The Effect of a Differentiated Problem-Based Science Program on Gifted Students' Cooperative Working Skills and Problem-solving Skills

Abstract

Introduction: Effectively solving complex and challenging problems in all areas of modern life and cooperating in this process have come to the fore in recent years. This study aimed to develop gifted middle-school students' problem- solving and cooperative working skills through a differentiated science program based on problemsolving. Method: The study was designed as an action research study. The participants were 12 seventh-grade (11-12 years old) gifted students and a researcher who was also a teacher. The researchers prepared the problem-based differentiated science teaching module and applied it to the participants for 14 weeks. Qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were used in the study. The Problem-solving Skills Questionnaire and student diaries were used to reveal the development of problem-solving. The Cooperative Process Scale and student diaries were used to reveal development of cooperative working skills. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were used to analyze quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Findings: The qualitative and quantitative findings of the study showed that the problem-based differentiated science teaching module improved the gifted students' cooperative working and problem-solving skills. Discussion: This study suggests that the differentiated science program was effective in the development of the gifted students' cooperative working and problem-solving skills. Studies in the literature support this result. In future studies, it is recommended that differentiated programs be prepared with different subject contents and that their effectiveness be investigated.