English abstract
The study sought to examine the efficacy of employing interactive maps in social studies to foster environmental awareness and visual thinking skills among tenth-grade students. To fulfill the study's objectives and address its inquiries, the researcher adopted a quasi-experimental approach.
The research sample consisted of 72 female tenth-grade students deliberately selected from a school spanning grade 5 to 10 in Al Dhahirah Governorate. These participants were purposefully divided into two groups: an experimental cohort of 36 students instructed through interactive map utilization and a control cohort of 36 students taught through traditional methods. The comparability between the groups was ensured via a preliminary examination employing a scale assessing environmental awareness, encompassing both environmental knowledge and attitude dimensions, alongside an evaluation of visual thinking skills.
The study's instruments included an environmental awareness scale, which was divided into a section measuring environmental knowledge and another assessing attitude toward the environment, as well as a test of visual thinking skills. These instruments were statistically adjusted and administered to both study groups before the intervention. Then, a unit on environmental problems and hazards was taught using interactive maps, following the provided guidelines. After completing the unit, the study instruments were administered again, and the data were collected and statistically analyzed. The study found statistically significant differences (at a significance level of α = 0.05) between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in the post-intervention application of the environmental awareness scale, across both its environmental knowledge and attitude sections, and in the test of visual thinking skills in the unit on environmental problems and hazards, in favor of the experimental group taught using interactive maps. The effect size was found to be substantial on both environmental awareness and visual thinking skills.
Based on the findings, the study put forth a series of recommendations. Foremost among them is the creation of interactive maps tailored to topics in social studies as a specific educational tool. This approach follows the steps outlined in the study and adheres to the components of interactive maps addressed therein. Furthermore, teachers are encouraged to actively incorporate the use of interactive maps in teaching the unit on environmental issues and hazards in social studies for tenth grade.
