Effect of 5E Instructional Model in Student Success in Primary School 6th Year Circulatory System Topic

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Effect of 5E instructional model in student success in primary school 6th year

circulatory system topic
Article in Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching · January 2008

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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 2, Article 10, p.1 (Dec., 2008)
Osman CARDAK, Musa DIKMENLI & Ozge SARITAS
Effect of 5E instructional model in student success in primary school 6th year circulatory system topic
Effect of 5E instructional model in student success in

primary school 6th year circulatory system topic
Osman CARDAK, Musa DIKMENLI , Ozge SARITAS

Selcuk University Ahmet Kelesoglu Faculty of Education, Konya, TURKEY
Email: [email protected]
Received 19 Jul., 2008

Revised 16 Dec., 2008
Contents
o Abstract
o Introduction
o 5E instructional model
o Aim of the Study
o Methodology
o Treatments
o Results
o Discussion
o Conclusion
o Recommendations
o References
Abstract
The aim of this study is to research the effect of the 5E instructional model on
primary (sixth grade) student success during the circulatory system unit. This study
was conducted with 38 students in two different classes by the same researcher in
2006-2007. One of the classes was assigned as the control group and the other as
the experimental group. Appropriate activities using the 5E instructional model
were used in the experimental group, while traditional teaching using question and
answer methods was applied with the control group. To compare the treatments, the
Copyright (C) 2008 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 9, Issue 2, Article 10 (Dec., 2008). All Rights Reserved.
percentage of correct statements and t test results were used. While initial levels of
the experimental group and the control group were the same, a significant
difference occurred in favor of the experimental group as a result of the application.
Keywords: 5E model, circulatory system, primary school
Introduction
Learning is permanent and persistent change in behaviors of individuals; a state in
which students become aware of knowledge they have not known before and apply
it an activity they have not previously achieved. Information can qualify as
knowledge only when this source is given a meaning and turned into a part of the
thinking system by individuals. Individual interests, curricular requirements and
socio-cultural structures should be taken into account while constituting a learning
environment (Witrock, M. 1974). An individual is recognized by the world when
he or she effectively participates in the process of constituting meaning rather than
receiving conveyed information and waiting for it to be oriented and formed (Olsen,
1999). One of the significant explanations of this process is the constructivist
approach. The nature of knowledge and learning becomes the fundamental ground
of the constructivism (Brooks & Brooks 1993; Cannella & Reiff, 1994; Lawson,
1995). This theory is based on establishing knowledge from basis (Caprio, 1994).
The construction of knowledge and learners’ application of knowledge exist at its
core (Perkins, 1999). Learning is fulfilled through active participation in the
learning process including activities such as discussion, experiences, , advocating
ideas, developing hypothesis, interrogation and sharing ideas. Interactions among
individuals are important. Learners do not accept knowledge as it is, rather they
create or explore the knowledge (Perkins, 1999). Every knowledge gain establishes
a base for increasing knowledge. New knowledge is built upon a base of previously
constructed knowledge. Incidentaly, constructivist learning is the process of
establishing a connection between former and new knowledge and integrating each
new experience with existing knowledge. According to the constructivist learning
theory, knowledge is developed while it is transmitting from an unbalanced to an
equilibrium situation. If a new experience overlaps with former knowledge, it will
be easily added to existing knowledge, and the individual is able to rapidly give
meaning to new knowledge (Doolittle, 2001; Olsen, 1999; Yigit & Akdeniz, 1997).
If a new experience does not overlap with previous knowledge, the individual will
likely respond in one of four ways: 1. Destroying the existing knowledge. 2.
Modifying existing former knowledge to conform to the new knowledge. 3.
Modifying the new knowledge to conform to the former knowledge. 4. Rejecting
the new knowledge (Witrock, 1974; Hand & Treagust, 1991).
Existing knowledge is expected to be made compatible with new knowledge for

realization of meaningful learning. Examining the education system in our own
country, Turkey, a traditional structure is composed of an inward-oriented,

restrictive class environment witha teacher and a group of students, textbooks,
desks and a blackboard, which are all contrary to the views stressed in the
constructivist approach (Alesandrini & Linda, 2002; Cepni, Akdeniz & Keser, 2000;
Schineider & Renner, 1980). These indicators show that we have a structure that is
far from providing permanent, persistent changes we expect to be achieved in
students. Studies of student-centered approaches in recent years provide evidence
that traditional approaches encourage students to become more passive and are not
beneficial for ensuring permanent learning (Balkan, 2001; Isman, 1999).
Intensive efforts are being taken in order to develop a better education model in
Turkey. The Ministry of Education decided to implement the constructivist
education approach in all primary schools throughout the country beginning with
the 2005–2006 school year. New constructivist education programs were prepared,
and they were publicized in seminars organized for primary school teachers at the
end of 2004–2005 school year (Cinar, Teyfur, & Teyfur, 2006).
Schineider and Renner (1980) found that for concrete operational students, the 5E
teaching approach is superior compared to traditional approaches in intellectual
development gains. Adams et al. (1999) have explored the 5E instructional model
approach in their study. It was found that the 5E instructional model encouraged
students to develop their own frames of thought. Caprio (1994) compared a class in
which he taught with traditional methodology in 1985 to one in which he taught
with 5E instructional model method in 1994. Marek et al. (1990) examined the
relationship between high school science teachers’ understanding of the Piagetian
developmental model of intelligence, its inherent learning procedure of the 5E
instructional model, and classroom teaching practices. In this study, the teachers
expressed dissatisfaction with the teaching methods they had previously used. They
displayed varying degrees of understanding of the learning cycle, which ranged
from sound understanding to misunderstanding.
It seems that the constructivist approach could not be applied commonly in primary
school science and technology education despite all these matters. The 5E
instructional model that is used as the embodiment of the constructivist approach is
composed of activities that increases students’ concerns, supports their expectations
related to the topic and includes active use of their knowledge and skills. In studies
conducted using the 5E instructional model, evidence repeatedly reveals that the
model increases the success of students, elevates their conceptual understandings
and positively changes their attitudes (Baker & Piburn, 1997; Kor, 2006; Ozsevgec,
Cepni & Ozsevgec, 2006; Saglam, 2006).
5E instructional model
Constructivism is the teaching philosophy that proposes learners need to build their
own understanding of new ideas. Teaching via the Learning Cycle originated with
the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (Trowbridge & Bybee, 1990). The five
phases, ( Seyhan & Morgil, 2007;Ozsevgec, Cepni & Ozsevgec, 2006) which
capture the essence of the students’ actions, are as follows:
Engagement: The activities in this section captures the students’ attention, stimulates their
thinking, and helps them access prior knowledge.
Exploration: Students are given time to think, plan, investigate, and organize collected
information.
Explanation: Students are now involved in an analysis of their explorations. Their

understanding is clarified and modified because of reflective activities.
Extension: This section gives students the opportunity to expand and solidify their
understanding of the concept and/or apply it to a real world situation.
Evaluation: Evaluation occurs throughout the lesson. The teacher should observe students’
knowledge and skills along with their application of new concepts and a
change in thinking.
Aim of the Study

The purpose of this study was to research the effect of activities prepared in
accordance to the 5E instructional model on students’ success in a primary school’s
6th grade (12-13 years old) class during a unit on the circulatory system.
This study, seeks the answer to the following question: Is teaching science with the
5E instructional model more effective than traditional science teaching methods
while teaching of the human circulatory system in?
Methodology
This study examined whether or not activities prepared according to the 5E
instructional model have an impact on student success. Experimental and control
groups are composed of total 38 students studying at one school in Turkey. 19
students were in each of experimental and control groups. Lessons were given in
both groups with two different methods for 4 weeks. The same researcher taught 38
students at the 6th grade level.
While the 5E instructional model activities were used in the experimental group,
traditional teaching took place through the use question and answer methods.
Multiple choice achievement tests (15 questions composed of four answer options)
were created by taking into account answers obtained during the interviews with
7th grade students in addition to a review of the research literature and specialists’
opinions. Both the pre-test and post-test were scored out of 100. The reliability of
achievement test prepared was calculated as 0.83. The achievement test was given
to both groups as pre-test and post-test. The implementation continued in both
groups for 4 class hours per week for a period of 4 weeks.
Treatments
The implementation continued in both groups for 4 class hours (40 min.) a week for
4 continuous weeks.
Teaching Approaches Used with the Experimental Group: Some questions about
certain concepts relating to the circulatory system were asked in order to disclose
pre-instructional knowledge and instill interest by students; this is consistent with
the engagement stage of the class plan designed according to the 5E instructional
model. Students had previous knowledge about the concepts like blood, the heart,
vessels and lymph nodes. An interesting image symbolizing the circulatory system
was presented to the students. In addition, a story about the relationship among the
heart, blood and vessels was read. Images were distributed for each group to assist
them to prepare a heart model in the exploration stage of our activity. Then, each
group was expected to create a heart model by combining these images. Blood
structure was examined under the microscope in the following class. The students
were given the task of researching the structure of heart and blood at the end of
exploration stage. The heart model created by the students was reinforced using the
overhead projector and the parts of heart were described in the explanation stage.
Information was given about blood structure and vessels, and questions from the
students were answered. Information about systemic and pulmonary circulation and
the lymph system was given. A research task about the importance of blood
donation was given in extension stage. Moreover, the students were asked to
prepare and exhibit a drama representing the systemic and pulmonary circulation. It
was attempted to determine whether or not the students gained target behaviors by
using different methods in the evaluation stage.
Approached Used with the Control Group: Traditional instruction methods were
used with the control group. The researcher used direct teaching and question and
answer methods to teach related topics and basic concepts. Basic explanations and
question and answer methods suited the traditional teaching approach where
students are completely passive, were used while teaching the circulatory system
unit. Teaching strategies consisted of the researcher’s explanations and textbooks.
In this group, the researcher provided instruction through lecture and discussion
methods to teach the concepts. The researcher structured the entire class as a unit,
wrote notes on the chalkboard about the definition of concepts, and passed out
worksheets for students to complete. The primary underlying principle was that
knowledge takes the form of information that is transmitted to students. After the
teacher’s explanations, some concepts were discussed, prompted by
teacher-directed questions. Worksheets were developed specifically for each lesson.
These required written responses and reinforced the concepts presented in the
classroom sessions. They were collected and corrected by the researcher. Each
lesson typically consisted of the researcher presenting the correct way to solve
problems. The majority of instructional time was devoted to instruction and
engaging in discussion stemming from the researcher’s explanation and questions.
The multiple choice achievement test composed of 15 questions applied at the

beginning was also administered to both groups at the end of the unit as the post
test. The t-test and percentage expressions were used in the analysis of research
data. Significance level was considered as α = 0.05.
Results
The circulatory system achievement test was administered as the pre-test in both
the experimental and control groups before beginning the unit. The pre-test average
score was 31.68 for the experimental group and pre test average grade was 30.21
for the control group. It was calculated that there was no statistical significance
difference between pre-test results of the experimental and control groups (p =
0.385) (Table 1).
Table 1. t-test results related with pre-test grades of experimental group and control group
students in circulatory system achievement test
Test Groups N X SS t P
Circulatory Experimental
19 31.68 8.84
System Group
-889 0.385
Achievement
Control Group 19 30.21 9.63
Test
Looking at Table 2, the average score of the control group students on the post-test
application was higher than the average from the pre-test. Four weeks of traditional
science teaching method result in a post-test average score that went up to 53.42.
Here, the control group students increased their correct answer percentages in the
circulatory system achievement test at the end of four weeks. There was a
significant difference between scores by the control group between the pre-test and
post-test of the circulatory system achievement test.
Table 2. t-test results of control group students related with the pre-test and post-test grades
in the circulatory system achievement test
Control
Test N X SS t P
group
Circulatory
Pre Test 19 30.21 9.63
System
-4.64 .00
Achievement
Post Test 19 53.42 22.28
Test
Table 3. t-test results of the experimental group students related with the pre-test and
post-test grades in the circulatory system achievement test
Experimental
Test N X SS t P
Group
Circulatory
Pre Test 19 31.68 8.84
System
-9.60 .00
Achievement
Post Test 19 72.57 15.86
Test
Table 3 shows that the average post-test scores by the experimental group students
(receiving the 5E instructional method) was than the average grade they obtained
on the pre-test application. There was a significance difference between scores by
the experimental group in pre-test and post-test of the circulatory system
achievement test (p=.00).
Table 4. t-test results related with post-test grades of experimental group and control group
students in circulatory system achievement test
Test Groups N X SS t P
Circulatory Experimental
19 72.57 15.86
System Group
-2.66 .00
Achievement
Control Group 19 53.42 22.28
Test
As seen in Table 4, average post-test application scores from the experimental

group were higher than average scores obtained for the traditional science teaching
method post-test application. There was a significant difference between post-test
grades of the experimental group and control group in the circulatory system
achievement test (p = 0.00).
Considering the statistical values in the experimental and control group before the
application, it was determined that there was no significant difference in the
circulatory system achievement test according to pre-test results (Table 1).
Post-tests were given to all students in order to analyze the effect of the two
different teaching methods to determine student success in learning about the
circulatory system. It was found that the experimental group students obtained a
higher degree of knowledge compared to the control group students. It was also
found that both the experimental group and control group students obtained gains
statistically, according to the circulatory system achievement test post-test data
(Table 4). However, the experimental group students obtained a higher degree of
knowledge compared to the control group students (p = 0.00). Moreover, the
experimental group students achieved a 100% success in a question related with
heart structure in the post-test.
Discussion
This study offers results that support work previously performed by other
researchers (Adams, Bevevino & Dengel, 1999; Caprio, 1994; Cepni, Akdeniz &
Keser, 2000; Sungur, Tekkaya & Geban, 2001; Demircioglu, Ozmen &
Demircioglu, 2004; Lord, 1999; Marek, Eubanks & Gallaher, 1990; Bayar, 2005;
Seyhan & Morgil, 2007 ). Seyhan & Morgil (2007) compared two classes taught by
traditional methods with two classes taught using the 5E instructional model
method. The study indicated that the experimental groups had much greater
understanding of the information covered especially on questions that required
interpretation. Saglam’s study (2006) on the subject of developing 5E activities
orienting to the Light and Sound Unit and evaluating its effectiveness determined
that student teaching materials developed according to the 5E instructional model
increased achievements and attitudes of the experimental group in 5th class more
significantly than compared to the control group. Kor’s (2006) study on the subject
of the effect of materials developed based on integrative learning theory in an
“Electricity in our Life” unit of a 5th grade class determined that it was effective
for promoting learning concepts and the removal of conceptual errors through
teaching based on a constructivist approach. Saka & Akdeniz studied (2006)
developing computer-aided materials in genetics and their implementation
according to the 5E instructional model that preparing class activities appropriate to
5E instructional model in topics with conceptual errors will not only release
students from a monotonous class environment especially but also brings a good
experience in teacher candidates by carrying out their classes appropriate with 5E
instructional model.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence obtained through the activities carried out in scope of the
research, positive changes from the experimental group of students receiving the
5E instructional model activities based on the constructivist approach have an

effect of increasing success when learning about the circulatory system. It was
observed that newly learned concepts were constructed in the mind correctly by
removing concept errors existing in their pre-information.
Recommendations
Classroom teachers should consider how to prepare learning environments in which
students will be active in accordance with students’ characteristics and then present
these environments to students. Creating techniques based on the 5E instructional
model on various subjects will attach a higher degree of importance on the 5E
instructional model based on the constructivist approach. In addition, the education
of trainee teachers will benefit from these methods.
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Effect of 5E instructional model in student success in primary school 6th year

Article in Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching · January 2008

Osman Cardak Musa Dikmenli

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Effect of 5E instructional model in student success in

Osman CARDAK, Musa DIKMENLI , Ozge SARITAS

Received 19 Jul., 2008

Existing knowledge is expected to be made compatible with new knowledge for

country, Turkey, a traditional structure is composed of an inward-oriented,

Explanation: Students are now involved in an analysis of their explorations. Their

Aim of the Study

The multiple choice achievement test composed of 15 questions applied at the

As seen in Table 4, average post-test application scores from the experimental

5E instructional model activities based on the constructivist approach have an

Demircioglu, G., Ozmen, H. & Demircioglu, H. (2004). Butunlestirici ogrenme kuramina

View publication stats

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