Secondary school 9th grade students' levels of the plant identification in their environment: A case from Trabzon

The purpose of this study was to determine the 9 th grade student?s awareness of the plants in their environment and to compare them in accordance to different lycee types.The study was carried out in 2010-2011 academic year in three different types of lycee; Yomra Science High School, Yomra High School and Arsin Vocational and Technical Education High School. The sample of the study was consisted of 118 students (56 female, 62 male) from 9 th grade.The case study approach was used in the study and the data were collected by using test, questionnaire and interview. Thirty plants were chosen for the test which had medical importance or they were endemic. The photos of these plants were put into the test and the students were asked to write the name of these plants on the paper.The findings of the study revealed that all of the students in the sample defined the nut. On the other hand, none of the sample didn?t name the hibiscus plants, and crane beak.The results of the study showed that the identification levels of the students were very low, most of the students couldn?t write the names of the plants correctly. Although they see these plants in their environment such as oleander, honeysuckle, weasels, Rhododendron ponticum and Rhododendron luteum they couldn?t write their names. Based on these data, it was suggested that traditional teaching method is not effective for meaningful learning of environmental issues. Active teaching methods such as observation, botanical visiting, poster development, herbarium formation may be used.Key Words: Secondary Education, Environmental Education, Biodiversity, Awareness, Endemic Species.