Personal Problem-Solving Skills

According to Heppner, overcoming the problem depends on the individual's ability to solve problems, the individual’s self-cognition and focus. In real life, personal problem solving can be defined as directing cognitive and emotional processes towards a goal for behavioral reactions in order to adapt to internal or external demands or calls (Heppner, 1985). In the concept of effective problem solving, there are improved methods to achieve flexible and easy adaptation and problem-solving. However, while the ability of effective problem-solving skills prevents the personal or interpersonal problems that may occur, it also constitutes an essential mechanism to overcome the negative effect of emotional stress. It is revealed that the individuals

Thus, in order to improve students’ problem-solving skills and the tendency for critical thinking, it is essential for the teachers to develop their own skills for this purpose. Problem-solving skills and critical thinking tendencies are assumed to be higher in those who have studied science teaching (Kong, 2007; Üstündağ ve Beşoluk, 2012).

Problem Statement:

The first statement explored with the quantitative research methods of the project is as follows; "What are the implications of scientific toys, developed by the science teacher candidates in an inquiry-based learning environment, on the skills of problem-solving and critical thinking of teacher candidates, in comparison with inquiry-based learning activities?” The sub-problems addressed in this context are stated below;

1. What is the effect of scientific toys, developed by the science teacher candidates in an inquiry-based learning environment, on the skills of problem-solving of teacher candidates, in comparison with inquiry-based learning activities?

(1993) by considering the problem solving stages, in order to identify the effect of scientific toys, which are developed in an inquiry-based environment, on the problem-solving skills of teacher candidates. PSI is a 35-item instrument, scored on a six-point Likert scale. For each item, the individuals are asked how often they behave as mentioned in the scale. Options are as follows; “I always act like this”, “I mostly act like this”, “I often act like this”, “I occasionally act like this” and “I never act like this”. Each answer is given a score ranging from 1 to 6 when calculating the points of PSI. Items 9, 22 and 29 are excluded from scoring. In the inventory, items 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 25, 26, 30, and 34 are scored in reverse. It is assumed that these items represent sufficient problem-solving abilities (Şahin, 1993). The reliability analysis of the PSI was conducted with the participation of 224 university students. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability of the scale was found to be 0,88. Single and even numbered items separated and reliability coefficient obtained by split half method has been found as