Biomimicry applications supported by out-of-school learning activities

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of biomimicry applications supported by out-of-school learning activities on students' academic performance, their environmental awareness, their attitudes towards the environment, their responsible behaviour towards the environment, their opinions and the effects of evaluating the biomimicry designs drawn by them. The research was conducted with students in 5th grade in a public school in Karapınar district, Konya province, in the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. The research lasted for five weeks. The research used a mixed methods approach, where quantitative and qualitative research methods were used together. The data were collected with "The Human and Environment Unit Achievement Test", "The Environmental Awareness Scale", "The Environmental Attitude Scale", "The Environmentally Responsible Behaviour Scale", "The Semi-Structured Interview Form" and "The Biomimicry Design Evaluation Rubric". The quantitative data of the study were analysed with SPSS 29.0 statistics program; the content analysis was applied for the qualitative data. The study was carried out in the experimental group according to the lesson plans, including biomimicry applications, supported by out-of-school learning activities. In the control group, the lessons were based on the activities in the science textbook for 5th grade students. As a result of the applications, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in favour of the experimental group in terms of students' academic performance, their environmental awareness, their attitudes towards the environment and their responsible behaviour towards the environment. As a result of the design evaluations and interviews, it was found that students' creativity and problem-solving skills increased and their perceptions of biomimicry improved.