The effect of teaching biomimicry approach in science education on students' 21st century skills and creativity

The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of biomimicry-focused instruction on students' 21st Century Learning and Innovation Skills and Creativity Skills. The research was conducted within the scope of the Science course in a middle school located in Ankara city center during the 2021-2022 academic year. The study group of the research consists of a total of 116 students: two experimental groups (n=46) and one control group (n=22) in the fifth grade, and one experimental group (n=24) and one control group (n=24) in the seventh grade. The instruction was implemented by the researcher. Quantitative data of the research were collected using the "Creativity Test" and the "21st Century Learning and Innovation Skills Scale." The "Independent Word Association Test" was used for qualitative data, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 students in the experimental group after the application. A mixed research method was employed in the study. The quantitative data collected throughout the study were analyzed using the Jamovi 2.3.18 package program. Independent samples t-tests, paired samples t-tests, and ANCOVA statistics were applied in the research. It was observed that biomimicry-based applications contributed to the improvement of students' 21st Century Skills and Creativity Skills. In the application of the Independent Word Association Test as the final test, it was determined that students used more scientific expressions. Additionally, students in the experimental group expressed that their imagination improved thanks to biomimicry applications. The results of the research are considered to be guiding for other biomimicry-focused educational research.