Abstract:

The study aims to determine the effects of learning boxes on the 5th grade students’ academic achievement and retention in science. In order to realise this aim, a quantitative research method including experimental used. Students in the experimental group were taught through learning boxes- based discovery learning during “let’s solve our body puzzle” unit of the 5th grade science subject, while the students in the control group were taught the same unit through the teaching activities framed in the national curriculum. The participants involved 48 (Experiment: 24, Control: 24) students attending a state secondary school in Diyarbakır-Çınar district during the fall semester of 2016-2017 academic year. The study revealed that students taught through learning boxes- based discovery learning scored significantly higher in academic achievement comparison the participants in the control group after the 10 weeks of the experimental learning process. The post-test results showed a statistically significant difference between the male and the female participant students in experimental group. Integrating the tools used in science teaching in the form of learning boxes and integrate them into constructivist approaches is among suggestions of the research.

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