The Effectiveness of Teaching a Seven-Step Learning Cycle Model on Improving Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills in Elementary Students’ Social Studies Subject

The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of teaching a seven-step learning cycle model on improving creative thinking skills and problem solving in elementary students. The study was experimental and had a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study included all female students in the sixth grade of elementary school in Dehgolan city in the academic year 2019-2020. According to the type of research, the statistical sample consisted of two classes of 20 people who were selected by convenience sampling method. The experimental group received training (a seven-step learning cycle model) and the control group did not receive any training in this regard. To collect data, Torrance’s (1981) Creative Thinking Questionnaire and Hepner and Petersen’s (1982) Problem Solving Questionnaire were used. Data analysis was performed by statistical method of analysis of covariance. The results showed that training based on a seven-step learning cycle model significantly increased creative thinking skills: fluidity (P ≤ 0.001), initiative (P ≤ 0,000), flexibility (P ≤ 0,000), and extension (P ≤ 0.034); and problem solving: confidence in problem solving (P ≤ 0.002), desire-avoidance style (P ≤ 0.006), and personal control (P ≤ 0.040) in the post-test stage. In fact, teaching with a seven-step learning cycle model has increased the mentioned variables in the target community.