The effect of programmed instruction and cooperative learning approach on the academic achievement of 7th grade students and on their attitudes towards science

This study was done in Science and Technology lesson in order to compare the effect of ?Programmed Instruction? method with ?Cooperative Learning? method on the academic achievement of 7th grade elementary school students and on their attitudes towards science in the teaching of ?mixtures topic?.50 students who study at 7/A and 7/B classes in Ş. Engin Eker Elementary School comprise the sample of the study. The 7/A class was chosen as the experiment 1 group and the 7/B as the experiment 2 group.In the experiment 1 group, the mixtures topic was treated with ?Programmed Instruction? method by the researcher. And in the experiment 2 group, the mixtures topic was treated with the ?Student Teams Achievement Divisions? technique of ?the Cooperative Learning? method by the researcher.. The application was completed in 4 lessons' time in 3 weeks.The data gained as a result of the study showed that ?the Programmed Instruction? method enhanced the students' academic achievement more than ?the Cooperative Learning? method. It was concluded that ?the Programmed Instruction? method which was applied to experiment 1 group didn?t change the attitudes of the students towards science. It was concluded that ?the Cooperative Learning? method which was applied to the students of the experiment 2 group enhanced the students' attitudes towards science.