The effects of environmental science course to prospective teachers? critical thinking skills, attainments and their attitudes

The purpose of the study is to determine the effects of teaching on the basis of critical thinking skills, preservice teachers? gaining critical thinking skills, attainments and environmental attitudes in Primary School Teaching Department in Environmental Problems Unit in Environmental Science Course.The sample group consists of 69 sophomores (38 females, 31male) attending to Primary School Teaching Department in Buca Educational Faculty in 2006- 2007 spring term. In the research a model of control group with pre-test and post-test which is one of the experimental research models was used. In the study in which there is a experimental and control group, traditional teaching method was used in control group while in experimental group environmental science course carried out with materials and acvities dealing with critical thinking skillsData were collected with ?Critical Thinking Skills Scale?,?Achievement Test Based on Critical Thinking Skills About Environmental Problems?, and ?Environmental Attitude Measurement Instrument?, which were developed by the researcher. Data gathering instruments were applied before experimental proceses as pre-test and after experimental processes as post-test.Data were analyzed with SPSS 11.0 program. In the analyses of the data, standard deviation, arithmetic (mean), t-test and ANCOVA were used.As a result, it was revealed that teaching practises based on critical thinking skills had positive effects on students? critical thinking skills, attainment and environmental attitudes ın Environment Problems Unit in Environmental Science Course.