THE IMPACT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS ON SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION TRAINING AND ON THEIR ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT AN ARGUMENT

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a learning environment created to teach scientific argumentation on the development of critical thinking and argument skills among prospective teacher. The study included 88 2nd grade university students attending Aydin Province Adnan Menderes University, Department of Elementary School Education. An experimental and control group design was used and activity sheets were prepared to develop argument skills in accordance with the topic of “Mechanics”. The results of the present study showed that the critical thinking skills among prospective teachers included in the learning environment were higher in comparison to those in the control group, and that critical thinking post-test scores did not show a significant difference by gender in either group. It was also concluded that the learning environment used in the study had a positive effect on the quality of written scientific arguments of prospective teachers.