The effect of flipped learning approach on students' problem-solving skills in social studies and student opinions on flipped learning approach

The aim of this thesis is to examine the effect of the flipped learning model on students' problem-solving skills in the Social Studies course. A mixed-method research design was employed in the study. Quantitative data were collected through the Problem Solving Inventory for Children (PSIC; Çocuklar İçin Problem Çözme Becerisi Envanteri – ÇPÇE), which evaluates problem-solving skills across three sub-dimensions: Confidence in Problem Solving, Self-Control, and Avoidance. Qualitative data were obtained through Student Daily Reflection Forms.The study was conducted with 36 sixth-grade students attending a public school in the Boyabat district of Sinop province during the 2024–2025 academic year. Two classes with highly similar academic achievement levels and socio-cultural and socio-economic characteristics were selected; one was assigned as the experimental group (18 students) and the other as the control group (18 students). During the five-week implementation period, students in the experimental group watched teacher-prepared instructional videos before class and participated in student-centered problem-solving activities during in-class sessions. In the control group, the traditional teaching method continued throughout the study.The PSIC was administered to both groups as a pre-test and post-test. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 27. For sub-dimensions displaying normal distribution, Independent Samples t-Test and Paired Samples t-Test were conducted, whereas Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and Mann–Whitney U Test were applied for non-normal distributions. The findings revealed that the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in the Confidence in Problem Solving sub-dimension in the post-test (p < .05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the Self-Control and Avoidance sub-dimensions. In addition, qualitative findings indicated that the majority of students believed that the problem-solving activities contributed positively to the development of their problem-solving skills.