Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EGITIM VE BILIM, cilt.51, sa.225, ss.59-97, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
The aim of this study is to examine the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills among 7th-grade students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and to analyze this developmental process using children's books within the framework of the flipped learning model. In this context, action research, one of the qualitative research methods, was employed. The study was conducted over a period of 12 weeks during the fall semester of the 2022–2023 academic year at a secondary school with a low socioeconomic profile, located in a central district of a major city in the western part of the Eastern Anatolia region. The participants consisted of twenty 7th-grade students who exhibited deficiencies in critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills, selected through criterion sampling. Different data collection tools were utilized at various stages of the research. While the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used to gather quantitative data, qualitative data were collected through observation notes, the researcher's diary, audio and video recordings, and interviews with teachers, students, and families, as well as student projects created based on the activities related to the books. Quantitative data were analyzed using correlation analysis and the Kendall’s W test to determine inter-rater agreement. Qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. As a result of the analyses, it was concluded that the students showed improvement in their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Although there was also an improvement in their creative thinking skills, it was not as pronounced as the other two skill areas.
Keywords: Critical thinking, Problem solving, Creativity, Flipped learning, Children's books, Action research