Mankind has added a new circular flow to the natural circulation of water on our planet – the removal of clean water and the return of polluted water. A change in an individual's behavior in everyday life is achieved by developing natural-sciences and environmental literacy in primary school already. Mostly, the general objectives of the subject of chemistry strive to develop critical thinking on the identification of environmental hazards and to search for sustainable solutions for their reduction. Using modern learning approaches, the teacher can create a learning situation that will stimulate students' interest in learning environmental content and the development of a positive attitude towards natural sciences, the environment, and its values.
The purpose of the research was to optimize and conduct an online course with examples of integrating hydrosphere environmental problems in chemistry lessons while taking into account the learning objectives of the chemistry curriculum in primary school and to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating these contents by comparing differences in student achievements before and after the online course. It was also determined whether there are differences in students' learning achievements before and after the online course concerning gender, identification of gifted students, attending an optional chemistry subject, average final grades in the subject of chemistry, level of individual and situational interest, level of motivation and learning competencies, and the level of behavioral characteristics of gifted students in the field of chemistry.
The research was based on the descriptive and causal non-experimental method of empirical pedagogical research. The quantitative research approach was used in the research. The study included 145 ninth-grade students from seven primary schools in the Osrednjeslovenska and Jugovzhodna regions. The research was divided into three phases. The first phase was conducted before visiting the online course. Students solved a preliminary test, a questionnaire on the reasons for learning chemistry (VRUK), a questionnaire of individual interest, and an evaluation scale on the behavioral characteristics of gifted students. In the second phase, the students actively participated in the online course. Immediately after the end of the participation, they solved an achievement post-test and a questionnaire of situational interest. Two weeks later, the third phase was conducted in which the students solved a delayed achievement test. The collected data was quantitatively processed with the SPSS program.
The results show a lack of students’ knowledge about hydrosphere environmental problems before the online course because only 42,1% of students achieved more than half of all possible points in the preliminary test. Students' learning achievements improved after the online course because 61,5% of students achieved more than half of all possible points in the post-test. Students' learning achievements do not differ on the post- and delayed achievement tests. Three misconceptions about hydrosphere environmental problems were identified in the preliminary test and one misconception in the post- and delayed achievement tests. It was ascertained that students with a higher level of individual and situational interest achieved a better learning outcome on all tests. In addition, students who were identified as gifted attended at least one optional chemistry subject and had a high average final grade in chemistry. They scored better on tests and achieved a higher level of individual and situational interest. It was ascertained that among students with different levels of autonomous and controlled motivation, amotivation, learning competencies, and behavioral characteristics of gifted students in chemistry, differences in learning outcomes on tests and the level of both interests emerge. There were no differences in achievement and level of interest between male and female students.
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