A Mixed-Design Study on Development of Spatial Perception Skills in Life Science Course

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how instruction of geography subjects in primary school third-grade Life Studies course
with several methods affects students’ attitudes toward this course and their spatial perception skills. To that end, the
study was designed with exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. Two third-grade classes at a public school
on the European side of Istanbul province were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. After the Life
Science Attitude Scale and the open-ended perception questionnaire were administered to the both groups as pretests,
their readiness were found to be similar. The groups were given a education that included geography subjects and
aimed to improve spatial perception skills for eight hours. In the experimental group, the education involved the
instruction of geography subjects in Life Science course by using methods such as case study, drama, and questionanswer
whereas it involved the instruction of the same geography subjects with the methods included in the textbook
in the control group. Later, the scale and questionnaire were read ministered as posttests. The quantitative data of the
study were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests, and the qualitative data were subjected
to the content analysis which was made using codes, categories, and themes. Consequently, Life Science Attitude Scale
scores of the experimental group were found to be significantly higher than the control group. Moreover, as shown by
results of the open-ended perception questionnaire, the experimental group had a better grasp of the concepts about
spatial perception skills compared to the control group.