The effect of the Futures Wheel as an issue analysis technique on the science achievement and attitudes of secondary school students /

النوع : Mémoire

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Futures Wheel issue analysis technique as a supportive learning strategy on the science achievement and attitudes towards science of secondary school students.--Two sections of first secondary students, each consisting of 27 students, participated in the study. The design that was used in the study was the non-equivalent pre- posttest control group design Prior to the intervention, students of both sections were asked to fill a science attitude questionnaire The intervention spanned a period of six weeks, which is the time needed to complete a unit on plant productivity and environmental factors. During that time, both sections were taught by the same teacher and were given the same content. The only difference was that the control group was taught using a text-based method of instruction while the experimental group was taught using the Futures Wheel technique. This was accomplished by teaching the control group according to the unit on plant productivity and environmental factors detailed in the textbook published by the National Center for Educational Research and Development (NCERD) and teaching the experimental group using another unit designed by the researcher The latter unit followed the content of the Lebanese curriculum but used the Futures Wheel as the main instructional strategy during which students construct Futures Wheels at the beginning or end of each activity. Following the intervention, students of both sections were asked to fill out the same science attitude questionnaire and complete an achievement test on the unit covered during the study The test was an adaptation to the one normally given in the class. Additionally, a number of students were interviewed at the conclusion of the study ANCOVA was used to compare the responses of students in the two groups on the post-tests, the science attitude scale and the achievement test. Statistical differences were found in higher cognitive level question scores where group-sex interactions indicated that the technique favored boys over girls. Results of this study provide support for the use of the futures Wheel as a supporting learning strategy.