Student and teacher perceptions about 4006-TÜBİTAK Science Fair: A case study from the Ergani district of Diyarbakır province

The purpose of this research is to determine the opinions of students and teachers who participated in the 4006 TÜBİTAK Science Fair regarding the preparation, implementation, and evaluation processes of the science fair. The study employs a quantitative research method using the survey model. Additionally, criterion sampling technique, which is a purposive sampling method, is used in the study. The study group consists of middle school teachers who worked at the Ministry of National Education (MEB) in the Ergani district of Diyarbakır province during the 2021-2022 academic year and who participated in the TÜBİTAK 4006 Science Fair at least once, as well as students from grades 6, 7, and 8 of middle school. A total of 81 advisory teachers, 20 executive teachers, and 203 students who were involved in the 4006 TÜBİTAK Science Fair participated in the study. Two different survey forms were used as data collection tools: the "Student Perception Survey Form" and the "Teacher Perception Survey Form." These survey forms contain a 'Three-point Likert Scale.' Factor analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used for data analysis, and frequency and percentage tables were created to analyze the data. As a result of the study, teachers' positive perspectives were identified, including their voluntary participation in the science fair, the strengthening of communication among teachers, students, and parents, the contribution to their personal development, and the promotion of experiential and lasting learning for students. Additionally, negative views of teachers were also identified, such as participating in science fairs according to the school administration's request, the difficulty of preparing projects based on thematic sub-project areas, struggling to allocate sufficient time for projects due to class intensity, and the demanding and lengthy nature of science fairs. Regarding the opinions of students involved in the science fair, positive aspects were noted, including the improvement of presentation and communication skills, and increased participation in classes. However, some students expressed negative views, such as not preparing the materials used in presentations themselves, not creating the sub-steps of the projects themselves and not participating in the science fair according to their own wishes. Nevertheless, it was determined that students knew the sub-steps of the projects prepared at the science fair, could create these sub-steps themselves, received help from relevant experts, and improved their communication and presentation skills, leading to increased class participation.