A comparative analysis of computer assisted and project based educational methods on cell division and reproduction in terms of their effect on the success of students

This paper aims to determine the effect of computer based and project based learning methods on cell division and reproduction upon the students of secondary education in addition to comparing their effects to one another. The Achievement Test on Cell Divisions and Reproduction, developed to be utilized in the study was piloted for validity and reliability in the first semester of the school year of 2011-2012. The pilot study was participated by the forth-grade students of Gazi University's Department of Biology Education under the Faculty of Education, fourth-grade students of Gazi University's Faculty of Science and tenth-grade students of Ankara Bahcelievler Anatolian High School, who were available for the study. Total number of the participants is 97. The analysis was followed by determination of the questions to be added to and extracted from the test, which resulted in the formation of the achievement test. The study featured pretest-posttest design experimental model with control group. Students of tenth-grade from three different Anatolian High Schools in Ankara were selected as the application group. The groups were pretested by the Achievement Test on Cell Divisions and Reproduction (ATCDR). While the control group had simple lecturing method, the experimental group 1 had Project Based Learning Method (PBEM) and experimental group 2 had Computer Assisted Learning Method (CAEM). The groups finally had ATCDR. Iteman 3.70 was employed to analyse the data collected from the pilot studies for the validity and reliability of the test, while SPSS 17 was employed to analyse the pretest and posttest design applied to the groups. The findings have suggested a meaningful increase between the pretest and posttest scores of the PBEM and CAEM experimental groups. Besides, experimental groups were more successful than the control group with regard to the posttest scores, however the difference was not statistically meaningful. Keyword: Cell Divisions and Reproduction, Project Based Learning Method, Computer Based Learning Method, Learning.