Investigation of the effect of context-based education supported by the laboratory method on student academic success in the unit of journey to the world of living grade

In this research, it is aimed to examine the effect of context-based teaching supported by laboratory method on the academic success of the 3rd grade students in the unit of Journey to the World of Living Organisms. The study group of the research consists of 3rd grade students of a public school affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the Bolu Mudurnu district in the 2021-2022 academic year. Mixed research design was used in the research. In the quantitative dimension of the research, one group pre-test post-test research model, one of the pre-experimental experimental research models, was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 students in order to conduct an in-depth analysis of the qualitative aspect of the research. Quantitative data were obtained from the 15-question achievement test taken from the Ministry of Education Assessment and Evaluation Center's workbook dated December 16, 2020, and qualitative data were obtained with semi-structured interview questions. The research was completed in 3 weeks and 6 lesson hours and a test sheet was prepared for each application to be made in the laboratory. The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS 23 package program. In the data analysis of the research, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, min and max scores, Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were used. As a result of the research, a significant difference was found between the pre-test and the post-test, and it was concluded that the context-based teaching supported by the laboratory method increased the academic success of the students in the 3rd grade "Journey to the World of Living" unit. As a result of the interview, the students stated that the context-based teaching supported by the laboratory method is interesting, enjoyable, intriguing, easy to understand, exciting, necessary, memorable and entertaining. As a result of the research, it was seen that the academic success of the students increased positively. For this reason, subjects that are difficult to understand in science lessons can be explained with a context-based learning approach by supporting them with a laboratory. KEYWORDS: Context-Based Learning, Laboratory Method, Science, Academic success