TRANSFORMING TRADITIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: ENHANCING PROBLEM-SOLVING AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH FLIPPED CLASSROOMS TECHNIQUES AT SECONDARY LEVEL

Abstract

The flipped classroom approach has gained prominence in recent years, particularly in the context of teaching science subjects. Yet, there is little exploration of its use in secondary education, especially regarding its role in improving students' academic skills. This research examines the effect of the flipped classroom approach on chemistry classroom, relative to conventional instructional strategies. A quasi-experimental study was carried out  to look into the effects of the flipped classroom on students' performance and capacity for problem-solving in chemistry classrooms. 50 students participated in a two-stage experiment in a secondary school, including 25 in the flipped classroom group and 25 in the non-flipped classroom group. Both groups received instruction from the same qualified and experienced chemistry teacher. Pre-test and post-test academic assessment for both groups was analyzed using independent t-tests, and results showed that while both groups improved, the flipped classroom group gained more and benefited from a greater, far-reaching learning enhancement. . This implies that although there was improvement in both groups, the flipped classroom approach had a greater and more sustained beneficial effect on students' learning results. Furthermore, perceptions from students indicated a positive outlook towards the flipped classroom model. Results indicate that the flipped classroom model is effective at enhancing the problem-solving skills and critical thinking with academic achievement in chemistry of secondary school students.