Effect of the MURDER strategy on the Achievement of Fifth-grade High School Students in Subject of Philosophy and Psychology and Outgrowth of their Pivotal Thinking

Abstract

The research aims to explore the effect of the MURDER strategy on the academic achievement and critical thinking development of fifth-grade literary stream female students. To achieve this objective, three null hypotheses were formulated. The experimental approach with two equivalent groups was selected, using both post-achievement and pre-and post-critical thinking tests. The experiment was conducted during the second semester of the 2023–2024 academic year. The sample consisted of 67 students, with 33 in the experimental group and 34 in the control group, chosen randomly. The two research groups were matched based on the following variables: students' chronological age (in months), intelligence test scores, critical thinking test results, and parents' educational attainment, the researcher developed behavioral objectives for the academic material, resulting in a final list of 64 behavioral objectives. Based on these objectives, 12 instructional plans were prepared, and their suitability was confirmed by a group of experts and evaluators. Two research tools were designed: an achievement test, consisting of 30 items in its final form, and a critical thinking test, both of which were verified for validity and psychometric properties. The reliability of the test items was also established.

After statistically analysing the data using the statistical software package, the research results showed:

A statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level between the mean achievement scores of the experimental group students taught using the proposed strategy and the control group students taught using the conventional method, in favour of the experimental group. a statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level between the mean critical thinking scores of the experimental group students taught with the proposed strategy and those of the control group students taught with the conventional method, in favour of the experimental group, a statistically significant difference at the 0.05 level between the pre-and post-critical thinking test scores of the experimental group students taught with the proposed strategy, in favour of the post-test scores, based on these findings, the researcher has set forth several conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions.