Evaluation of a teaching material for the processing of the 7th grade interaction of light with matter unit in out-of-school learning environments

This research aimed to develop a teaching material that includes activities that can be applied in an out-of-class learning environment related to the 7th grade "Interaction of Light with Matter Unit" and to examine its effect on science learning. In this context, the designed material was applied to one of the selected classes under the guidance of the researcher and to the other without any guidance. In contrast, the subject was taught entirely in another class according to the science course curriculum. The study group consisted of 7th-grade students studying in a middle school in Kepez District of Antalya province in the 2022-2023 academic year. In the research, quantitative data were obtained from two different academic achievement tests using both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools. A motivation scale in science education was applied twice to each of the three classes, at the intervention's beginning and end. Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers and students at the end of the research and structured diaries filled out by the students at the end of each day of the intervention. Quantitative data were analyzed by related t-test and ANOVA analysis in the SPSS 26.0 program, and qualitative data were analyzed by descriptive content analysis. At the end of this study, it was revealed that student's academic success and motivation largely overlapped with intervention results in other science subjects and out-of-class environments, although they were not statistically significant. In this context, it was concluded that students with high cognitive readiness for science lessons taught in out-of-class learning environments started to give positive reactions and fulfill their student responsibilities in the first week, and those with low mental readiness only in the following weeks.