A sample action research on the using fabl to develop awareness for the environment

This study is an action research aimed at teaching secondary school environmental issues more effectively. As an alternative activity in the teaching of environmental issues, the effect of use of fable on environmental education was investigated. For this purpose, an action plan containing the different uses of fables was prepared and activities developed within this framework were implemented in the environment in the fifth grade science course. The study was carried out with 15 students who have been educating in fifth grade in a public school in a village in the district of Sakarya province. All of the fifth grades in the school are 15 students and nine of the students are male and six of the students are female. The study was applied the second semester of the 2014-2015 academic year. In the study, six fabla based activities were developed by the researchers. The activities were examined by expert researchers in the field of science education and Turkish education and opinions were taken from them on the validity of the activities and they were applied gradually in the research process. After corrections, related activities were applied throughout the unit. In the first stage of the application, three full-text fable (Cry of the Earth, Clean Planet, Year 2050) were examined together with the students; then the questions about the events taking place in the fable are discussed in the class. The become aware of environmental problems of students was provided with these fables. In the next stage, two semi-finished fablians (Fish and Storks, Judges of the Sky) were asked to complete the students individually. Then each completed fabl was examined in the classroom and discussed on the fables. Finally, students were asked to create a fabl based entirely on their creativity about environmental issues. The fables that emerged after this study were also shared and discussed in the classroom. In the study, data were obtained from the students by focus group interview over fables. At the end of the research, pre-prepared questions were asked to the students and the data was obtained by asking the students one by one. The questions asked to the students and the answers given by the students were registered by recording. The data of the study was obtained through fables, focus group interviews, structured interviews and participant observation. Fables activities made with the students (full-text fables activity, incomplete fables activity and free fables writing activity) were subjected to content analysis by explicit coding. The data obtained through structured interview were evaluated by closed coding with descriptive analysis method. As a result of the observations of the students and the observations of the researcher teacher; it was concluded that the use of fables in environmental education has positive contributions to gaining environmental awareness among students. In this respect, it is recommended to use the methods that make the student active by taking into account the cognitive development characteristics of the students in environmental education. Key Words: Science Teaching, Environmental Education, Fabl, Action Research