THE EFFECT OF A COMPUTERIZED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AMONG STUDENTS

Abstract

Structured educational plans enhance student academic accomplishments to a considerable extent. Educational programs that enable students to pause regularly while doing active work and applying visual tools deliver substantial benefits. Children from various backgrounds benefit substantially from educational programs because they examine unique student conditions to modify teaching tactics appropriately. The purpose of this investigation is to explore how sixth-grade mathematics students' achievement and critical thinking development, including prediction, interpretation, evaluation, deduction, and induction, would react to computerized educational programs. A total of fifty students participated in the experimental group as they received their education through computerized programs, yet the fifty students in the control group followed traditional learning methods. The sixth-grade students received an experimental design for the academic year 2022/2023 into two separate learning groups before researchers distributed validity and reliability-validated tests for critical thinking skills and academic achievement assessment. These instruments passed both validity and reliability checks. The main research goal is to evaluate which instructional methods would influence sixth graders' mathematical skills along with their analytical abilities. The study included two groups where the "experiment" received healthy nourishment and the "control" received an inadequate diet. The experimental group scored 20,763 on average after adjustment, while the control group maintained an average of 17,037 for academic performance. Results indicated that the experimental group exceeded the control group by substantial amounts in critical thinking assessment (domain effect size at 37.8% with specific effect sizes between 16.4% and 56.4%). The experimental group that used computer-based education achieved superior results compared to traditional methods for teaching sixth graders both mathematics and critical thinking skills. According to research findings, academic success demonstrates a direct link to what students eat. The research emphasizes how educational curricula developers should incorporate student nutritional health considerations during their work. Student performance in mathematics and critical thinking tests improves significantly when well-nourished students experience computerized educational programs. Teachers can enhance learning results by including nutritional information about their students in both classroom processes and educational programs. Educational institutions, as well as teaching staff, must prioritize nutrition-aware approaches alongside technological teaching tools because they fulfill the diverse needs of students while creating conducive learning environments.