Views of Middle School Students on the Effectiveness of Science Courses Conducted with Biomimicry

Abstract

This study investigated the views of middle school students on the effectiveness of science courses conducted with biomimicry. To this end, phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group consisted of 10 students in grades 5 and 7 who continued their education in a middle school located in the central district of Ankara province in the 2021-2022 academic year. Participants were determined through criterion sampling. The data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Based on the findings, codes and themes were created. According to the results of the study, students emphasized that science courses conducted with biomimicry activities increased their motivation and contributed to their academic and social development, as well as improving their creativity. In addition, due to the permanence of knowledge and the fun nature of the lessons, students also want to use biomimicry-based activities in other courses. In the study, how students overcame the challenges they faced was also examined. In this context, student responses indicated that the activities took too much time, they had difficulty deciding on the organism to be inspired by, and that a lot of thinking was required. Providing options for students to conduct biomimicry activities in areas of their interest will encourage greater participation. It is recommended to conduct more comprehensive studies on integrating biomimicry into science courses using different measurement tools and different study groups. It is thought that the widespread use of biomimicry activities will have a positive impact on students' motivation and academic achievement.