A Strategy Based on Combining "Mental Maps and Reciprocal Teaching"forAcquiring Scientific Concepts and Retaining their Learning effect Among Sixth Grade Female Students with Different Learning Styles

Abstract

The study aims at investigating the impact of a strategy based oncombining mental maps and reciprocal teaching for acquiring scientific concepts and retaining their learning effect among sixth grade female students with different learning styles.The study sample consists of 50 sixth grade female students, selected with simple random sample method, and divided into two groups. The first isan experimental group consisting of 25 female students taught by a strategy based on combining mental maps and reciprocal teaching. The second is a control group consisting of 25 female students taught by the usual teaching method. The research instruments include the learning styles scale to identify female students’ learning styles, and the scientific concepts test in an immediate and deferred way. Findings of the research show a statistically significant difference (at the level of significance < 0.01) between the two means of female students’ scores of the experimental and control groups in the post scientific concepts test (immediate and deferred). Moreover, the research shows nostatistically significant difference (at the level of significance <0.01) between the two means of female students’ scores of the experimental and control groups in the post scientific concepts testdue to the different learning styles (visual- auditory- kinesthetic). Lastly, the research shows no statistically significant difference (at the level of significance <0.01) between the two means of female students’ scores of the experimental and control groups in the post scientific concepts test due to the interaction between the teaching strategy and learning styles (visual- auditory- kinesthetic).