Teaching the 7th grade science lesson 'Solar System and Beyond' unit in out-of school learning environments

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of teaching supported by out-of-school learning environments on the academic success, attitudes towards astronomy, scientific epistemological beliefs and science-technology-society-environment skills of students in the 7th grade 'Solar System and Beyond (SSBU)' unit of middle school. The participants of the study consist of seventy students studying at the 7th grade level in a state middle school in Pamukkale District of Denizli Province in the 2024-2025 academic year. In the study conducted with the experimental and control groups, the students in the control group were taught in accordance with the Science Course Curriculum. In addition to the program, activities carried out in out-of-school learning environments such as planetarium, observatory, and outdoor sky observation were applied to the students in the experimental group. The activities designed by the researcher include different learning methods in different out-of-school learning environments within the scope of the relevant unit. In addition, in each out-of-school learning activity designed by the researcher; worksheets containing the stages before, during and after the activity were filled out by the students. In addition, the students in the experimental group kept a science journal after each out-of-school learning activity. The research lasted six weeks. The quantitative data of the research were collected with the 'Solar System and Beyond Unit Achievement Test (SSBUAT)', 'Attitude Scale Towards Astronomy (ASTA), 'Scientific Epistemological Beliefs Scale (SEBS)' and 'Science-Technology-Society-Environment Scale (STSES). These scales were applied to the students in the experimental and control groups as pre-test and post-test. The obtained data were analyzed with the SPSS package program. The qualitative data from the students' science diaries and worksheets were used to interpret the scores obtained by the students from the quantitative measurement tools. As a result of the research, significant differences were revealed in the scales and their sub-dimensions.