Analysis of middle school students' views and impressions about a science center

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate middle school students' views about science centers as out-of-school learning environments. The study surveyed 195 5th-, 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students attending Hatice Salih Primary School and Ahmet Cabuk Middle School in Province Bursa. It used a qualitative cross-sectional and longitudinal research design. For the purpose of the research, middle school students were helped to use the experimental setups at Bursa Science and Technology Center in company with instructors. Later, the students were asked to report their views and impressions about the science center through the "Science Center Opinion Survey". Students' views and impressions were compared based on grade levels. Accordingly, the participating students of all grade levels reported that they would like to come back to the science center, liked activities and experimental setups at the center, and found them fun and educative. However, the study found that a vast majority of the students of all grade levels, similarly, had difficulty in identifying science concepts that the experimental setups are related to.