The contribution of visual culture to the critical thinking skills of BILSEM students in visual arts education

This research is aimed to evaluate the reflections and contributions of visual culture-based activities carried out within the scope of visual arts education to the critical thinkingprocess of students aged 10-13 in the field of visual arts talent in Science and Art Centers (BİLSEM). The first data of the research, which was designed with action research, started to be collected through face-to-face education in the 2019-2020 academic year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there happened an emergency switch to distance education and the data collection process was suspended. The data of the research continued to be collected through distance education in the 2020-2021 academic year. The action plans were applied to all 20 students in the Visual Arts Special Talent Development Program at Izmit Science and Art Center, however the data were obtained from a total number of 10 focus students, eight girls and two boys, who volunteered for the research. The data of the research; observation,interviews,video recordings researcher diaries and document review were obtained by different tools. The data analyzed using the descriptive analysis approach and the findings obtained were interpreted depending on the research questions. From the data obtained, five themes such as "Reflect the Environment", "Have Fun and Learn", "Recognize", "Produce and Reflect", and "Reflect the Process" were reached. With the research, different skill developments such as learning by having fun, increasing their critical inquiry depending on their awareness of social and cultural issues, and making artistic works based on digital-based tools and applications were provided. Recommendations were also given to the results of the research, which were reflected on the findings with both positive and negative aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: Science and art centers, Visual culture, Action research, Critical thinking skills