A Mixed-Design Study on Development of Spatial Perception Skills in Life Science Course

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how instruction of geography subjects in primary school third-grade Life Studies course with several methods affects students’ attitudes toward this course and their spatial perception skills. To that end, the study was designed with exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. Two third-grade classes at a public school on the European side of Istanbul province were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. After the Life Science Attitude Scale and the open-ended perception questionnaire were administered to the both groups as pretests, their readiness were found to be similar. The groups were given a education that included geography subjects and aimed to improve spatial perception skills for eight hours. In the experimental group, the education involved the instruction of geography subjects in Life Science course by using methods such as case study, drama, and question-answer whereas it involved the instruction of the same geography subjects with the methods included in the textbook in the control group. Later, the scale and questionnaire were read ministered as posttests. The quantitative data of the study were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests, and the qualitative data were subjected to the content analysis which was made using codes, categories, and themes. Consequently, Life Science Attitude Scale scores of the experimental group were found to be significantly higher than the control group. Moreover, as shown by results of the open-ended perception questionnaire, the experimental group had a better grasp of the concepts about spatial perception skills compared to the control group.