Investigation of the effect of research question supported REACT strategy on secondary school students' conceptual understanding: Soundtopic example

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of the learning environment created with the inquiry-supported REACT strategy on 6th grade secondary school students' conceptual understanding of the subject "Sound and Its Properties". In addition, it is aimed to determine student opinions about the use of the inquiry-supported REACT strategy in science lessons. The research was carried out according to the quasi-experimental method. The participant group consists of 65 students studying in the 6th grade at Mehmet Akif Ersoy Imam Hatip Secondary School in Sarıkaya district of Yozgat province in the 2022-2023 academic year. 24 of them constituted the experimental group, 21 of them formed the 5E learning model, and 20 of them formed the control group in which plain instruction was applied. First of all, teaching materials based on the REACT strategy supported by research and inquiry were developed regarding the subjects of 'Sound and Characteristics' of the 6th grade secondary school science course. Applications were made with the 5E learning model, direct instruction and REACT strategy. The data of the study were collected through "Sound and Features Conceptual Comprehension Test" and "Semi-Structured Interview". While the quantitative data were analyzed statistically with the IBM SPSS 23 program, the qualitative data were analyzed with the descriptive analysis method. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the learning environment created according to the research-inquiry-supported REACT strategy on the subject of sound and its properties increased the conceptual understanding of 6th grade students. In addition, it was concluded that the students in the experimental group, where the inquiry-supported REACT strategy was applied, evaluated the process as fun, more permanently instructive, related to daily life, and encouraging more socialization through group work. Some suggestions are presented in line with the results obtained from the study.