Factors supporting and inhibiting the development of students' thinking skills and classroom practices according to classroom teachers

The aim of this study is to determine the factors that support and hinder the development of thinking skills according to classroom teachers and to reveal the in-class practices accordingly. For this purpose, 15 teachers were interviewed. Observations were made in 3rd Grade Life Sciences and 4th Grade Science courses. In this study, a case study from qualitative research designs was used. The maximum diversity sampling method was used to determine the study group of the study. In the study, data were collected from 15 teachers working in official primary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education. The interview form was scanned in the literature and consisted of a 9-question interview form. An observation form was created by scanning the literature for the lesson observation and obtaining expert opinion. The data obtained as a result of the interviews conducted with the teachers in the study were put into writing and analyzed with the content analysis technique. The data obtained from the observations were transferred to the observation form and analyzed with the analysis technique. According to the results of the study; it was determined that the factors that support and hinder thinking skills according to classroom teachers stem from individual differences, the structure of the program, teacher behaviors, the perspective of the society and course contents. According to the teachers, it was concluded that the factor that affects the individual's thinking skills the most is intelligence, which is among the innate abilities. The fact that the program objectives are not suitable for developing thinking skills, central exams direct individuals to memorization, the society does not have sufficient awareness about thinking, the course content is not prepared in a way that supports thinking skills, the negative behaviors of teachers, the time allocated for achievements and the inadequacy of school facilities are also determined as obstacles to the development of thinking skills according to teachers. In addition, as a result of the lesson observations, it was concluded that teachers do not do enough work to develop thinking skills in lessons, they process lessons with a behaviorist approach and prepare evaluation studies with a constructivist approach. It is thought that the results of the research will guide all stakeholders related to the development of thinking skills, especially the Ministry of National Education.