The Impact of Education 4.0 (Edu4.0) Tools on Students' Conceptual Learning and Computational Thinking (CT) Skills in the 7th Grade Electrical Circuits Unit

Abstract

Edu4.0 is a future-oriented innovative educational approach aimed at enhancing teaching and learning processes through the use of advanced technologies. This study seeks to examine the effect of integrating Edu4.0 tools into the seventh-grade science unit on Electrical Circuits, focusing on students' conceptual learning and CT skills. To this end, a concept test based on the sub-dimensions of CT was developed. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups was employed. Forty-one seventh-grade students from a public school in Turkey participated. Data were collected using the concept test developed by the researchers and the CT scale from the literature. The experimental process lasted four weeks, during which the experimental group engaged in activities using Edu4.0 tools, while the control group followed the standard curriculum. MANOVA analysis of the data revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group on both the concept test and the CT scale. Furthermore, a strong and significant correlation was found between the CT-based concept test and the CT scale in the experimental group. The results indicate that the integration of Edu4.0 into science education enhances both students' conceptual learning and CT skills. As students' CT skills improved, their conceptual learning based on CT also improved. Edu4.0 provided students with CT skills while simultaneously enhancing their conceptual learning.