Browsing by Author "Bedward, Kaydene"

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    Increasing Science Assessment Scores with Authentic Environmental Activities: An Ex Post Facto Study
    (2023-05) Bedward, Kaydene
    Environmental awareness is essential for addressing some of our current environmental problems. One way to enhance environmental awareness is to provide environmental education in schools. The problem is that it is not known to what extent environmentally aware high school students can improve their science assessment scores after completing authentic environmental activities. The study is important because it adds to the knowledge base that experiential learning and constructivism theories incorporated with authentic environmental activities could improve students’ environmental awareness. Increased environmental awareness could help students become critical thinkers and problem-solvers, resulting in improved scores on science assessments. This ex post facto study examined if completing authentic environmental activities could enhance students' environmental awareness and improve their science assessment scores. Archival data from 46 high school students’ environmental awareness survey and environmental science post-test assessment were examined to address the research questions and confirm if there was a correlation between completing authentic environmental activities and science assessment scores. Data were examined to compare if students’ perceptions changed after completing authentic environmental activities versus those completing traditional lab activities. Statistical tests were used to analyze the data, and based on this study’s findings, there was no statistical significance between the two groups. For future studies, it is recommended to use a larger sample size and that authentic environmental activities are conducted throughout a semester or school year. In addition, environmental topics can be integrated into other content areas to help improve students’ environmental awareness and literacy. Keywords: authentic environmental activities, environmental awareness, environmental issue, outdoor learning, academic achievement