Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of field trips on 7th grade students’ content knowledge and attitudes towards environment. The participants of the study were 31 seventh-grade students. The data collection instruments were the environmental attitude scale and content knowledge test. A dependent sample t-test was used to analyze data. It was determined that there were no statistically significant differences between preand post-test mean scores of students in terms of their content knowledge and attitudes towards environment. However, it was found that there were statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test scores of students in terms of some dimensions of both scales. These dimensions were “carelessness of people towards environment”, which is a subdimension of the environmental attitude scale and “energy sources and saving”, which is a sub-dimension of the environment knowledge test. It was concluded that field trips might be used to train individuals, who will be more cautious about environment, and use energy sources more carefully. Learning environments that provide opportunities for students, who interact with nature and learn by doing, might contribute to environmental education

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