The Effect of Multimedia-Based Learning on the Concept Learning Levels and Attitudes of Students

Abstract

Problem Statement: Rich stimuli received by sensory organs such as vision, hearing, and touch are important elements that affect an individual's perception, identification, classification, and conceptualization of the external world. In primary education, since students perform conceptual abstraction based upon concrete characteristics, when they lack sufficient knowledge of and experience with these characteristics, they encounter serious difficulty with performing conceptual abstraction and using concepts according to their functions. Purpose of the Study: This study examined the impact of teaching based on rich stimuli upon students' effective use of conceptualization processes and whether multimedia-based learning can change the attitudes of students toward learning. Methods: A 28-item concept test (r.703) and 28-item attitude scale (r.87) were developed for a unit titled "Let's Get Acquainted with Our Region" of a social studies course. The levels of students' learning concepts covered in the unit and their use in accordance with their functions were examined via a pretest-posttest model. Students in the experimental group were taught 24 concepts covered in the unit through multimedia-based teaching activities for 6 weeks. In the control group, the same concepts were taught with teaching activities already established for the unit. Students in the experimental group subjected to multimedia-based teaching were compared with the control group students in terms of how they perceived, distinguished, classified, generalized, and functionally used concepts. An attitude scale was also administered both before and after teaching to determine whether any change occurred in the attitudes of students toward their respective courses. Data analysis involved calculating means and standard deviations, as well as t tests and one-way analysis of variance. Finding and Results: In terms of identifying and classifying concepts and making inferences through generalization, students in the experimental group showed a significantly positive change in attitude toward the social studies course. Conclusions and Recommendations: This study highlighted the importance of a balanced use of information channels and the critical role of contextual arrangements in multimedia-based teaching concerning how students use concepts according to their functions at the end of concept-teaching processes. Based on the findings, some recommendations can be made regarding the concept-teaching process, the teaching materials used in the teaching process, and the elimination of deficiencies about concept teaching.