The effect of using games in primary school science and technology education on the success and attitude towards the unit of ?structure and properties of a substance?

The present research aims to examine the effect of using games in science education on the levels of academic success and attitude towards Science and Technology course of the 8th grade primary school students. In addition, the present research examines the effect of using games in science education on the academic success and attitude level by making a comparison between the above mentioned method and the conventional educational method.A preliminary test ? final test control group pattern was used as an experimental method in the present study. The present research was conducted with the 8th grade students in the Private Ankara Hayat Primary School in the 1st semester of the Academic Year 2009 ? 2010. One class was randomly selected as a control group and one class was randomly selected as an experimental group among the three classes comprising the 8th grade in the stated school. The conventional educational method was used in the control group while the method of using games in science education was used in the experimental group. The experimental operation phase of the present research was realized by the researcher while the unit of ?Structure and Properties of a Substance? was taught in the Science and Technology Course for both control and experimental groups and it lasted 8 weeks and 48 course hours. An ?Academic Success Test? and an ?Attitude Scale for Science and Technology Education? were used as a means of collecting data. In the analysis of the data, the t-Test was used for the Independent Groups, while t-Test analysis was used for the Dependent Groups.According to the data obtained from the present research, the method of using games in science education was found to be effective and to increase the academic success and the attitude levels of the 8th grade primary school students towards Science and Technology Course. It was found that the conventional education method was effective in increasing the academic success levels of the students, while it did not make any contribution to the attitude level of the students towards Science and Education Course. However, the increase in the academic success level arising due to the application of the conventional educational method was not as high as increase in the academic success level arising due to the application of the method of using games in science education.The main reason why the method of using games in science education was more effective in increasing the attitude level and success level of the students towards Science and Technology Course compared to the conventional educational method could be explained with the fact that the games appealed to children?s world more, children take an active part in a game and they learn while having fun. In this context, it can be said that using games in science education can contribute to an effective learning.Keywords: Science education, game