CRITICAL THINKING AS A STRATEGY TO PROMOTE CONCEPTUAL CHANGE AND TO ENHANCE BETTER PHYSICS PROBLEM SOLVERS

To enlighten the relation between problem solving, critical thinking and conceptual change, a study was outlined to find out if enhancing conceptual change by developing critical thinking can be a strategy to promote better physics problem solvers. The research model adopted was a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest, control group design, no random. The experimental and control group were each one constituted by 93 students from the 8th grade with successful academic achievement and six pre-service teachers of physics. The experimental group performed during one and a half months a set of physics activities. They were developed and implemented taking into account some strategies considered promoters of conceptual change by being facilitators of the development of critical thinking. During the same time, the control group performed physics activities not intentionally developed with the same purpose but based on the same contents. Several sources of data were used to collect data. The results seem to point out that the teacher’s practices promoters of conceptual change by being facilitators of the development of critical thinking seem to be important factors that can influence if a pupil is a good or a week problem solver. Some implications of the study can be drawn for science education.