A case study on science teaching integrated with life skills:The Example of human and environment relationship

The aim of this study is to integrate life skills with the topic of ''Human and Environment Relationship'' in the 5th grade ''Human and Environment'' unit of Science course. With the lesson plans prepared for this purpose, it was aimed to activate and develop students' life skills and increase their interest in the environment. The research was conducted in a middle school in Çayırova district of Kocaeli province with 43 fifth grade students in the 2022-2023 academic year. The research was conducted as a qualitative case study. In the implementation of the research, lesson plans including analytical thinking, empathic thinking, decision making, critical thinking, creative thinking, entrepreneurship life skills were prepared in accordance with the 5E Model. Communication and teamwork were activated through group work in the process. These life skills were adapted to the outcomes of the Human and Environmental Relationship topic and used in the explore, elaborate and evaluate phases of the plans. After the implementation, the students' achievements and their opinions about the implementation were obtained through an open-ended questionnaire and structured interview questions. The data obtained from the implementation of the teaching of the subject of Human and Environmental Relationship in which life skills were integrated were analyzed by content analysis. In addition, student diaries and researcher diary were also used as data collection tools. At the end of the study, it was concluded that students participated more actively in science lessons in which life skills were integrated, found the lesson fun and interesting, and contributed to students learning. On the other hand, it was observed that students had difficulty in completing some of the activities during the implementation. For example, in the critical thinking activity and the synectic activity of creative thinking, difficulties were encountered in activating life skills and it was observed that students could not complete all stages of the activities. It is thought that the lesson plans integrated with life skills developed within the scope of the research and the findings obtained in practice will guide science teachers. Keywords: Environmental education, Case study, Science teaching, Human and environment, Life skills.