| The problem of this study was to determine the effect of using the scientific-discovery method and traditional methods of teaching science on listening comprehension, vocabulary, and environmental skills. The sample of study consisted of 48 first-graders in the same school system. The experimental group had 25 first-graders from one school, and the control group had 23 first-graders from another school.;Two scientific-discovery lessons were given weekly to the experimental group, and the control group was taught two lessons weekly by the traditional method. Both groups were taught the same units that were required by the school system. The lessons began the first week in October and continued through the second week in April.;The Metropolitan Readiness Test was given in September and then used as a covariate in the data analysis. The posttest, the Stanford Achievement Test, was given in April.;Three main hypotheses were tested through the use of analysis of covariance. In the analysis of listening comprehension skills, there was no significant difference between the two groups at the.05 level. In the analysis of vocabulary skills, again no significant difference was found between the two groups at the.05 level. The analysis concerning environmental skills was significant at the.05 level. The experimental group achieved significantly higher in the science-related skills than did the control group. |
