The Effects of Applying the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Theory on the 11th Grade Scientific Stream Students’ Acquisition of the Concepts of Physics and the Development of Their Critical Thinking Skills

The current study explores the effects of applying the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Strategy on the 11th-grade scientific stream Jordanian students' acquisition of the concepts of developing their critical thinking skills. This study's significance lies in its emphasis on the worldwide growing tendency to apply PBL teaching strategies that consider developing the students' mental capabilities and creative thinking skills and, consequently, help them solve status-de- facto educational problems face and solve problems in their lives. The researchers used the experimental method in their study, which is based on studying the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. For this reason, three study student groups, equal in their age, intelligence, academic achievement, social and economic standing, were selected. Two experimental groups were exposed to the independent variable (PBL) method, whereas the third control group was not exposed to the independent variable. Instead, it was taught in the Motion Unit in Physics by using the traditional teaching method. The results of the study were analyzed statistically, applying for the SPSS program. The Arithmetic Mean, the Standard Deviation, the Torsional Modulus, and the T-Test were used for the study analysis. The study results revealed that the two (PBL) experimental groups have proved to be much more superior to the control group's third traditional teaching method.