Implementing the science writing heuristic (SWH) approach in science laboratory activities

The purpose of this study is to implement SWH approach on the plant physiology laboratory course, and to research the impact of the SWH approach on the students' academic achievements. Also, the students' opinions about the approach were investigated. In this research, a mixed method, employing qualitative and quantitative research methods together, was used. A pre-test/ post-test control group design was used and the study was conducted with the biology teacher candidates at a university in Ankara.While laboratory courses for the control group were being processed with traditional approach, SWH approach was used for the experimental group. At the beginning of the study, the achievement test as a pre-test was applied to measure students' preknowledge. Experimental and control groups were randomly assigned. For both groups, some measurements were made before and after the experiment. At the end of the study, the SWH Activity Assessment Scale was applied to the experiment group. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit the experimental group students? views about the laboratory applications based SWH approaches.Implementation results show that pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group were statistically different and the SWH approach has a positive impact on student achievement. Most of the teacher candidates participated the study mentioned that the laboratory activities based on SWH approaches helped them better understanding and prompted them to attend class more active. Participants also stated that this approach was effective in the development of scientific process skills. Results gathered from the Activity Assessment Scale applied to students and interviews with them demonstrated that teacher candidates have positive attitudes to the SWH approach in general.