Developing Critical Thinking of Grade 4 Students Using a Creative Self-Directed Learning Model Combined with Simulations

Abstract

This research aimed to develop the critical thinking of Grade 4 students using a creative self-directed learning model combined with simulations, with the target that 80 percent of the students would achieve a score of 75 percent or higher. The target group consisted of Grade 4/1 students at Ek Panya School, Somdet Subdistrict, Somdet District, Kalasin Province. This classroom action research employed the following data collection instruments: (1) lesson plans based on the creative self-directed learning model combined with simulations and (2) a critical thinking assessment form. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and the data were also analyzed through content analysis and presented through analytical description. The results revealed that, after learning through the creative self-directed learning model combined with simulations, 35 Grade 4 students passed the criterion, with an assessment result of 95.85 percent, which exceeded the 75 percent criterion and met the established target.