Project-based environmental education for middle school students examining the effect on environmental awareness

This study was conducted in the spring term of the 2022-2023 academic year at Yıldıztepe Zeynep Erden Secondary School affiliated to the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) in Niğde province. In the study, 36 students studying at this school were determined as the study group. In the study group consisting of 8th grade students, environmental education was given to the experimental group of 16 students 8/A class with project-based learning method, and environmental education was given to the other class of 20 students 8/B class with traditional learning method. Experimental and control groups were formed according to the quasi-experimental method, selected from non-random, predetermined groups formed for this purpose. The study was implemented in science applications courses for two hours a week. The aim of the study was to measure and evaluate the differences between the environmental knowledge levels, environmental affect and environmental behaviour levels of students living in rural areas and other students who were given environmental education with project-based learning method. A pre-test was administered to the students in both groups before the study and different project studies related to environmental issues were carried out for 10 weeks for the students in the experimental group. The students in the control group were taught the environmental issues, which constituted the subject of the project studies, by lecturing. When the study was completed, a post-test was applied to the students in both groups and the changes in their environmental knowledge levels, environmental affect and environmental behaviours were measured with project-based learning and traditional teaching method. SPSS 26 programme was used in the analysis of the tests and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to test whether the difference between the scores of two related measurement sets was statistically significant. Mann Whitney U test was used to test whether the scores obtained from two unrelated samples differed from each other in a statistically significant way. As a result of the study, an increase was observed in the test scores of the experimental group in which project-based environmental education was given in the environmental knowledge test compared to the control group in which environmental education was given with traditional teaching. There was no significant difference at the level of both groups in the environmental affect test analyses. In the environmental behaviour test analyses, although positive feedbacks were received in the experimental group, no statistically significant difference was found. The duration of the study can be kept wider and students can be given the opportunity to develop in terms of environmental sensitivity and environmental behaviour. Quantitative measurement tools were used in the study. With qualitative measurement tools, different results can be obtained by providing more data at the levels of environmental affect and behaviour. Key words: Project Based Approach, Traditional Teaching, Environmental Education, Environmental Education, Environmental Literacy, Environmental Awareness, Environmental Affect, Environmental Behaviour, Science Applications Course, Rural Area.