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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 10, Issue 2, Article 4 (Dec., 2009) |
The present study investigated the effects of the green class model, which has an important place in environmental education where active learning methods and techniques are used for students’ environmental knowledge and retention. In the present study, conducted according to the pre-test-post-test-monitoring test design, the data was collected through the environmental knowledge test developed by the researcher. In this respect, changes in the environmental knowledge scores of the randomly determined control and experimental groups were tested throughout the school year. Through the monitoring test, the changes in the environmental knowledge of the students were determined within a three-month period in the summer holiday.
The findings of the present study revealed pre-test scores close to each other for the control and experimental groups. It is clearly seen in both the descriptive statistics table and profile plots, that the changes occurring in the post-test scores favour the experimental groups. The monitoring test administered three months after the study revealed a small decrease for all the three groups. However, the monitoring test scores are higher than the pre-test scores.
The two-way ANOVA for mixed measures was used to test whether the score differences were statistically significant. Environmental knowledge scores of the experimental groups trained according to the green class model and those of the control group students exhibited significant changes from the beginning of the study to the end of monitoring process. The effects of the model were found to be significant. In addition, there are significant differences between the total mean score of the experimental groups and the control group, stemming from the environmental education given to the experimental groups in line with the green class model and the environmental education given to the control group.
According to the results of the multiple-comparison test used to find the source of the score differences, the environmental knowledge mean scores of experimental group 1 and experimental group 2 are significantly better than those of the control group (Table 6). The difference between the environmental knowledge mean scores of the experimental groups was not found to be significant. These results show that the environmental education given using the green class model is more effective in enhancing the environmental knowledge and its retention.
The findings of the present study concur with those of the study conducted by Uzun, Saglam and Varnaci Uzun (2008), who reported significant increases in environmental awareness of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders due to green class model applications. In their study among pre-school students, Ozdemir and Uzun (2006) found that science and nature activities performed in a green class setting, based on direct interaction with living things, considerably improved children’s environmental awareness. This clearly reveals that science and nature activities performed in a green class environment are more effective than those performed in a traditional class environment. Again, the findings of the present study comply with those of Wilson, Kimler and Krauerhase (1996), who reported that active participation of children and environmental education based on direct experiences are effective in the formation of the environmental awareness. Additionally, children’s active experiences in natural elements has a great contribution to cognitive and moral development (Environment Protection Authority, 2003).
According to Ozdemir and Uzun (2006), it is of great importance to investigate the effects of teaching settings called a green class where the students can observe different organisms and their interactions in a natural learning environment. Moreover, Fien & Tilbury (2002) and Tilbury (2004) draw the attention to the importance of conscious learning within the nature and experience-based learning. Hart (1997) argues that schools are places of application, and Gayford (1996) emphasizes the importance of learning by living and doing in nature. In addition, a steadily increasing number of the studies draw attention to the importance of student-cantered applied education (Brisk, 2000; Erten, 2001; Nicol, 2002; Aksoy, 2003; Sahin, Cerrah, Saka & Sahin, 2004; Fishman, 2005).
As a conclusion to the study, it is believed that the green class model, where active learning method and techniques are employed, students who are central to the process and teachers who assume the role of guide will have great contributions to the environmental knowledge within the framework of environmental education. When the study group consists of primary school students, the study becomes more important. At this level of education, the positive results obtained will lay the basis of effective environmental education at higher levels of education. Hence, green class applications should be carried out at other levels of education with different variables.
