Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6, p.1 (Jun., 2017) Evrim URAL, Orhan ERCAN and Durdu Mehmet GENÇOĞLAN The effect of jigsaw technique on 6th graders' learning of force and motion unit and their science attitudes and motivation The effect of jigsaw technique on 6th graders' learning of force and motion unit and their science attitudes and motivation *Evrim URAL, Orhan ERCAN and Durdu Mehmet GENÇOĞLAN Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, TURKEY *Corresponding Author E-mail: [email protected] Received 24 Oct., 2016 Revised 25 Jun., 2017 Contents • Abstract • Introduction • Method • Findings • Results and Disscussion • References • Appendix Abstract The study aims to investigate the effects of jigsaw technique on 6th graders’ learning of “Force and Motion” unit, their science learning motivation and their attitudes towards science classes. The sample of the study consisted of 49 6th grade students from two different classes taking the Science and Technology course at a government school in Kahramanmaraş/Turkey. The study was conducted in the 2015-2016 Academic year, autumn semester. One of the classes was defined as the control group (N=24) and was taught through the traditional lecturing approach, while the experimental group (N=25) was taught through the cooperative jigsaw Copyright (C) 2017 EdUHK APFSLT. Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6 (Jun., 2017). All Rights Reserved. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6, p.2 (Jun., 2017) Evrim URAL, Orhan ERCAN and Durdu Mehmet GENÇOĞLAN The effect of jigsaw technique on 6th graders' learning of force and motion unit and their science attitudes and motivation technique. Both groups studied the "force and motion" subject for six weeks with different instructional methods. The objectives and the content of the subject were the same for both groups. Also, the groups were taught by the same teacher. The Force and Motion Achievement Test, Science Learning Motivation Scale, Science Class Attitude Scale were administered as pre-test prior to the application. Following to the application, these data collection tools were administered as post-test to the experimental and control groups. With the purpose of learning about the views on the jigsaw technique, a form consisting of 6 open-ended questions was administered to the experimental group. The findings of the study show that the academic achievement of the experimental group was higher in comparison to the academic success of the students who were taught the lesson through the traditional method. Although a statistically significant difference has not been observed between the pre-test and post-test scores of the motivation scale of the students in the experimental group, when the post-test scores of the motivation scale of the experimental and control group students were compared, it has been seen that the motivation of the experimental group students was higher after the application. The quantitative findings of the study have been supported by the qualitative findings. Keywords: Science education, jigsaw technique, force and motion, motivation, attitude Introduction Science lessons (physics, chemistry and biology) carry great importance in an individual’s interpretation of daily life and the events taking place around him. The purpose of these lessons is to make the individual literate in science and allow him to use the information he learns in these lessons in the problems experienced in daily life. However, although students start taking these science lessons from the early ages, they experience problems in putting the information they learn to use. One of the reasons is that science lessons consist of abstract concepts. Physics lessons as the other science lessons mostly consist of abstract concepts and require students to have the ability to form cause and effect relationships and express relationships between concepts in mathematical processes as well. All these make it difficult for students to understand subjects related to physics and cause them to have negative attitudes towards these lessons. Copyright (C) 2017 EdUHK APFSLT. Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6 (Jun., 2017). All Rights Reserved. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6, p.3 (Jun., 2017) Evrim URAL, Orhan ERCAN and Durdu Mehmet GENÇOĞLAN The effect of jigsaw technique on 6th graders' learning of force and motion unit and their science attitudes and motivation Learning about subjects related to physics is frequently defined as “difficult” by teachers and students (Jimoyiannis & Komis, 2001). “Force and Motion” is one of the subjects students have difficulty in understanding. The events related to force and motion appear quite often before students in daily life (Tao & Gunstone, 1999). The concept of force is one of the basic concepts in physics (Neumann, Fulmer, & Liang). Alonzo and Steedle (2009), Kikas (2004), Eryılmaz (2002), and (Bao, Hogg & Zollman, 2002) have shown in their studies that students experience numerous difficulties in understanding the subject of force and motion. Studies in literature show that students have many different misconceptions about subjects related to force and motion. These misconceptions about this subject are not only seen in lower class students, but in students of higher-education level as well. For instance, Eryılmaz (2002) did research on high-school physics students' achievements and misconceptions related to the subject and displayed that they had many misconceptions related to force and motion. Similarly, Hart (2002) in his study has shown that students mix up concepts such as force, balancing force, gravity and frictional force. The studies which analyze students’ misconceptions about force and motion are not limited to these. In the same manner, Joung (2009), Özsevgeç (2006), Macaroğlu Akgül and Şentürk (2001) have conducted studies on students’ misconceptions about this subject. As it can be seen in studies in literature, force and motion is a subject students have difficulty in understanding in each of level of their educational life. The forming of concepts related to this subject begins in 6th grade. Therefore, 6th grade has an important place in students’ learning about the basic concepts related to this subject. However, certain teaching methods play an important role as well in terms of students’ experiencing various difficulties in understanding some subjects. Today, while studies on education emphasize the need for active learning environments, the traditional teaching method in which the teachers are active is still being used. In traditional learning environments, students sit passively, take the given information and the lecture is still the focus of the instruction (McCarthy & Anderson, 2000). Traditional teaching environments are focused on the content of the lesson and they are teacher centered (Effandi & Zanaton, 2007). In these environments students are passive listeners and they don't participate in active learning experiences (Schroeder, Scott, Tolson, Huang & Lee, 2007). According to Effandi and Zanaton (2007), the quality of education is directly related to the activities teachers prefer in their classes. The main reason why students experience difficulties in understanding abstract science concepts are the traditional methods Copyright (C) 2017 EdUHK APFSLT. Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6 (Jun., 2017). All Rights Reserved. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 6, p.4 (Jun., 2017) Evrim URAL, Orhan ERCAN and Durdu Mehmet GENÇOĞLAN The effect of jigsaw technique on 6th graders' learning of force and motion unit and their science attitudes and motivation which are teacher centered. Since the traditional teaching methods do not allow students to actively participate and to have experiences, students are either not able to understand the concepts, or develop certain misconceptions. The traditional method is primarily based on the teacher’s lecture throughout the lesson. Generally, the teacher explains the subject and tries to make the students participate by asking occasional questions. In such an environment, it is not possible for students to have discussions or carry out any research. Out of all the answers given to the questions, only the correct ones are given importance to. In the teacher centered approach, the teachers try to transmit the model they have on their minds to the students. The teacher decides how to manage the process beforehand and continues to teach in line with this plan. These characteristics of traditional methods make it difficult for students to understand concepts (Hsu, 2008; Kaya, 2007). Karacop and Doymuş (2013) considering the insufficiency of the traditional teaching method state that in teaching abstract science concepts, teachers need to use alternative teaching methods. Cognitive approach is based on the idea that information is structured by the individual through mental diagrams (Looi, Lin, & Liu, 2008). Therefore, transmitting ready information to students does not allow them to learn. In curricula prepared in parallel with the constructive approach, teaching methods which take cooperation as the basis come to the fore (Jones & Brader-Araje, 2002). With the constructive approach, there has been a transition from the teacher centered learning environments to student centered environments in which students work in small groups. In the related studies in literature, cooperative learning is defined