The probe method: A problem-based learning model's affect on critical thinking skills of fourth and fifth grade social studies students

Abstract

This study examined how the implementation of a curriculum intervention, the Probe Method I designed, impacted critical thinking skills of fourth and fifth grade students in a private school for gifted students in a Midwestern state. The study also examined students' attitudes toward learning and solving complex problems when using the Probe Method. A nonequivalent control group design, Design #10 from Campbell and Stanley (1963), was used in this study. Two groups of fourth and fifth grade students participated in this study. The experimental group (N = 20) used the Probe Method while the control group (N = IS) did not use the Probe Method. The Probe Method is a problem-based learning method using a group-investigative cooperative learning approach to solve a real-world problem. The problem presented to the experimental group was the housing shortage in six countries in the world. Students used the Internet as the primary source for finding information on their countries and on the housing problem. The experimental group of fourth/fifth graders, after participating in the nine-week project, showed a significantly greater increase in critical thinking skills as measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT) in comparison to the control group of similar subjects. The pre-test mean scores indicated no significant difference in the two groups (p - 0.1905), whereas the post-test mean scores indicated a significant difference between the two groups (p - 0.0032). In the post-test, the experimental group’s mean score was 44.0, which was significantly greater than the control group’s mean score of37.4667. Qualitative information (such as, researcher observations, student journals, student interviews, student surveys, and teacher interview) supported the assumption that students in the experimental group liked using the Probe Method and believed that they learned social studies content as well or better with this method as other traditional methods. Qualitative information also supported that this method helped students become more confident problem solvers. Findings from this stuffy provide some evidence that the Probe Method can be an effective method for improving critical thinking skills and attitudes toward solving problems. Because of the limitations of this study, more studies are needed.