Session Information
27 SES 08 B, Science Curriculum and Comparative Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Behaviorist learning theory claims that anyone who is exposed to the same stimulus gives the same response. For that reason, while behaviorist approach was mainly accepted in education, it was expected that the same teaching method creates the same effect on every student. However, it is clear that a teaching method can be beneficial for one student, while it is terrible for another. This is resulted from individual differences. The individual differences affecting learning are listed as intelligence, talent, learning strategies, learning styles, prior knowledge, personality, interests, and motivation kind and level, gender, age, etc. (Smith and Ragan, 1999). Nowadays, these personal differences are tried to be considered in classrooms.
Today it is known and appreciated that since every individual is different in some manner, s/he perceives, processes and accommodates new information in different ways. The preferences that a person perceives and processes new information is defined as learning style (Kolb, 1976). Gregorc (1979) defined learning style as distinctive behaviors which indicates how a person learns from his environment and how adapts them to his environment (as cited in Coffield, Moseley, Hall and Ecclestone, 2004). Dunn and Dunn (1993) defined it the way a person concentrates on new information, how processes it and how makes it retentive. Therefore, it can be concluded that learning style is the way that a person prefers while learning.
Kolb (1984), claims that there are two main dimensions that correspond to the two major different ways of learning: how the new information is perceived and how what is perceived is processed. The way the information perceived changes on the continuum according to how much the new information is perceived through concrete experience (CE) or through abstract conceptualization (AC); also the way the information process is changes through active experimentation (AE) and reflective observation (RO) (Kolb, 2000). According to this there are four learning style types the Diverging style’s dominant learning abilities are CE and RO, the Assimilating style’s are RO and AC, the Converging style’s are AC and AE and Accommodating style’s are AE and CE.
It is important to give equal chances to each student whatever his/her learning style is. Teaching methods used and activities done in the classrooms should not support only a / a few group of students; so that, the lessons should be planned by considering different learning styles. Nevertheless, it is claimed that Turkish education system is supporting the students who are good at in mathematical operations and analytical thinking; that is whose learning style is converging learning style (Özden, 2011).
In Turkey, there has been an effort to increase the science success. In 2004 and in 2013, Turkish science program was renewed. The main change trying to be done is transition from teacher centered education to student centered education. Yet, it is still suspicious that how much students’ personal properties are taking into account. The main aim of this study is to determine whether science program is supporting mainly one learning style or supports each of them. The research questions are;
- What is the distribution of the 6th graders’ learning styles?
- Is there a difference in science achievement according to students’ learning styles?
- What are the numbers of activity suggestions, which the Elementary 6th grade science lecture book contains, for each learning style?
- Is there a correlation between science achievement and number of activity suggestions for each learning style?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. & Demirel, F. (2013). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri (14th Edition). Ankara: Pegem Akademi. Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2009). Sosyal Bilimler İçin Veri Analizi El Kitabı (10. Baskı). Ankara:PegemA. Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E. ve Ecclestone, K. (2004). Learning Styles and Pedegogy in Post-16 Learning: A systematic and Critical Review. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre. Dunn, R., ve Dunn, K. (1993). Teaching Secondary Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles: A Practical Approach for Grades 7-1. ABD: Allyn and Bacon. Evin Gencel, İ. (2006). Öğrenme stilleri Deneyimsel Öğrenme K ramı’na dayalı eğitim, tutum ve sosyal bilgiler program hedeflerine erişi düzeyleri. Yayınlanmamış doktora tezi, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, İzmir. Hinkle, D. E. , Wiersma, W. & Jurs, S. G. (2003). Applied Statistics For The Behavioral Sciences (5th Edition). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Kablan, Z. & Kaya, S. (2013). Science achievement in TIMSS cognitive domains based on learning styles. Egitim Arastirmalari-Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 53, 97-114. Koç, D. (2007). İlköğretim öğrencilerinin öğrenme stilleri: fen başarısı ve tutumu arasındaki ilişki. Paper presented in 1. Ulusal İlköğretim Kongresi (on 15-16-17 Nowember). Ankara. Kolb, D. A. (2000). Facilitator’s Guide to Learning. Hay Resources Direct. Kolb, D.A. (1999). The Kolb Leaarning Style Inventory Version III. Hay Resources Direct. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as The Source of Learning and Development. NJ: Prentice-Hall. Kolb, D. A. (1976). Learning Style Inventory: Technical Manual. NJ, ABD: Prentice-Hall. Öcal, C. (2014). Ortaokul Fen Bilimleri 6. İstanbul: Fenbil Özden, Y. (2011). Öğrenme ve Öğretme (11. Baskı). Ankara: PegemA Smith, P. L. ve T. J. Ragan. (1999). Instructional Design. New York: John Wiley Sons.
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