Evaluation of the educational content developed for sustainable soilless farming practices (hydroponics and aquaponics)

The aim of this study is to examine the cognitive structures of secondary school students through the main concepts related to sustainable aquaponics and hydroponic system topics and to determine student views on the teaching process developed in this direction. The study group of the research consists of 20 students studying in the 6th grade of a middle school in Urla District of Izmir Province in the 2023-2024 academic year. The holistic single case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. A 6-week implementation process was designed for sustainable aquaponic and hydroponic systems and related concepts, and activities were carried out in the Mathematics and Science Applications course. During the implementation process, aquaponic and hydroponic system STEM activities were carried out and an educational trip to a soilless agriculture strawberry greenhouse was organised as an out-of-school learning environment. As a data collection tool, a word association test consisting of 10 key concepts (Aquaponic System, Recycling, Fertiliser, Global Climate Change, Nitrogen Cycle, Saving, Sustainable Development, Matter Cycle, Agriculture, Hydroponic System) was applied as a pre-test and post-test. A structured interview form was used to reveal the students' views on STEM activities, the educational trip to the out-of-school learning environment and soilless agriculture. The frequency table of the words produced in the word association test was prepared and concept networks were created according to cut-off point technique. The data obtained from the structured interview form were analysed and evaluated by content analysis method. The results of the research show that students had misconceptions about some concepts before the activity, but after the activity, meaningful learning was achieved and misconceptions were eliminated. At the end of this study, it was determined that sustainable aquaponic and hydroponic system STEM activities helped students understand the basic concepts of 'Recycling, Global Climate Change, Nitrogen Cycle, Saving, Sustainable Development, Matter Cycle, Agriculture, Hydroponic System, Aquaponic System', were found interesting and fun by the students, gained responsibility and supported collaborative work.