The effect of flipped classroom application in science courses on students' academic achievement and attitudes

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of teaching the "Matter and Heat" unit in the 6th-grade science curriculum using the Flipped Classroom model on students' Science Achievement and Attitudes towards Science. To this end, a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group approach has been employed. The research was conducted in a middle school in Batman during the 2022-2023 academic year. The study group consists of a total of 51 students in the 6th grade. Among these students, 25 represent the experimental group, while 26 represent the control group. Over a period of six weeks, the Flipped Classroom model was implemented for the experimental group, while the control group followed the 2018 Science Teaching Program. Data for the study were collected using the "Science Achievement Test" and the "Attitude Scale towards Science." Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and paired samples t-test were used for data analysis. When examining the pre-implementation science achievement levels and attitudes towards science of the students, it was determined that the science achievements and attitudes of the two groups were equal. After the implementation, when the post-test scores of the experimental and control groups were examined, it was observed that both groups' achievement scores increased; however, the scores of the students in the experimental group significantly increased compared to those in the control group. In terms of attitudes towards science, when the pre- and post-scale data of the experimental group were analyzed, significant increases were observed in the sub-factors (Enjoyment, Confidence, Usefulness, Interest) and overall scale. These findings indicate that the Flipped Classroom model is effective in fostering positive attitudes and increasing science achievement among students in science classes.