INFLUENCE OF RESEQUENCING GENERAL SCIENCE CONTENT ON THE ACHIEVEMENT, ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE AND INTEREST IN SCIENCE OF SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS

The intent of this study was to determine whether students experiencing resequenced and overtly interrelated general science content with respect to clarifying content structure would exhibit higher science achievement, more positive attitudes toward science, and greater interest in science when compared to a control group of students experiencing the same content not resequenced; possible relationships among science achievement, attitudes toward science and interest in science within the treatment and control groups were also sought. Conclusions found in the literature of science education may be interpreted to provide evidence that greater understanding and retention of material is associated with bodies of knowledge whose contents of subject matter are interrelated for learners. Data were collected from 203 sixth grade science students after one year by way of a standardized achievement test, and two Likert-type instruments which measured the two affective variables. Statistical procedures included the t-test for examining differences between the experimental and control groups and Pearson product-moment correlations for determining relationships among the attitudinal measures. The results indicated that students experiencing resequenced general science content were significantly more positive in terms of science achievement, attitudes toward science and interest in science; also, significant correlations were found between attitudes toward science and interest in science within both levels of treatment. A major conclusion was that establishing content structure through resequencing chapters for general science learners has positive effects on both cognitive and affective aspects of learner performance; additionally attitudes toward science and interest in science were highly related and interdependent. Implications for relating content structure to science classrooms, and curriculum and textbook revision have been discussed.