The effect of virtual museum use on student success in the teaching of my country culture and history unit of secondary education 5th grade social studies: The example of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

The use of museums in social studies teaching has an important role in concretizing abstract subjects. In the new education approach shaped according to the constructivist approach; It is aimed that students make sense of the relationship they have established in their minds, not memorizing their knowledge. The use of museums in education serves this purpose. The subject is embodied by showing the works related to the period covered to the students through museums. In addition, students are tried to reflect the atmosphere of the period in which the events took place. Thus, the student gains the ability of historical empathy and begins to add different interpretations to the existing stereotypes. In the renewed understanding of education, the concepts of constructivism and learning by doing have begun to come to the fore. In this context, the use of museums in education has increased. However, with the effect of the global epidemic as well as the developing technology, virtual museum tours in education have started to be preferred more than authentic museum tours. Through virtual museums, students are offered the opportunity to visit museums without leaving the classroom. Thus, both the dangers that arise in the authentic museum tour are eliminated and the financial obstacles are minimized. This leads to equal opportunity in education. In the research, the effect of the use of virtual museums in the teaching of the unit of My country, My culture and My history in the 5th grade social studies lesson on the student achievement was examined. The aim of the study; To reveal the effect of using virtual museums in education on success and to emphasize the positive aspects of virtual museums. "Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design" was used in the research. The research was carried out on 5-A and 5-C class students studying at Merkez Efendi Middle School in Manisa province in the 2021-2022 academic year. A total of 40 students, including the experimental (20) and control (20) groups, participated in the research. While the experimental group was given a virtual trip, plain subject narration was applied to the control group. The 5th grade My country, My culture and My history unit was examined and it was decided to make the virtual museum tour to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Thus, the application area of the thesis subject has been the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. As a data collection tool, an achievement test was developed by the researcher and the classroom teacher in accordance with the curriculum. The implementation of the achievement test was carried out by the classroom teacher and the researcher. The same achievement test was applied to both groups. The data obtained from the data collection tool were analyzed with the SPSS program. The results obtained were evaluated with the t-test analysis used for dependent – independent groups. As a result of the research, a significant difference was found in the post-test achievement scores of the experimental and control group students. This difference shows that teaching using virtual museum tour is more effective in increasing success. Keywords: Museum, Virtual Museum, Social Studies Lesson, My Country, My Culture and My History