A mixed method research on the differentiated teaching model developed for the gifted in social studies lessons

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of differentiated socialstudies activities on the attitudes, critical thinking skills, and creativity of gifted students and to determine experiences of students and teachers regarding these activities. The research was conducted in a science and arts centre teaching gifted students in Istanbul province in the academic year 2021-2022. The study group of the research consists of 14 5th grade students, 8 boys and 6 girls, who participate in the Individual Talent Recognition Programme. A mixed research design was used for the study. A pretest-posttest design with one group was used as the quantitative research design under the weak experimental designs. Qualitative data were collected during the implementation of the activities. The Social Studies Attitude Scale, the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X, and the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking-Verbal and Figural Form were used to collect quantitative data. Teacher and student diaries were used to collect qualitative data. The SPSS package programme was used to analyse the quantitative data obtained during the study, and descriptive analysis method were used to analyse the qualitative data. As a result of the research, it was found that differentiated social studies activities improved the gifted students' attitudes towards the course and had a significant effect on increasing the total score for critical thinking, the Torrance total score for verbal creativity, and the Torrance total score for figural creativity. In addition, it was found that the gifted students learned new information about differentiated social studies activities, enjoyed and had fun in the course, gained awareness, had the opportunity to collaborate in group work, gained different perspectives, learned using different methods and techniques, and studied in different environments. KEYWORDS: Gifted, Differentiated Instruction, Social Studies, Science and Arts Center