Analysis of students' attainment levels of high order thinking skills through primary school fourth grade science curriculum and implementations

The aim of this research is to analyze students' attainment levels of high order thinking skills through primary school fourth grade Science curriculum and implementations according to teachers' views. High order thinking skills were restricted to creative thinking skill, critical thinking skill and problem solving skill and three sub-goals were set in the study. Qualitative research method was used in the research. The sample of the study is comprised of twenty elementary school teachers at twelve schools affiliated with District National Directorate of Nizip in Gaziantep in 2018-2019 academic year and determined using the maximum variation sampling method. A semi-structured interview form devised by the researcher was utilized as the data collection tool of the study. The interviews with the teacher determined were recorded and the data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. As a result, it was concluded that the majority of primary school fourth grade teachers who participated in the research stated that primary school fourth grade science curriculum developed students' creative thinking, critical thinking and problem solving skills. It was established that primary school Science curriculum, textbook and learning activities implemented by teachers arouse students' curiosity in improving creative thinking skills, responds to students' readiness and lets them discover. It was also made firm that it allows students to question, analyze and assess information and make inferences in improving their critical thinking skills, provides students with opportunities to learn by doing and leads them to research in improving their problem solving skills. Key Words: Science Curriculum, High Order Thinking Skill, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving