Authors : Warapond Budprom, Paitool Suksringam and Adisak Singsriwo
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate and compare the effects of learning environmental education using the 5E-learning cycle with multiple intelligences and the teacher’s handbook approaches on learning achievement, basic science process skills and critical thinking of 80 grade 9 students from two classes. They were randomly selected by the cluster random sampling technique and were assigned to an experimental group and a control group, 40 students each. The instruments for the study included 6 plans of learning organization using the 5E-learning cycle with multiple intelligences for the experimental group and 6 plans of learning organization using the teacher’s handbook approach for the control group, each plan for 3 h of learning in each week; the learning achievement test with 40 items; the test on basic science process skills with 8 subscales and 40 items and the critical thinking test with 5 subscales and 54 items. The paired t-test and the F-test (Two-way MANCOVA) were employed for testing hypotheses. The major substantive findings revealed that the whole students, the male students and the female students in the experimental group showed gains in learning achievement, basic science process skills in general and in 4-8 subscales and critical thinking in general and in 3-5 subscales from before learning (p<0.05). The students with different sexes did not differently indicate basic science process skills in general and in each subscale and critical thinking in each subscale. However, the male students outperformed the female ones in learning achievement and critical thinking in general (p<0.05). The experimental group outscored the control group in learning achievement, basic science process skills in the observing subscale and critical thinking in general and in 4 subscales: (p<0.05) the statistical interactions of learning model with sex were found to be significant at the 0.05 level in the areas of learning achievement, basic science process skills in general and critical thinking in general and in each subscale.
Warapond Budprom, Paitool Suksringam and Adisak Singsriwo, 2010. Effects of Learning Environmental Education Using the 5E-Learning Cycle with Multiple Intelligences and Teacher’s Handbook Approaches on Learning Achievement, Basic Science Process Skills and Critical Thinking of Grade 9 Students. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 7: 200-204.