The effect of out-of-school learning environments on students' academic achievement, attitude and environmental behavior in life science lesson

In this day and time, it is important to train the individuals who can both understand what they read and solve the problems they encounter in their lives, by equipping them with the relevant skills. Trying to train these skills in the most realistic environments is also important for the effectiveness of the teaching. In its 2023 Vision, the Ministry of National Education has mentioned the importance of out-of-school learning environments. Moreover, it has provided incentives for the lessons to be taught in out-of-school learning environments. In this context, out-of-school teaching practices in the Life Science Lesson in primary schools were focused on in the research. This study was carried out to examine the effects of out-of-school learning environments on students' academic achievement, attitudes and environmental behaviours in Life Studies course. In this research, sequential explanatory mixed method was used. The quantitative dimension of the study was based on the quasi-experimental model with pretest posttest control group; the qualitative dimension of the study was designed according to phenomenology. The study group of the research consists of a total of 59 students, 28 students in the experimental group and 31 students in the control group, attending the 3rd grade in the 2021-2022 academic year. To be used in the experimental process, teacher's guide, Life Science Attitude Scale, Environmental Attitude Scale and Environmentally Responsible Behavior Scale, Life Science Achievement Test developed by the researcher, structured and unstructured interview forms and researcher's diaries were used as data collection tools. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed with the SPSS 20 package program and the qualitative data were analyzed with the NVivo 9.2 package program. In the analysis of the data, parametric or nonparametric analyzes and content analyzes were used according to the normality distribution. In the findings; Life Science Achievement Test, Life Science Attitude Scale and Environmental Attitude Scale scores were found to be significant in favor of the experimental group. In addition, according to research data; It has been revealed that the students have fun and are happy in out-of-school learning environments, they communicate more often with their friends during the trip, and they enjoy being in that environment. Within the scope of the results obtained, some suggestions were made for the researchers to design and apply the developed guide material for different classes, courses and subjects.