Investigation of the effect of arts integration in science lesson on sixth grade students' creativity and motivation to learn science

Current curricula emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary learning approaches. These approaches aim to enrich science courses with learning experiences derived from various disciplines, thereby providing a more comprehensive and high-quality educational experience. Additionally, they seek to equip students with skills such as entrepreneurship, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and empathy. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of activities developed for arts integration—one of the interdisciplinary interaction applications in science learning—on students' creativity and motivation toward science learning. The study was conducted using a parallel mixed-methods design. The participant group consisted of 25 sixth-grade students enrolled in a public school in Zonguldak. Within this scope, the researcher developed science-art activities tailored to sixth-grade science courses, implemented these activities in the relevant course units, and carried out the application over one academic term. Data were collected using pre- and post-tests measuring creativity and motivation, as well as semi-structured pre- and post-interview questions. The findings of the study indicate that science-art integration activities enhanced students' active participation in problem-solving processes, increased their interaction with their environment, fostered excitement toward new ideas, and contributed to the development of entrepreneurial, creative, and intrinsically motivated individuals. At the conclusion of the study, activities and worksheets integrating science and art were developed, providing instructional materials for teachers. Additionally, findings regarding changes in students' creativity and motivation as a result of these activities were presented.