A Program Based on McCarthy (4 Mat) Model in Teaching Psychology  to Develop Some Life and Reflective Thinking Skills of Female High School Students,2020

M, T, Submitted by the Researcher Hend Mohammed Abd El Majeed Ali

Supervised by :
prof. Osama Arabi Mohammed Ammar
prof. Shaaban Abdul Azim Ahmed

The current era is witnessing many rapid changes, embodied in the concepts of informatics, the revolution in communication, technology and globalization, which imposed on people of this age great challenges in various areas of life, which requires the preparation of individuals who are able to adapt and deal positively with these variables, which in turn doubled the burden on The educational and educational institutions that aspire to keep pace with change and its leadership should strive to provide their students and enable them with the skills that elevate them to live in this society, able to participate constructively and effectively in it.

        If developing thinking skills is one of the goals of any educational system that every member of society needs, then contemplative thinking represents one of the types of thinking, and it is an effective element in the thinking system and mental activity. The educational process. Reflective thinking makes the individual always plan and evaluate his style in the processes and steps he follows to take the appropriate decision.

        The format model is a process of communicating information in a way that fits all students' learning styles and allows them to practice and creative use of learning materials throughout each lesson. And taking into account individual differences among students so that everyone has educational opportunities that are compatible with their preferences and abilities.

        So there is a close relationship between the McCarthy model and both reflective thinking and life skills. Since the McCarthy model provides a collaborative learning environment, students who work in groups know each other and have conversations with each other, so that each member of the group feels his responsibility towards his group, in addition to the use of cooperative groups, it leads to the development of team spirit and skills of cooperation, participation, communication, listening and taking responsibility for reaching results, The McCarthy model relies on participations and group work. Contemplative thinking also overlaps with the stages of the McCarthy model, as each stage of the McCarthy model includes at least one of the reflective thinking skills.

The study problem:

        Despite the importance of developing life skills and reflective thinking through teaching a psychology course, an exploratory study in which the life skills scale was applied was made of (60) phrases, and a contemplative thinking test consisted of (25) individuals on an exploratory sample of second-grade students consisting of (30) A student at the Sahel Selim Educational School affiliated to the Sahel Selim Educational Administration in Assiut Governorate. The results of the study revealed the students ’poor acquisition of life skills and reflective thinking.

        In light of these results, and the results of previous studies and recent educational developments and reforms, the researcher saw that there is an urgent need to use educational programs as required by this stage, and it works on teaching and developing life skills and reflective thinking skills among high school students, and from the programs that can achieve this and require teachers The psychology of its use in teaching is a program based on the McCarthyian model.

        Hence, the problem of the current research is the weakness of second-grade secondary students in life skills and contemplative thinking skills. Therefore, there is a need for a program that develops life skills and reflective thinking skills.

Study questions:

        The current study answers the following questions:

1. What is the image of the program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology in developing some life skills and reflective thinking among high school students?

2. What is the effectiveness of the program based on the McCarthy model in developing some life skills for high school students?

3. What is the effectiveness of the program based on the McCarthy model in developing the reflective thinking skills of high school students?

Objectives of the study:

    The current study aims to:

• Measuring the effectiveness of the program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology to develop some life skills for high school students.

• Measuring the effectiveness of the program based on the McCarthyian model in teaching psychology to develop reflective thinking skills among high school students

Study hypotheses:

1. There is a difference of statistical significance at the level (01,0) between the mean scores of the female students in the pre and post applications of the life skills scale in favor of the post application.

2. There is a difference of statistical significance at the level of (01,0) between the mean scores of the students in the pre and post applications for the contemplative thinking test in favor of the post application.

3. "There is a correlation relationship of statistical significance between the mean scores of the students in the post application of both the test of reflective thinking skills and the measure of life skills."

The importance of studying:

        The importance of the study is represented in the following:

- The theoretical importance: The current study may be useful in providing a theoretical framework on the McCarthy model, life skills, and reflective thinking skills for high school students in teaching psychology.

- Application importance: the current study may benefit - through the presented program - both of:

Students: This program may assist high school students in developing life skills and reflective thinking skills.

Teachers: Keeping up with the new trend of modern studies that focus on life skills and higher thinking skills.

Curriculum developers: assisting them in designing activities and training that address reflective thinking skills and life skills while preparing the curriculum, and how to support them among learners inside and outside school.

Researchers: This research is expected to open new fields for researchers to conduct many studies and research on the use of the McCarthy model in teaching other subjects.

Limitations of the study:

        The current study is limited to the following limits:

        A program based on the McCarthy model to develop some life skills (social skills, self-esteem skill, and time management skill) and reflective thinking skills (visual vision, uncovering fallacies, reaching conclusions, giving convincing explanations, and developing suggested solutions) by teaching the two units “Motivations” And emotions, and cognitive processes "from the psychology course, and the program was applied to a group of second-grade secondary school students at Sahel Salim Secondary School for Girls during the first and second semesters of the 2019/2020 academic year.

Study Approach:

        The current study used the descriptive approach to find out the problem, defining the theoretical framework of the study, previous studies, designing the tools and materials of the study, and then accessing the results of the study, organizing and classifying them. The study also used the quasi-experimental approach using the experimental design with one group and the pre and post application of the tools on the study group. To know the effectiveness of a program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology to develop some life skills and reflective thinking among high school students.

Study materials and tools:

First: educational materials:

- The program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology to develop some life skills and reflective thinking skills for high school students. (Researcher preparation)

- Handbook of activities for students in the two units “Motivations, Emotions, and Cognitive Processes” of the Psychology course, formulated according to the McCarthy model and included a variety of activities and open-ended questions (researcher's preparation)

Second: Data Collection Tools:

    List of life skills.

Third: Measurement Tools:

• Life Skills Scale (researcher preparation).

• Contemplative thinking skills test (the researcher's preparation).

Study procedures:

First: To answer the study's first question, which states:

“What is the image of the program based on using the McCarthy model in teaching psychology to develop some life skills and reflective thinking skills among high school students?” The researcher did the following:

• Access to the results of previous studies and research that dealt with building educational programs in general and programs based on learning styles (McCarthy Model) in particular, in order to benefit from them in formulating the proposed program.

        Preparing a general view of the program based on the McCarthy model in light of the literature and previous studies available in the field of teaching in general and the psychology course in particular, and this scenario includes the following:

• Determine the foundations upon which the program is based.

•  Program Goals.

• Program content.

• Defining teaching strategies.

• Defining teaching activities.

• Determine the appropriate educational means in implementing the program.

• Defining the program’s calendar tools.

3- Presenting the program to the arbitrators to ensure its validity, stability, and applicability.

4- Making the necessary adjustments in light of the arbitrators ’opinions.

5- Reaching the final picture of the program.

Second: To answer the second question of the study, which states:

"What is the effectiveness of the program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology for developing some life skills for high school students?" The following will be followed:

   Preparing a list of appropriate and important life skills for high school students through:

- To review the literature and previous studies related to the subject of study to reach a list of these skills.

Preparing a preliminary list of the life skills needed for high school students.

- Presenting the list and the scale to experts and specialists (referees) to find important and suitable life skills for high school students.

- To reach the final picture for this list.

- Determine the study group of high school students.

- Preparing the measuring tool (a measure of life skills for high school students).

Ensuring the validity, reliability, and timeliness of the measuring tool, by applying it to an exploratory group, and arriving at the final picture.

- Pre-application of the measurement tool on the study group of second-grade secondary school students.

        Application of the program based on the McCarthy model to the study group.

- Post application of the measuring tool to the study.

    Monitor results and process them statistically, and then analyze and interpret them to determine the program’s effectiveness in developing life skills.

Third: To answer the third question of the study, which states: "What is the effectiveness of the program based on the use of the McCarthy model in teaching psychology for developing reflective thinking skills among high school students?" The following will be followed:

1. Determine the study group of high school students.

2. Preparing the measuring instrument (testing the reflective thinking skills of high school students).

3. Adjust the measuring tool, by presenting it to the arbitrators, and making the necessary adjustments.

4. Ensuring the validity, reliability and timeliness of the measuring tool, by applying it to an exploratory group, and arriving at the final picture.

5. Pre-application of the study tool (Reflective Thinking Test) to the study group.

6. Application of the program based on the McCarthy model to the unit of study.

7. Post application of the measurement tool (Reflective Thinking Test) to the study group.

8. Monitoring the results and processing them statistically, and then analyzing and interpreting them to determine the effectiveness of the program in developing reflective thinking skills.

Results of the study and their interpretation:

1. There is a difference of statistical significance at the level (0.01) between the mean scores of the female students in the pre and post applications of the life skills scale in favor of the post application.

2. There is a difference of statistical significance at the level (0.01) between the mean scores of the students in the pre and post applications for the contemplative thinking test in favor of the post application.

3. There is a correlation relationship with statistical significance between the mean scores of the study group in the post application of both the test of reflective thinking skills and the measure of life skills.

4. The program based on the McCarthy model in teaching psychology has been effective in developing some life skills and reflective thinking skills for high school students.

Second: Benefits from the study:

        In light of what the study results indicated regarding the great impact of using the program on developing life skills and reflective thinking among female students of psychology studies, the benefits of the study can be listed as follows:

1. Paying attention to life skills and contemplative thinking for students and learners, by including in the curriculum many activities and exercises that contribute to the development of their reflective thinking skills in the different stages of education, due to their importance in preparing the learner who can adapt to the changes of the age.

2. Holding periodic training courses for teachers in general, and for a psychology teacher in particular, to train them on modern programs and strategies in teaching, such as the McCarthy Model (4MAT) program, which focuses on learning styles and takes into account individual differences among students.

3. The Psychology course and other courses are enriched with educational activities according to the McCarthy 4 Model (MAT), such as mind maps, meaningful educational plays, and stories related to psychology topics, because such activities have shown the attractiveness of students to studies of psychology to the topics presented.

4. Paying attention to learning resources other than the textbook, such as the library and the multimedia room, and providing it with scientific encyclopedias and modern technological means and tools.

To get the full research, contact us.