The Effect of Active Learning Based Science Camp Activities on Primary School Students’ Opinions Towards Scientific Knowledge and Scientific Process Skills

Abstract

It is important for people to be able to judge the nature while actually living in it to gain the scientific perspective which is an important skill nowadays. Within this importance, the general purpose of this study is to examine the effect of active learning based science camp activities on sixth, seventh and eighth grade students’ opinions towards scientific knowledge and scientific process skills. In order to achieve this goal, the natural, historical, archeological and the cultural sources of the Cappadocia area were used as a teaching tool. One group quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest was used in the study. 17 boarding primary school students participated to research. Opinion survey on scientific knowledge, scientific process skills scale, conceptual comprehension survey on environmental problems and observation form were used as a data collection tools. Descriptive and Man Whitney-U analysis techniques were used during assessment of the data. As a result of the study, significant difference was found supporting the students’ post-test results of scientific knowledge survey, the number of students’ postapplication explanations were more than students’ pre-application explanations of conceptual knowledge survey on environmental problems.