The effectiveness of inquiry-based science education activities designed for gifted/talented students aged 6-8 on the development of the scientific process inquiry skills

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of an inquiry-based science education program developed for gifted children aged 6-8 on the development of scientific process and inquiry skills and in the sustainability of scientific curuosity. The mixed method, in which quantitative and qualitative methods are used together, has been used in the study. The qualitative data has been analyzed through descriptive content analysis; the quantitative data has been analyzed with SPSS 16.0 packet data program. The sample of the study involves a group of 10 students aged between six-eight, determined through sample selection method, receiving education in the general ability field, in a Science and Art Centre in İzmir, during 2018-2019 academic year. In order to determine the scientific process skills of gifted and talented students included in the sample in this study, Koray, Ö. et al. (2007), "Scientific Process Skills Scale" has been used. The scale consists of 31 questions. The Kuder-Richardson-21 reliability coefficient of the scale was measured as 0.81. In the research, nine activities with proven operability which were structured based on inquiry and enriched according to gifted/talented students have been used. In order to investigate the effectiveness of these activities profoundly, with the purpose of defining the sustainability of scientific process, inquiry skills and curiosity levels of the gifted/talented students, "Student Question Form', 'Student Questions Evaluation Form'," Semi-Structured Interview Form" and the analysis of the audio recordings made during the activities have been used. With the program designed with an inquiry-based structure, a significant improvement has been found in the scientific process skills and inquiry skills of gifted/ talented students. It is also among the results that the mentioned program triggers the existing curiosity of gifted / talented students to turn into scientific curiosity, and the program provides the sustainability of students' curiosity. Based on the findings of the research, it is recommended to adopt an inquiry-based approach while designing education programs for gifted students and to develop a culture of understanding and doing science in this way. Keywords: Gifted / Talented students, scientific inquiry, science process skills, inquiry-based science education, scientific curuosity