Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the project "Little Scientists Explore Elazig Hazar Lake Ecosystem" conducted by TUBITAK 4004 on the environmental attitudes of secondary school students. The students were enabled to identify the lake ecosystem elements in the real environment on the basis of the example of Elazig Hazar Lake using case study method. Environmental attitude scale and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection tools. According to the quantitative findings of the study, it was found that there was a significant difference in the behaviors of the students toward the environment, whereas there was no significant difference in the thoughts and feelings of the students toward the environment. According to the qualitative findings, on the other hand, the students developed positive attitudes toward the environment, had an increased sensitivity toward the environment and stated that they would be more sensitive in their behaviors toward the environmental compared to the past at the end of the project.

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