Investigation of the effect of TGA-TaA (Guess-Observation-Explain-Discussion-Explain) supported science teaching on students' critical thinking, attitudes and motivation

The aim of the study is to examine the attitudes and motivations of TGA-TaA (Prediction-Observation-Explain-Discussion-Explain) fiber science lessons in the "Electrical Circuits" unit in the seventh grade Science course, attitudes and motivations towards science, and thinking in the science classroom. The research is in the II phase of the 2022-2023 academic year. In the period between May and June. The groups of the research include 23 experimental group rooms and 20 control group members at Seyda Molla Bahri Imam Hatip Secondary School, located in the East city neighborhood of Elazığ/Central district. A mixed research method was used, in which quantitative data were supported by qualitative data. In order to collect Gülen's beautiful marriages, the "Critical Thinking Skill Scale for Science Lesson" was developed by Gülen (2019), focused on secondary schools, and by Özcan and Koca (2020) in order to distinguish the attitudes of common students in all classes in secondary schools towards Science. Toward Attitude Scale", "Science Motivation Questionnaire-2" recorded by Armstrong et al., (2011) and motivation translated into Turkish by Akçay, Işın and Kapıcı, (2020) under the name "Adaptation of the Science Learning Motivation Scale into Turkish" were used. In addition, in obtaining qualified children, the semi-trained interview formula created by the researcher and student diaries were used. Quantitative data were analyzed by MANOVA with SPSS 26 program. In qualitative data analysis, descriptive and content analysis methods were used. According to the results of the research, although no statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental and control groups of TGA-TaA supported teaching in the 'Electrical Circuits' unit in terms of critical thinking skills in the science course, a small improvement was observed in practice. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of students' attitudes towards the science course, but a small-medium improvement was detected in practice in the experimental group. When we look at the motivation of the students, a statistically significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group, and in practice it was seen that this difference was at a medium-large level. In the analysis of qualitative data, various positive and negative expressions were identified in student opinions. Positive comments include statements such as that the course was enjoyed, the course was useful, the visual and observation elements were impressive, the course was understandable and interesting, the activities were thought-provoking, and the course was instructive and intriguing. Students stated that their experiences of finding the truth by making mistakes contributed to learning and that the lesson was exciting. However, some minority students think that they have difficulty in the course and that the activities are not understandable for everyone. Some students state that the course does not increase their knowledge or develop critical thinking skills. There is also a student opinion stating that they do not want this method to be used in other courses and that the course is boring.