The Impact of the Flower Diagram Strategy on the Academic Achievement in Social Studies among First Intermediate Grade Female Students

Abstract

The present research aims to investigate the impact of the Flower Diagram Strategy on the academic achievement in social studies among first intermediate grade female students. To achieve this goal, the researcher formulated the following hypothesis:

There are no statistically significant differences at the level of (0.05) between the average scores of the experimental group students, who study social studies using the Flower Diagram Strategy, and the average scores of control group students, who study the same material using traditional methods, in the post-achievement test.

The sample of the research consisted of first intermediate grade female students from public daytime intermediate schools for girls affiliated with the General Directorate of Education in Diyala Province. The researcher intentionally selected Maria Al-Qibtiyya Middle School as the research sample. The school had two sections, and randomly, Section A was chosen to represent the experimental group, while Section B represented the control group. The total research sample consisted of 68 students, with 35 in the experimental group and 34 in the control group.

      The researcher ensured the equivalence between the two groups by matching variables such as IQ test scores, previous year's social studies grades, chronological age (in months), and the educational attainment of the parents. A quasi-experimental design with partial control was employed. The material covered in the study included the first three chapters of the social studies textbook for first intermediate grade.

The researcher formulated 80 behavioral objectives based on the first four levels of Bloom's taxonomy, with input from experts and specialists in history teaching methods. A table of specifications was also prepared to ensure a fair distribution of test items and behavioral objectives across the content of the experiment. The content validity was verified, and psychometric properties such as item difficulty, discrimination index, and the effectiveness of distractors were extracted. The researcher used the following statistical methods to analyze the cognitive domain (knowledge, understanding, application, analysis). The research tool was a multiple-choice test consisting of 40 items, prepared according to Bloom's taxonomy levels. To verify the tool's validity, the test items were presented to a panel of experts. The results were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Chi-square, item difficulty, and discrimination indices. Statistical analysis of the results revealed that the experimental group students, who were taught using the Flower Diagram Strategy, outperformed the control group students, who were taught using traditional methods. Based on these results, the researcher concluded several key findings, including:

• The use of the Flower Diagram Strategy had a positive effect on increasing student participation during the presentation of social studies material by the teacher.
• The use of the Flower Diagram Strategy heightened the students' excitement for history lessons, making the lessons more engaging.
• There was a clear interest among first intermediate grade students in adopting modern teaching strategies like the Flower Diagram Strategy due to its significant role in encouraging positive student participation during the lesson.

Based on these findings, the researcher proposed several recommendations, including:

• Organizing seminars and workshops on the importance of using the Flower Diagram in teaching history, its application methods, and its benefits.

To further explore the current research, the researcher suggested several future studies, including:

• Conducting research on the impact of the Flower Diagram Strategy on other variables, such as thinking processes, attitudes towards the subject, motivation, and the transfer of learning, to determine its effect on these variables.