COMBINED EFFECT OF THE COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS ON ACHIEVEMENT

Critical Problem Solving Skill was once thought to be the domain of the gifted learners. But today it is the need of every individual learner who desires to make sensible decisions about everything that matters to them. Present education should prepare the learners for life. Hence, they are crucial skills to be taught in the classroom. It makes them rational thinkers involving critiques. The National Curriculum Framework 2005 recommends a paradigm shift from rote memory to learning by understanding. It suggests that schools should facilitate construction of knowledge, in order to become independent thinkers capable of solving problems both in the classroom as well in the world. An important goal of education is to enable students to think more productively while solving problems by combining critical thinking, problem solving and creative thinking. An integrative approach of these skills will prove an effective instruction method. It facilitates learners to approach the real-world scenarios and problems with open-mindedness and with self-confidence. This experimental study aimed at to study the combined effect of the components of the Critical Problem Solving Skills on achievement in Political Science among students of Higher Secondary School. 70 students comprised the sample of this study and the results revealed that there exists a significant combined effect of components of Critical Problem Solving Skills on the achievement in Political Science.