This study aimed to investigate perceptions of gifted and talented students about their project performance and creative thinking skills in social studies. The study was conducted according to the expansion approach of mixed-methods research design to improve the scope or depth of the study by using quantitative and qualitative data together. The study group consisted of students who participated in a support program at Science and Art Center in one of our southern provinces in 2017-2018. A purposive sampling method was employed when determining the study group. The project performance of students in quantitative phase of the study was determined using the “Social Studies Project Performance Evaluation Form”, while the way they incorporated their creative thinking skills during the project was determined through interviews in qualitative phase. According to quantitative results of the study, students well performed in determining the purpose and hypotheses of the project but poorly performed in supporting the findings and conclusions with pictures, tables, graphics, figures, and determining references. According to the qualitative results, students experienced producing numerous ideas, identifying problems concerning different disciplines, and coming up with various ideas in their projects. In problem identification stage, they had mental experiences on creating clear ideas, producing ideas on familiar and loved topics, producing new ideas from suggestions, getting inspired by their lives, approaching a problem from different perspectives and limiting the problem idea when it sounds far-reaching.

Gifted and talented students, project approach, creative thinking skills