The effect of socratic method-based practices on students' energy literacy

The main purpose of this research is to examine the effect of energy literacy education based on Socratic Method on secondary school students' energy literacy levels. In the research, energy literacy was examined in the sub-dimensions of affective, behavior, cognitive and self-perception. Additionally, it was investigated whether there was any change in the cognitive structure of the students related to energy literacy. The data of the research was collected from sixth grade students in a public secondary school in Yıldırım district of Bursa province in the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The pilot group consisted of 29 students, while the study group included 32 students. Within this research, in which the mixed-method was used- students were given energy literacy training based on Socratic Method for nine weeks. The Energy Literacy Scale, which was developed by DeWaters, Qaqish, Graham and Powers (2013) as a quantitative data collection tool and adapted to Turkish by Güven, Yakar and Sülün (2019), was applied as pre-test and post-test. The qualitative data of the research was obtained from the word association test applied before and after the application and from the worksheets and student journals used in the application process. While the quantitative data obtained from the research were analyzed via SPSS 27 program, the qualitative data was examined through descriptive analysis. The research results indicate that the practices based on Socratic Method have a positive effect on students' energy literacy levels and that their energy literacy levels increased in all dimensions. Based on these results, it can be said that applications of Socratic Method are effective in making students aware that their energy resources are limited, in adopting a sensitive approach to the effects of energy consumption and in being individuals willing to take responsibility in this regard. At the same time, thanks to applications based on Socratic Method, it can be said that it has a positive effect on increasing the behavioral levels of students for energy literacy, that is, energy consumption, conservation of energy resources and making decisions about participation and actions to save energy. Furthermore, it has been indicated that students show positive developments in their self-perception dimension of energy literacy at the end of the process. It has also been stated that the cognitive structure of the students for energy literacy has improved as a result of these applications. Keywords: Energy, energy literacy, Socratic inquiry, cognitive structure, secondary school students, science education