The effects of Web 2. 0 tools on seventh-grade students' academic achievement, visual literacy and spatial visualization*

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the science activities supported by the Web 2.0 tools at the 7th-grade secondary school level had an impact on the students' academic achievement, visual literacy level and spatial visualization skills. The study was designed in accordance with the nonequivalent control group design.The study universe was composed of 180 students from a state school during the 2021–2022 academic year in Turkey. An academic achievement test, Visual literacy scale and Spatial Visualization Test were administered to both groups as pre-tests and post-tests. In the experimental group, science instruction based Web 2.0 tools were used, while science instruction without Web 2.0 tools were used in the control group. This result indicated that the science education based Web 2.0 tools improved the achievement of the students in the topic of cells and divisions. Furthermore, it was furher revealed that the education in which the Web 2.0 tools were used positively affected their visual literacy and spatial visualization. In this respect, the results of this study and the science instructions with Web 2 tools can provide practical help to educators teaching the topic of cells and cell division.