problem-based teaching approach, while the control group was taught by following the National Curriculum. Qualitative data were obtained from open-ended questions asked in parallel with the items to be measured in the quantitative measurement instrument. The study was carried out within the scope of the 5th Grade students' Science Course "Spread of Light" subject. A total of 30 5th grade students, 15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group, participated in the study. Academic achievement test and problem solving inventory were used as data collection tool. The collected data were analysed by independent samples t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups according to the results of the analysis on the academic achievement and problem solving skills of the experimental and control groups. The results of the students' academic achievement and problem solving skills were evaluated and discussed separately. The qualitative data of the study were obtained from the second stage of the academic achievement test and it was concluded that the students who are studying with PBL approach have a better understanding of the subject and found more meaningful relationships between the information they have learned. Key Words: Problem Based Learning, Problem Solving Skills, Academic Achievement, Science, Spread of Light.