The effect of teaching an environmentally oriented science unit on students' achievement and attitude

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of teaching an environmentally oriented science unit related to water on students' achievement in science and their attitude toward the environment. The design of the study was a pretest-treatment-posttest two group design and subjects were 63 students in two sections of a first intermediate class with approximately equal number of males and females. Dependent variables in this study were achievement in science as measured by a multiple choice test, and attitude toward the environment as measured by a questionnaire adapted for this purpose. The independent variable was the instructional approach with its two levels: environmental and commonly used. The environmental approach was adapted from ChemCom, a curriculum which uses an issues-oriented approach presenting science from an environmental perspective. The commonly used approach follows the method presented in the science textbook used in the school.