Science and technology course in the unit of "solar system and beyond: Space puzzle" the effect of project based learning applications on student achievements, creative thinking and their attitudes towards science and technology

In instruction that based on the constructivist approach, which asserts that a person built or construct his own information, scientific information should not be given to students directly, instead students should be provided appropriate learning environments to work like a scientist and create their own scientific information. The innovation of the program of science and technology education in 2005, the new teaching and learning methods emerged as the application of constructivist learning approach. Project based learning method is one of the methods used in constructivist learning that can be applied to science and technology lesson. The project based learning method allows students to research, question, create, make up his own knowledge, think critically, and express what he/she thinks easily. Furthermore, students can think freely, they collaborate to do research, collect data, analyze collected data, evaluate these data, create projects and make their presentation and report them in the environment that they can think freely. The teachers take a role as guidance in this learning process. According to the literature, although there are research on determining deficiency of the learning and creative thinking in teaching science, there are limited numbers of research on the effect of project based learning method on teaching science. At the same time, no work was recorded on the content of this study which was carried out with the unit of ?Solar System and Beyond: Space Puzzle?. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of project-based learning on students? achievements, creative thinking, and their attitudes toward science and technology in the unit of solar system and beyond: space puzzle in science and technology lesson. In this study, semi experimental method with the pre test post test control groups is used. The study was conducted by selecting two groups, each one a class from an elementary schools in Buca, a district in the city of İzmir. The study group consists of a total of 53 individuals, 26 in the experiment group and 27 in the control group. The experimental process took four weeks: While the experimental group?s lessons were designed with the project-based learning method, the control group?s lessons were given only according to 2005 science and technology education program. The data collection instruments were in the followings; Solar System and Beyond: Space Puzzle Academic Achievement test with a 0.93 KR-20 reliability rating developed by researcher, scientific creativity scale and attitude scale toward science and technology with 0.94 Alpha reliability rate. Data collection instruments were applied both group of students before and after experimental process. SPSS program was used to analyze the data. Before the treatment, no significant difference was found between the groups? mean scores of academic achievement, scientific creativity and attitudes toward science and technology and thus, the groups were taken as equal in terms of relatively dependent variables. Both groups?, experimental and control, post-test scores on academic achievement had significant increases. When comparing pre test and post test scores of the experimental group's scientific creativity, attitudes toward science, and technology, there were significant differences in the favor of the post tests. It was also found that there were no significant statistical differences between pre test and post test mean scores of the control group students on the scientific creativity scale and attitude scale toward science and technology. It was seen that there was a significant difference between experiment and control group about academic achievement in the unit, scientific creativity and attitudes toward science and technology in favor of experimental group. To extend our understanding about the students? views about project based learning method, after the experimental process some interviews were also conducted with the students by asking them semi structured interview questions. As a result of analysis of interviews, it can be said that students have positive ideas about project-based learning method. Students reported that unlike the other courses, they did projects, prepared reports, did presentations, prepared models, wrote diaries and did more researches, worked with group, collected information, learned deeply in this unit. Courses were fun and enjoyable and subject was a different subject in this unit. The results also indicated that report writing phase was the most difficult part in the process. According to the results of the research, using project-based learning activities in science and technology class will be valuable in the development of students' academic achievements, scientific creativity and a positive attitude towards science and technology. It is thought that this study will be lead to further studies in this subject.