CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF 7TH GRADE STUDENTS PROVIDED INQUIRY BASED GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION

Learning about the Earth through geoscience education is important in order to make informed decisions about the future of the Earth. The aim of this study is to examine students’ conceptual development on geoscience subjects based on inquiry-based learning. 7th grade students participated in this study. The researcher prepared lesson plans and activities connected with the aforementioned subjects in accordance with the inquiry-based learning model. In this study, the "Geoscience Concept Achievement Test (GCAT)" was used in order to obtain quantitative data, and it was applied as a pre-post test and also a retention test. Qualitative data obtained from 8 students, selected from the working group using the maximum sampling method, Science Writing Heuristics (SWH), interviews with the students, worksheets and assessment tests were used as qualitative data collection tools. The geoscience education program was implemented for 8 weeks. The results from quantitative and qualitative data showed that geoscience education positively affected 7th grade students' conceptual understanding of geoscience subjects. The results of the students' GCAT pre-test, post-test, retention test, SWH data, weekly interviews with the students and final interviews, revealed that the learning and teaching process applied in geoscience education positively affected their conceptual development regarding the subject of geoscience. Keywords: conceptual development, geoscience education, inquiry based education, mixed methods research