Effect of Science Teaching Enriched with Technological Practices on Attitudes of Secondary School 7^th Grade Students towards Science Course

Abstract

Purpose of this research is to examine effect of science teaching enriched with technological practices on attitude levels of secondary school 7 th grade students towards science course. Execution step of the research was performed on 7 th grade students attending to a government secondary school in Turkey in the academic year of 2015 and completed in 13 weeks. Workgroup of the study had 74 students (control group = 38, experiment group = 36). "The Attitude towards Science Course Scale" was used to collect data. The scale having 5-point Likert grading structure was applied as pretest, posttest and follow-up test. Cronbach Alpha (α) reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.85. The execution step of the study was performed by the same teacher in science courses of control and experiment groups. The control group was not subjected to any experimental process and a student centered education in line with the existing science course curriculum was offered. The experiment group received education in parallel to the curriculum but technologically enriched science education programs were included in the teaching process. The research concluded that attitude levels of the experiment group significantly increased and this increase was still preserved three months after completing the research.

The Effect of Using Computer Simulations on Grade 11 Learners’ Performance in Plants Biodiversity in South Africa

“…Thus, hypothesis three which states that boys' and girls' performances in EG vary is rejected. The findings concur with the studies by Okwuduba et al (2018) and Mihindo et al (2017), who investigated the impact of computer simulations on gender and found no significant differences among male and female secondary school learners' performance in stoichiometry. They attributed the improvement to computers used in the activities.…”

“…Conversely, learners from EG found CS very interesting. These observations agree with Yildirim and Sensoy (2018), who indicated dynamic interactive visual representations are necessary to enhance academic performances and learners' interests. They further alluded that attitude is one of the critical factors determining learners' performance in science.…”

“…The research contributes to literature from developing countries on learners' experiences of using CS to improve their understanding of science. CS assist learners to improve their attitudes and interests, and cognitive achievements in science (Tüysüz, 2010;Yildirim & Sensoy, 2018). Considering the vast majority of teachers using TCM in schools, which results in learners' poor conceptualisation and poor attainment in sciences, CS would change the paradigm and actively engage learners, especially during the COVID-19 era where face-to-face interaction is minimal.…”

“…CS engage learners in understanding artificial as well as natural systems (Ramat & Preux, 2003 (Mavhunga & Kibirige, 2018), increases learners' interest (Yildirim & Sensoy, 2018) and enhances learners' knowledge retention (Popil & Dillard-Thompson, 2015). CS improve learning outcomes in the science classroom (Akpan, 2001) and are essential in research and investigations (Samsonau, 2018).…”

Science Teachers’ Level of Technological Knowledge and the Effect of Demographic Variables in Ondo State, Nigeria

“…The era of technology has come to stay and teaching is expected to be facilitated by the use of technology. This is supported by Yildirim and Sensoy (2018) that educational system is faced with increasing pressure to use new technologies to teach students the knowledge and skills they need in the 21 st century.…”