The Effects of Activity and Gain Based Virtual Material on Student’s Success, Permanency and Attitudes towards Science Lesson

Erol Taş

doi:10.11114/jets.v3i5.817

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to research the effects of a student gains and activity based virtual material on students’ success, permanence and attitudes towards science lesson, developed for science and technology lesson 6th grade “Systems in our body” unit. The study, which had a quasi-experimental design, was conducted with the participation of a total of 70 6th graders in a primary school. Before the study, a virtual material was developed by research which consisted of interactive activities for each of students’ gains of the unit. In the experimental group, the virtual material was used by the teacher while teaching the unit. The Unit was treated in the usual way in the control group during the study. Achievement test, permanence test and science and technology lesson attitude scales were used as data collection tools and they were conducted on both groups as pre-test and post-test. SPSS 17 package program was used in the analysis of the data. As a conclusion, a significant difference in favor of the experimental group was found in students’ achievement. But, it was not seen that virtual material based on activity and gain affected permanency in a positive way. Also, no statistically significant difference was found between groups as to students’ achievement. In addition, when the attitudes of experimental and control group students towards the lesson after the study were examined, no statistically significant difference was found in post-test and permanency tests.

Highlights

In order to be able to turn individuals into effective learners, traditional teaching perspectives in schools should be abandoned and innovative teaching attitudes should be adopted
In order to examine the effect of web assisted activity prepared for the teaching of “systems in our body” unit; pre-test, post-test and permanency test results of the academic achievement test administered to students and the comparison of these results in experimental and control groups were examined
Post-test data analysis of the achievement test shows that control group students form a significant difference with an average of 57,60 when compared with pre-test results (t=5,480; p

Summary

Introduction

In order to be able to turn individuals into effective learners, traditional teaching perspectives in schools should be abandoned and innovative teaching attitudes should be adopted. Within this context, in order to be able to attract learners to the activity of learning, teaching activities which support learning through material designing process and which prioritize mutual interaction should be used (Liao & She, 2009). Turkish science curriculum was renewed and modified radically according to the requirements of the current age and community’s needs. The renewed curriculum was developed in terms of the main philosophy of the constructivist learning and multiple intelligent theories (Birgin and Çatlıoğlu, 2004; şahin, 2007). Apart from the program of science and technology teaching as main written source material, the use of technology has been emphasized in teaching subjects and concepts (MEB, 2006)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion