Investigation of 7th grade students' situational curiosity and situational anxiety regarding the topic of "refraction of light and lenses"

Within the scope of the current thesis, the state curiosity and state anxiety levels of middle school students on the subject of "Refraction of Light and Lenses" in the Science course (7th grade) were examined. It can be said that the anxiety and curiosity felt in the Science course are directly related to the effects of the students on the course success. It is observed that the affective characteristics of the students play important roles in the learning process as well as their academic achievement. Curiosity is seen as a motivating factor that positively supports the learning process of individuals, while anxiety is an emotion that hinders learning and often has negative effects on academic achievement. In the Science course, especially the topics directly related to daily life such as "Refraction of Light and Lenses" can both stimulate students' curiosity and cause an increase in their anxiety levels. This can affect students' perceptions of the course, their desire to learn, and therefore their academic achievement. The quantitative part of the research was conducted with a total of 310 7th grade students enrolled in public schools of different socio-economic levels in Elazığ province during the 2023-2024 academic year. A scale developed by Kang et al. (2020) was used to measure curiosity and state science anxiety. The application was carried out during the period when the relevant subject was being taught, and students' real-time emotional reactions to the subject were measured. In this study, an academic achievement test was administered to the students. Based on the findings, students' state curiosity and anxiety levels towards science were analyzed based on variables such as achievement scores and gender. Within the scope of the study, a relationship was established between students' achievement in this course and their curiosity and anxiety levels. It has been revealed that for students to be successful in science classes, not only cognitive but also affective characteristics should be taken into account. It has been determined that curiosity helps students make sense of subjects more easily and make knowledge permanent; on the other hand, high levels of anxiety negatively affect the learning process and reduce achievement. In this direction, the research highlights the importance of teachers developing teaching strategies that support students' curiosity and reduce anxiety. The results show that considering the emotional factors in students' learning processes can increase success in science education. In this context, creating learning environments that support curiosity and reduce anxiety in the teaching process is recommended.