Investigation of the effect of density in the matter and heat unit of the 6th grade science course on student achievement and attitude using prediction observation explanation method

Constructivist approach practices are included in science lessons in today's education and training programs. According to the constructivist approach, learning occurs when the individual constructs the knowledge in his mind with his own effort, and therefore teachers have many responsibilities. Learning with a constructivist approach requires the use of various strategies and techniques. TGA is one of the strategies included in this approach. TGA, which is a teaching method that emphasizes student-centered learning, is based on learning by doing and reveals misconceptions by considering students' prior knowledge. Thus, it offers students the opportunity to evaluate their prior knowledge and to structure their prior knowledge by comparing it with new information. An effective science teaching should be based on the active participation of students in the lessons and teaching them with understanding. The TGA activity used in the science course is an effective teaching method based on the constructivist approach, which ensures the active participation of the student in the course. The research was carried out in two classes at the 6th grade level of the state primary school located in the city center of Hakkari MEM in the 2022-23 academic year. DG to study: 24; KG: A total of 24, 48 students participated. Simple random sampling method; Sampling is a sampling method in which each selected person has an equal probability of being selected from the population. In this sense, the sample of the research; The 6th graders studying in Hakkari city center are randomly selected. Intensity Subject Achievement Test, which was used as a data collection tool, was developed by Uyanık (2014), and it was decided to apply as a result of the evaluations of faculty members who are experts in the subject in order to ensure the validity of the test. In order to determine their attitudes towards science, an attitude scale consisting of 20 items was used by Turgut and Baykul. The students in the experimental group defined the density in the "matter and heat" unit of the science lesson, during a total of 8 lesson hours, calculates the densities of various substances as a result of the experiments he designed, compares the densities of insoluble liquids with each other, and compares their gains based on the TGA method. The control group students continued their current education and practices for 8 hours. The descriptive statistical results of the data obtained from the pretest achievement and attitude test towards the lesson before the application, and the posttest, retention and attitudes towards the lesson after the application were analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 statistical program. Independent t-test was used to compare the scores obtained from the experimental and control groups. The findings were evaluated at the p<05 significance level. According to the Shapiro-Wilks normality analysis results, it was observed that the academic achievement test pre-test, post-test, permanence and attitude score averages of the students in the experimental and control groups were greater than p>0.05. In this case, it was observed that the data exhibited a parametric normal distribution. Indepentent –Sample t-test (independent sample test), which is one of the dependent groups parametric tests, was used. It was observed that there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups' academic achievement averages in the pre-tests and their attitudes towards science. When the post-test scores of the students in the experimental group were compared, their academic achievement was found to be higher. According to the results obtained, the difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of academic achievement test post-test scores for the experimental group in which the NPL strategy was applied was found to be statistically significant. In the permanence test administered to the experimental and control groups five weeks after the post-test application, the academic achievement averages of the experimental group were higher than the control group. Accordingly, this difference is significant in favor of the experimental group. When the attitude scores of the students in the experimental and control groups were compared, it was found that the FBTÖ levels of the students in the experimental group were higher. In my research results, I observed that the use of TGA in the classroom has positive effects on understanding science lessons and positively increases the attitude towards science lessons.