A study on the evaluation of science projects of primary school students based on scientific criteria

Science and Technology included in curricula as a basic course that provides individuals with cognitive development, self-confidence, creativity, and a capability to act independently. In this course, students examine their environment through scientific methods, and get accustomed to thinking objectively and making correct decisions in the face of different phenomena and events. In other words, students learn real life, thus adapt to natural life more easily thanks to this course. Beyond the key role of preparing individuals for the upper educational level in the traditional sense, primary science education has vital importance for preparing individuals for the future and the life, which is a highly significant function (Zinicola, 2003).

The fact that science course contains information overload and is considered by students difficult and inadequately linked to daily life directs students and teachers to easy project works (Millar and Abrahams, 2009; Duggan and Gott, 2002). The difficulties encountered in project design are mentioned as follows: the wearisomeness of process, heavy work load, the problems encountered in problem determination, lack of interest in field work, non-equal task distribution, impossibility of getting in contact with authorities, lack of knowledge, lack of guidance, lack of resources and time, and financial troubles. It should be noted that project works provide participants with acquisitions including improvement in self-confidence, socialization, effective learning, and cooperative working during exhibition (Küfrevioğlu et al., 2011). Project preparation is quite important in terms of solving the problems encountered in the daily life. Project works, which enable students to exhibit different skills in a particular time, have become more and more widespread in public and private educational institutions in recent years. Project works have both curricular and extracurricular subjects.

These kinds of designs involve activities such as thinking, problem-solving, creativity, reaching the information, processing the information, reorganizing the information, questioning, compromising, writing, and presentation. However, it should be kept in mind that project subjects should be chosen among from those which are related to daily life and enable individuals to solve problems, make decisions, and use instruments.

According to Korkmaz and Kaptan (2001), project preparation should aim to solve problems through individual or small groups by means of an approach that is similar to life under natural conditions. For Çepni (2005), it is a method which can be used by students for solving problems by putting their knowledge and skills into practice in their daily lives. Project design process includes all actions from the emergence of the idea through writing out, developing, implementing, and evaluating it as well as generating new ideas based on it (İçelli et al., 2007). Within this process, students plan their learning processes in line with particular goals individually or in the group, do research, work in cooperation, take responsibility, collect information, and organize the collected information (Yurtluk, 2005). It is mostly under the responsibility of students to reach and properly use the information (Demirhan and Demirel, 2003).

Projects are also used as part of methodology in project-based learning patterns. The main idea of project-based learning is to deal with real life problems and the fields of interest of students, and to encourage students for meaningful thinking when resorting to new information during the problem-solving process (David, 2008). In this way, students reach a position where they search, investigate, reach the information, and attempt to solve a problem by utilizing the obtained information. In addition, it is a form of learning that aims at improving decision-making skills and self-confidence levels of students whereby they are expected to obtain a product (Coşkun, 2004; Özdener and Özçoban, 2004; Demirel, 2004). Project-based learning consists of three basic concepts that have been meticulously selected to show the shape required to be taken by education systems in our day. One of these concepts is learning, which is highly important for drawing attention to learners, but not teachers. Another concept is project. Project means design or design development, imagining, and planning. This concept refers to the design, that is, the orientation of learning. It emphasizes relational learning for a particular purpose rather than singular learning. Taking project as an infrastructure element rather than a goal, project-based learning highlights process, but not product, in learning, and provides learning with a structure that is unique to learner (Erdem and Akkoyunlu, 2002).

Projects should require an inter-disciplinary work, provide students with an opportunity to express their personal opinions, be a product of endeavor and creativity, and reflect information and opinions of students about both the main topic and the other fields with which the main topic is associated. We are of the opinion that it is not correct behavior for students and teachers to expect an absolute invention or discovery in every project. Projects should not include any project or study evaluated before, not contain extracts or sections with unspecified references, not negatively affect education, training and social life of students (though it is difficult and takes a long time to prepare them), and not have subjects that may be summarized through exacts taken from references including books, encyclopedias, etc. (Baki and Bütüner, 2008).

In general, a project includes such stages as determining the purpose and references to be employed, noting down the important ideas and concepts intended to be searched, determining the project duration, presenting the project, and evaluating the project (Saban, 2002). Since there are high expectations from competition projects, it is obviously necessary to be more meticulous and careful at these stages in order to create a difference.

Teachers need to have a high knowledge level, methodology knowledge, and guidance skill and experience in order to serve as an important source for their students in the process of designing competition projects. Tendency for self-development and creativity considerably varies among teachers working at public schools and private schools (Sönmezer and Eryaman, 2008). Naturally, this situation positively affects the active participation of private school students in educational processes. As a matter of fact, the study conducted by Kutlu and Kumandaş (2009) found that students attending private schools were more successful in fulfilling certain tasks in comparison to public school students.

In this study, 454 science projects prepared by primary school students between 2007 and 2011 and submitted by MNE regional work groups to TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) BIDEB (Department for Supporting Scientists) Bursa regional science board were re-evaluated based on scientific research methods and techniques. The study aimed for developing a new chart (ANNEX-1) which would help students and teachers manage and finalize their future projects better, eliminate certain deficiencies, and serve as a basis for evaluating the future competition projects.

Project design and management requires certain characteristics including being curious, making an observation, independent working, imagination, generating original ideas, creating solutions, following complex processes, and having problem-solving skills. Furthermore, it is necessary to take the same care to the evaluation stage, and to ensure that evaluation criteria and outputs are interpreted in terms of individual, social, and scientific processes. However, it is observed that these points are not taken into account in project evaluation. This situation gives rise to many problems especially in the projects prepared for competition. Students need to be protected against adverse effects and pressures. The expectation for students voluntarily participating in project designs to advance in science-related fields in the future is not much different from the expectations from gifted students (Cutts and Moseley, 2001; Kargı and Akman, 2003).