Investigation of in-class practices to develop students'critical thinking skills in context of 21st century teaching skills

The purpose of this research is to determine the function of classroom teachers' 21st century teaching skills in the development of students' critical thinking skills in the context of learning and teaching process. The study group of the research, in which the qualitative research method was used, consists of six primary school teachers working in a public school in Gaziantep. The 21st Century Teacher Skills Scale and the interview form were applied to determine the classroom teachers in the study group. A total of six teachers, three with high teacher skills and three with low teacher skills, which were determined according to the results of the data obtained from the scale and interview form, participated in the research. The data sources of the research are the lesson plans and lesson records created by each teacher in the study group. The data obtained in the research were subjected to content analysis. As a result of the research, it was seen that the 21st century classroom teachers with high and low teaching skills applied similar strategies, methods, techniques, activities, exhibited similar attitudes and behaviors, but teachers with high teaching skills used more. In addition, it has been concluded that many methods, techniques, activities and attitudes are included in their lessons only by teachers with high 21st century teaching skills.