ERIC Number: EJ1316043
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Attitudes toward Plants: Comparing the Impact of Instruction through Writing & through a Botanical Garden Trip
Iri, Funda Gül; Çil, Emine
American Biology Teacher, v82 n4 p218-226 Apr 2020
We designed and implemented two instructional approaches to plant education, with the intention of supporting positive attitudes toward plants among sixth-grade students (11-13 years old). In one instructional approach, students prepared a book about plants that have interesting characteristics. In the other approach, students visited a botanical garden. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of these approaches on students' attitudes toward plants. A matched-pairs experimental design was used in the research. A total of 56 students (28 in each group) participated in the study. Data were gathered by using the Plant Attitude Questionnaire. This instrument consisted of 28 items using a five-point Likert scale and included four dimensions of attitudes toward plants: importance, urban trees, interest, and utilization. Our results indicate that instruction via writing a book about plants with interesting characteristics is a good way to support students' positive attitudes toward plants; this approach was especially effective in the dimensions of interest and utilization. The botanical garden trip was also effective, though in a more limited way, in supporting students' positive attitudes toward plants; this approach was most effective in the dimension of urban trees.
Descriptors: Plants (Botany), Gardening, Positive Attitudes, Student Interests, Elementary School Students, Grade 6, Preadolescents, Picture Books, Writing (Composition), Field Trips, Instructional Effectiveness, Urban Environment, Forestry, Student Centered Learning, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A