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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 11, Issue 2, Article 6 (Dec., 2010) |
Participants
Participants in the study were comprised of 91 ninth-grade students enrolled in a total of four classrooms in a Balikesir high school during the spring semester of the 2008-2009 academic years. Two classrooms were randomly selected as the control group and contained 44 students (48.4%), and the others were selected as the experimental group, consisting of 47 students (51.6%). Of the 91 students, 54 were female (59.3%) and 37 were male (40.9%).
Data collection and data analysis
Study data was collected by three data measuring tools: The Environmental Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ), a semi-structured observation form and a semi-structured interview form.
Environmental Awareness Questionnaire: The Environmental Awareness Questionnaire was used to assess students’ environmental awareness. The original version of the questionnaire developed by Cabuk & Karacaoglu (2003) consisted of 21 questions using a three-point Likert type. The questionnaire only included 18 items since three items were removed since they were deemed not applicable. The aim of the questionnaire was to obtain students’ opinions about whether they were environmentally aware and whether environmental education was adequate in formal education institutions. The EAQ was administered to all students both as a pretest and a posttest. The EAQ duration was about 20 minutes.
The EAQ data was analyzed according to descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test that were evaluated using SPSS 12.0 statistical software. The student responses for the items in the EAQ were scored from 1 to 3 (Never, Sometimes, Always). Possible average scores on the EAQ ranged between 1 to 3 with higher scores indicating positive attitude and lower scores indicating negative attitude. The reliability of the EAQ in the study of Cabuk & Karacaoglu (2003) was Cronbach alpha of .81. While the EAQ pretest reliability coefficient was Cronbach alpha .77, the EAQ posttest reliability coefficient was Cronbach alpha .80 in the present study.
Observation: Observation is a method used to describe in great detail a behavior originating from any environment or institution. Observation provides verifiable, highly valid and detailed information about the assessed individuals. A researcher can employ the observation method if s/he seeks to obtain a detailed and comprehensive picture over time of a particular behavior occurring in any environment (Ysseldyke & Olsen, 1997). The types of observation include non-systematic, semi-systematic and systematic observations. To support the data of the study, observations in the control and experimental groups were performed based on a semi-structured observation form (Appendix B) by the second author of the paper and observation notes were taken. Observations were performed over a four-week treatment; in addition, the types of the instruction of ‘Conscious Individual-Environment Unit’ were used in the control and experimental groups as well as the students’ performance in each group. No interventions were made in regards to the course instructors or to the actual instruction in any way during the treatment.
The observation data were descriptively analyzed for both the experimental and control groups. The data in the experimental and the control groups were categorized under appropriate themes and sub-themes.
Interview: Interviews can be described as a mutual and interactive production process based on asking and answering questions for a specified purpose (Yildirim & Simsek, 2005). Types of interviews include non-structured, semi-structured and structured interviews. To support the data of the study, 10 students from the experimental group were interviewed after the treatment. Interviews were performed based on a semi-structured interview form (Appendix C) by the second author of the paper and interview notes were taken. Each student was interviewed for about 20 minutes.
The interview data was descriptively analyzed too. Student responses to each question in the interview form were categorized under appropriate themes and sub-themes. Striking interview comments were noted using direct quotations.
Treatment
The Biology course is taught two hours per week, with each course session lasting 40 minutes typical of a classroom in Turkey. ‘Conscious Individual-Environment Unit’ was applied at the end of the term. This study was a quasi-experimental study and the treatment duration was five weeks (12 hours). Before the treatment, the EAQ pretest was administered to all ninth grade students in nine classes in a high school in Balikesir in Turkey. The high school had two biology teachers, one male and one female. After analyzing the pretests by using independent sample t-test, only four classes with a total of 91 students were assumed equal. Two classrooms, including 22 and 24 students, were randomly assigned as a control group, and two classrooms, including 22 and 23 students, were assigned as an experimental group. The female teacher instructed the Conscious Individual-Environment Unit to the experimental group, while the male teacher taught the same unit to the control group. Although it would have been better if each teacher would have been designated one control classroom and one experimental classroom, the female teacher was selected as the experimental group teacher. The female teacher had previously used similar teaching methods proposed by the new 9th grade biology curriculum in her classes, while the male teacher had already used traditional methods in his classes. The teachers participated in the study voluntarily.
The research design was given in Table 1. As seen in Table 1, the EAQ as pretest was administered to the students in the experimental and the control groups before the treatment. The control group received the traditional instructional methods including direct lecturing, question-answer methods and note taking. The experimental group received the instructional methods of the new 9th grade biology curriculum in which brainstorming, discussion, experimenting, preparing posters and projects were used in addition to direct lecturing and question-answer methods. 9th grade biology textbooks were also used in the experimental and control groups during the treatment. Biology textbooks were prepared based on constructivism and multiple intelligence approaches according to aims and goals of the new 9th grade biology curriculum. It had several activities, including posters and projects to be created by the students.
Table 1. Research Design
Group
Before Treatment
Treatment
After Treatment
GroupEAQ: Environmental Awareness Questionnaire
The instruction followed the steps below in the control group:
1. Before the course sessions, students were assigned preliminary questions related to the subject as homework and they were asked to prepare this homework. The aim was for the students to have some advance insight regarding the subject.
2. At the beginning of the course sessions, questions like ‘What is environment?’ were first asked to peak the students’ curiosity related to the subject.
3. In the development part of the course sessions, the teacher gave the students a summary of the subject from the biology textbook using the direct lecturing method to reinforce their understanding. The students were also shown pictures about the subject.
4. At the end of the course sessions, the questions in the textbook had been assigned as homework to increase comprehension about the subject.
5. The teacher asked the students to take notes about the subject summaries at the end of each course session.
6. Furthermore, the students were advised to read texts about the environment in their biology textbook.
The experimental group was taught the environmental subjects by following the order and activities in the new 9th grade biology textbook (Secondary 9th Grade Biology Curriculum, 2007).
The instruction followed the steps below in the experimental group:
1. Before the course sessions, the students were assigned preliminary questions on the subject as homework and they were asked to prepare their homework since the goal was for each student to acquire insight in regards to the subject in advance.
2. Then, the students were asked some questions about daily life in order to motivate them during the class. For instance, ‘What is global warming?’ Some relevant pictures complemented the questions in order to initiate a discussion about them.
3. The students completed all the activities in their biology textbook in order.
4. The students also prepared two projects from the biology textbook (Appendix D).
5. Furthermore, the students were asked to read texts about the environment found in their biology textbook.
The second author of the study performed some observations and took notes during the treatment, but there were no intervention to the instructions of either the control or the experimental groups. After the treatment, the EAQ was administered as a posttest to the students in the experimental and the control groups. Finally semi-structured interviews with 10 students in the experimental group were administered after the treatment.
