A STUDY OF ANALYTICAL THINKING ABILITY USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING WITH PHET INTERACTIVE SIMULATIONS FOR GRADE 6 STUDENTS
Keywords:
Analytical thinking skills, Problem-based teaching model, PhET simulation programAbstract
This research aims to 1) compare Grade 6 students’ academic achievement concerning lessons about electricity before and after instructors use problem-based learning techniques with PhET virtual simulation program, 2) study the development of analytical thinking skills, and 3) assess the students’ satisfaction with problem-based learning in which a PhET virtual simulation program is used. This assessment used an experimental research design. The sample group consisted of 20 Grade 6 students from Ban Muang Thuat School, Surat Thani Province, which is one of the schools in the Na Sarn network from which the researcher specifically selected. After selecting the school, the researcher selected students randomly using a simple random sampling method. The research instruments consisted of 1) 6 problem-based learning plans combined with PhET virtual simulation program, 2) an academic achievement test comprising 20 questions with 4 multiple choices, 3) an analytical thinking skill test with 5 questions, and 4) a student satisfaction questionnaire on problem-based learning and PhET virtual simulation program. Data were analyzed using basic statistics, including mean and t-test with group correlation.
The research results showed that 1) the academic achievement after the lesson was significantly higher than that before the lesson at the .05 level. 2) Students' analytical thinking skills were significantly improved with a high level of progress index. 3) Students' satisfaction with the overall learning management was at a high level (=4.58), especially in terms of the interestingness of the activities (=4.70) and the ability to apply knowledge (=4.40). In conclusion, the problem-based learning management combined with PhET virtual simulation program was effective in promoting academic achievement and developing analytical thinking skills and increase satisfaction.
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