Recognizing the persistent challenges students face in analyzing social issues, this study investigated the effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) in enhancing the critical thinking skills of Grade 10 students in Social Studies at Camaya-an National High School, Loboc, Bohol during the School Year 2025– 2026. Employing a mixed-methods design, the research integrated quantitative and qualitative approaches to measure both academic performance and students’ learning experiences. The quantitative phase involved pre-test and post-test assessments on three key competencies in Araling Panlipunan 10— globalization, labor issues, and migration—revealing significant improvements in students’ post-test scores, with weighted means ranging from 13.29 to 14.17 and p-values below 0.05. Effect sizes (0.45–0.93) indicated moderate to strong impacts of IBL on student learning. The qualitative findings complemented these results, revealing four major themes: Active Engagement and Curiosity, Analytical and Evaluative Thinking, Collaboration and Communication, and Self- Reflection and Independent Learning. These insights demonstrated that IBL promotes higher-order thinking, collaborative inquiry, and self-directed learning. Overall, the integration of both data sets confirmed that IBL is an effective and learner-centered approach that strengthens students’ mastery of concepts, critical reasoning, and engagement in Social Studies. The study recommends continuous teacher training, administrative support, and curriculum integration of IBL to sustain the development of students’ critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking is recognized as one of the essential competencies learners must develop to address real-world challenges. This study investigated the effectiveness of community immersion as an instructional approach in enhancing the critical thinking skills of Grade 8 students in Araling Panlipunan at Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School during School Year 2023–2024. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, two Grade 8 classes participated. The experimental group engaged in structured community immersion activities integrated into classroom instruction, while the control group received conventional classroom-based instruction. Data were collected through written and oral assessments, rubrics, classroom observations, interviews, and focus group discussions. Statistical analysis using mean, standard deviation, t-tests, ANCOVA, and effect sizes revealed significant improvements in the experimental group. Qualitative themes highlighted authentic connection, confidence in expression, and problem-solving mindset. Findings demonstrate that community immersion provides authentic learning experiences that strengthen students’ analytical, reflective, and problem-solving abilities. Integrating community immersion into Social Studies instruction is an effective strategy for promoting critical thinking and meaningful learning among secondary school students.
Marilyn Claver Sabiano· International journal of res...· 0 citations
Critical thinking is a fundamental competency in Natural and Social Sciences (IPAS) learning; however, school-based assessment practices remain dominated by conventional techniques that primarily measure learning outcomes and provide limited insight into students’ thinking processes. This study aimed to compare the critical thinking skills of students assessed through authentic and conventional assessment techniques and to determine whether the two approaches produced significantly different outcomes. A quantitative quasi-experimental approach with a nonequivalent control group design was employed. The sample comprised 68 students, including 35 students in the experimental group and 33 students in the control group. Data were collected using an essay-based critical thinking test developed according to the FRISCO indicators: Focus, Reason, Inference, Situation, Clarity, and Overview. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, normality and homogeneity tests, N-Gain analysis, and an independent-samples t test. The findings showed that the experimental group achieved a higher mean posttest score than the control group (73.94 vs. 63.00). The data met the assumptions of normality (p > .05) and homogeneity (p = .236), while the independent-samples t test revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, t = 4.430, p < .001. The N-Gain analysis also indicated greater improvement among students assessed through authentic assessment than among those assessed through conventional assessment. These findings demonstrate that authentic assessment is more effective in supporting the development of students’ critical thinking skills in IPAS learning. This study contributes practical evidence that assessment practices incorporating process-oriented and performance-based tasks can provide a more comprehensive measure of students’ reasoning and strengthen the integration of critical thinking into elementary science and social science instruction.
This classroom action research examined whether inquiry-based learning improved Grade 5A students’ performance on higher-order thinking questions in Social Studies. The participants were 34 students (16 boys and 18 girls) at Phuentsholing Primary School. Baseline evidence showed comparatively stronger performance on remembering and understanding questions than on tasks requiring application, analysis, evaluation and creation. A six-week intervention was implemented through six 50-minute lessons structured around the 5E instructional model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Students took part in questioning, group investigation, discussion, comparison, debate, problem-solving and project activities. An achievement test based on Bloom’s taxonomy was administered before and after the intervention. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test. The overall mean score increased from 10.20 on the pre-test to 16.30 on the post-test, giving a reported mean difference of 6.10; the difference was statistically significant at p < 0.001. The largest gains occurred in application, analysis, evaluation and creation, whereas remembering and understanding remained comparatively stable. Classroom observations also indicated greater participation, curiosity and willingness to explain ideas. Within this single-class context, inquiry-based learning was associated with improved performance on higher-order Social Studies questions. Studies using comparison groups, larger samples and longer interventions are required to assess the robustness and generalisability of these findings.
Tshering Zam, Pema Yangden, Chechong Lhamo· Asian Journal of Education a...· 0 citations
The development of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is an important agenda for 21st-century education, but pedagogical mechanisms explaining how HOTS develops in junior high school classroom practices, particularly in mathematics learning, are still limited. This qualitative study explores the role of transformative learning in mediating students' HOTS development through critical reflection, epistemic dialogue in the classroom, and the meaning of learning experiences. The study used an interpretative-constructivist paradigm with an instrumental qualitative case study design. Data were collected through learning observations of 77 students (grades VII = 27; VIII = 25; IX = 25), in-depth interviews with three teachers (G1-G3), semi-structured interviews with 15 students, and analysis of learning documents. Thematic-reflective analysis resulted in four themes: (1) the gradual and contextual development of HOTS across levels, (2) critical reflection as the main trigger for analysis and evaluation, (3) epistemic dialogue as a space for testing and assessing arguments, and (4) the transformation of learning orientation from a focus on answers to the quality of thinking processes and justification. The findings suggest that HOTS develops through a spiral trajectory influenced by the intensity of reflective scaffolding, norms of classroom dialogue, and a classroom culture that is safe for experimenting and revising reasoning. This study contributes by mapping the mechanisms of how and why transformative learning facilitates HOTS in a junior high school context while also offering practical implications for the design of sustainable reflective and dialogic learning.
M. B, Sriyanti Mustafa, Marwati Abd. Malik· Frontiers in Education· 0 citations
Critical thinking is an essential skill that needs to be developed in elementary science and social studies learning. However, preliminary observations in the fifth grade of UPT SDN 77 Rante Lemo showed that students tended to be passive, were not accustomed to providing logical reasoning, and had difficulty drawing conclusions based on observations. This study aimed to improve students’ critical thinking skills through the implementation of the guided inquiry learning model in the topic of human respiratory organs. This research employed Classroom Action Research based on the Kemmis and McTaggart model, conducted in two cycles consisting of planning, action implementation, observation, and reflection. The participants were 15 fifth-grade students. Data were collected through observation, critical thinking tests, and documentation, and were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative descriptive techniques. The results showed an improvement in students’ critical thinking skills. Students’ learning mastery increased from 26.67% in the pre-action stage to 66.67% in the first cycle and reached 100% in the second cycle. Student activity increased from 37.50% to 53.13% and 93.75%, while teacher activity increased from 55.00% to 95.00%. These findings indicate that the guided inquiry learning model, particularly when supported by simple experiments and systematic teacher guidance, can enhance students’ critical thinking skills in elementary science and social studies learning.
The low level of students' critical thinking skills and environmental literacy, as reflected in Indonesia's poor performance in PISA, along with the still-dominant use of conventional, teacher-centered learning methods, served as the background of this research. Which limit students' active participation and higher-order thinking development in ecosystem learning. This study aims to examine the effect of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model assisted by video media on students' critical thinking skills and environmental literacy in ecosystem learning. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design with a non-equivalent control group design. The research was conducted at SMAS Angkasa 1 Lanud Soewondo Medan, involving Grade X students in the even semester of the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected through pretest and post-test instruments measuring critical thinking skills and environmental literacy, which encompassed three components: knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and an independent sample t-test. The results indicate that students in the experimental class who were taught using the video-assisted PBL model demonstrated significantly higher critical thinking skills and environmental literacy scores compared to students in the control class who received conventional instruction. These findings contribute to the development of science, particularly by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of video-assisted PBL in enhancing critical thinking skills and environmental literacy, and by offering a reference for future research and innovation in biology education.
A. Pramesti, Widya Arwita· Spizaetus: Jurnal Biologi da...· 0 citations
