The effect of science activities developed towards astronomy education on spatial skills and academic achievements of 5th grade students

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of science activities developed towards astronomy education on spatial skills and academic achievements of 5th grade students. With this purpose, mixed method, which is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodology, has been used. Quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control group was used in the quantitative dimension of the research. In the qualitative dimension, interviews were conducted with the students in the experimental and control groups. The population of this study was determined as secondary schools in Isparta. The target population of the study consists of the secondary schools located in the city center of Isparta. The sample of the study was determined by the convenience sampling method from the secondary schools in the city center of Isparta and a total of 44 students attending 5th grade were taught by a science teacher willing to support the study voluntarily. In order to prepare the science activities to be studied in the research, teachers were interviewed to determine the deficiencies in the current program, the methods teachers used in the lessons and the issues that the students had the most difficulty. The prepared science activities were made ready for application with expert opinions. The data were collected by Spatial Test Battery which was adapted to Turkish by Batdal-Karaduman (2012) and the Achievement Test of the Sun, Earth and Moon and Movements and Phases of the Moon developed by the researcher. The Spatial Test Battery consists of tests of surface development, block rotation and visual memory learning. Achievement test consists of 20 questions in total. After the pilot application, the reliability test of the achievement test was performed and the test was found to be acceptable (Cronbach α=0,70). SPSS 20 was used in the analysis of the data of the study. Doubly MANOVA (Double Multivariate Analysis of Variance) was used for inferential statistics. With this analysis, the pre and post test success scores of the students in the experimental and control groups were compared with pre and post test spatial skill scores. As a result of the analysis, no statistically significant difference was found between experimental and control groups in terms of achievement and spatial skill. However, when the effect value of the analysis was examined, it was observed that there was a small effect in practice in favor of the experimental group and a small moderate effect in terms of spatial skill in astronomy achievement. In the analysis of the qualitative data, content analysis was used and the data obtained from the quantitative part of the study were tried to be supported. Accordingly, it was determined that science activities prepared by the researcher for astronomy education increased the spatial thinking skills of the students in the experimental group. At the end of the study, recommendations were made for researchers and practitioners.