Influence of the Simulation Method on 7th Grade Students' Achievements in Science and Technology Lessons

Abstract

This study aimed to make a comparative analysis of seventh-grade (the second level of the primary education) students' achievement in "Systems of The Human Body" unit in Science and Technology lesson which was taught using both the simulation method and the traditional method along with the influence of these methods on students' learning.  The study was conducted in collaboration with 70 students enrolled in the seventh grade at an elementary school in Konya in the 2009-2010 academic years for five weeks. Thirty-five students were included in the experimental group and 35 in the control group.  The study had the pretest and post-test validity; the reliability of the study was also checked (Cronbach's alpha = 0.831) and 30 questions were used in Science and Technology Achievement Test. The findings attained from the tests were analyzed using the SPSS Package Program. The study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the learning of the two groups, one of which was taught using the simulation method while the other was provided with the traditional method (p<0.05). It was found that the training given using the simulation method created a significant difference to the benefit of the students.