The effect of visiual art-supported science teaching on academic achievement, motivation and retention:the collage technique

It is important to visualize and make more understandable abstract and complex concepts by taking into account diverse learning styles in science teaching. Thus, the present study aims to reveal whether integrating collage, a visual art technique, into science education affects students' academic achievement, motivation and retention. The pre-test-post-test control group experimental design was adopted. 58 students at 6th grade during 2023-2024 academic year participated. A 7-week treatment was conducted regarding the unit the systems in our body. Collage technique was implemented in the treatment group, while the control group received instruction prescribed by running curriculum. The 'Systems in Our Body Unit' achievement test and the 'Quationnaire for Motivation toward Science Learning' were used to collect data. The post-test scores of the treatment group and the control group students revealed a significant difference in favor of treatment group students. The post-test and retention test scores of the treatment group demonstrated a statistically significant difference in favor of the retention test. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the post-test and retention test scores of the control group. In addition, pre-test and post-test motivation scores of the students in treatment group suggested a significant difference in favor of the post-test. Moreover, the posttest motivation scores of the students in the treatment group and control group students exhibited a significant difference in favor of the treatment group.