Investigating the use of case-oriented station technique in teaching socioscientific issues: A mixed method study

This research aims to investigate the effect of teaching the socio-scientific issues, "Global Warming, Sustainable development and Bio-technology" in 8th class, with the case-oriented station technique on the academic achievement of the students and their motivation toward science learning. The study was carried out with 71 students in 8th class in 2 secondary schools of a district with approximately 20.000 population in the Eastern Anatolia Region. The mixed-method, consisting of the data collected as qualitatively and quantitatively, was employed. In the quantitative part of the study, the Socio-scientific issues Achievement Test and the Science Learning Motivation Scale developed by Dede and Yaman (2008) to measure students' motivation to learn were used. Unstructured interview, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred in order to support the study with student opinions and comments. The Socio-scientific Issues Achievement Test and the Science Learning Motivation Scale were applied to the experimental and control groups as pre-test at the beginning and as post-test at the end of the study. Results indicated that teaching the socio-scientific issues with case-oriented station technique positively affected the students' academic achievements and their motivation toward science learning. Besides, the interviews showed that the students found it useful, fun, remarkable and permanent to learn socio-scientific issues using the case-oriented station technique.


Introduction
Today, with the rapid development of science and technology, the need for manpower to keep up with this development is increasing day by day. For individuals to have the equipment required by the age, a science education arising curiosity in individuals, enabling them to conduct research, study and make an experiment and allowing to know the natural environment has gained significance (Yüksel, 2017). Science education to be provided to students should meet the need to increase the scientific literacy of our community and future citizens (Çepni, 2014). In this context, the science curricula are prepared being updated according to needs, developments and innovations in our country. In 2013, the added objectives to the Science teaching curricula related to the subject studied are as follows (MoNE, 2013):  To realize the reciprocal interaction between individual, environment and society, and raise awareness of sustainable development of society, economy and natural resources.
 To take responsibility for daily life problems and to use knowledge, scientific process skills and other life skills related to science to solve these problems.
 To develop scientific thinking habits by using Socio-Scientific issues (SSIs). The added objectives to the Science teaching curricula related to the subject studied in 2017 are as follows (MoNE, 2017):  This course aims to give basic information about astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences and science and engineering applications.
 To develop reasoning, scientific thinking habits and decision-making skills by using socio-scientific issues.
 To ensure the adoption of universal moral values, national and cultural values and scientific ethical principles.
Among the objectives added to the science curriculum in 2013, SSIs were directly included in the program for the first time, and in addition to the scientific process skills of the individual, developing responsibility towards social problems and solving these problems were added as the functions. In the updated program in 2017, it is seen that it was aimed to relate the subjects to daily life, adopt universal and national values, develop discussion and decision-making skills.
The SSIs, which are mentioned in the curriculum and the theme of study, is scientific and social issues based on science, including controversial social dilemmas (Ratcliffe & Grace, 2003;Sadler & Zeidler, 2005;Topçu, Sadler, & Yılmaz-Tütün, 2010). Besides, socio-scientific issues are moral and ethical issues that are controversial by nature but have no single consequences (Sadler & Zeidler, 2005). Individuals must reach an effective decision on a socio-scientific issue, evaluate the possible ethical, moral and legal consequences of the issue together, and consider the critical thinking skills to develop socio-scientific issues in the program (Çakırlar Altuntaş, Yılmaz & Duran, 2017). In consideration of this information, it can be emphasized that addressing socio-scientific issues in science classes is an important tool both for the student's personal development and for the development of society (Balkan Kıyıcı, 2008). In particular, decisions on controversial socio-scientific issues in the field of science have created a necessity to form a scientific literate society that can make informed decisions using science's ways of thinking and critically evaluate arguments on the future of societies, and perhaps the survival of our world, allegations put forth in scientific discussions, justifications, reasoning and arguments (Şahin & Hacıoğlu, 2010).
In this context, the case-study method and station technique, which is considered as appropriate to the teaching of SSIs, were applied together in the research. The case study method is the method that has the features that contribute to teaching the socio-scientific issues such as to relate topics to daily life, problem-solving, decision-making, discussion and development of high-level thinking skills. This method necessitates the active participation of individuals both mentally and emotionally. The discussion of moral and social dilemmas in the classroom, where various arguments are contested, different rights and perspectives can be defined, is an excellent opportunity for students to gain perspectives, but also to question their understanding of morality (Aydın, 2007). The station technique, which will be applied with the case study method, is a student-centred technique that teaches how to advance what the previous group has done through the whole class contributing to each stage (at each station) (Gözütok 2006, p.256). In this technique, it is also aimed to uncover the qualifications such as reinforcing topics with activities in different intelligence areas, creativity and cooperation. It can be claimed that the more a content and teaching approach supports the development of skills, the better and more useful it is (Evren Yapıcıoğlu, 2016).
The methods and techniques selected correctly in accordance with the subjects and achievements are necessary and important in terms of revealing the potentials of students at a high level and increasing their academic achievement. In this scope, as the topic forms of the SSIs are taken into consideration, the case-oriented station technique, considered to be suitable for teaching the topics, is believed to be significant in terms of motivating students to the lesson or issue with various activities in addition to increasing their academic achievements, so to increase motivation towards science lesson and to help students develop higher-level thinking skills. Besides, the present study differs from other studies on the SSIs in that it is a study, in which two different methods and techniques are used in teaching SSI and will contribute to the literature.
This research aims to investigate the effect of teaching the socio-scientific issues, "Global Warming (GW), Sustainable Development (SD) and Biotechnology (BT)" in 8th class with the case-oriented station technique on the academic achievement of the students and their motivations related to learning science lesson. In this research, the following 3 research questions were asked in line with the aims of the study: 1. Does teaching the 8th-grade socio-scientific issues (GW-SD-BT) using case-oriented station technique contribute to the students' academic achievements?
2. Does teaching the 8th-grade socio-scientific issues (GW-SD-BT) using case-oriented station technique contribute to the students' motivations?
3. What are the students' opinions after the application of teaching the socio-scientific issues, (GW-SD-BT) in 8th class with the case-oriented station technique?

Research Design
The mixed-method, consisting of the data collected as qualitatively and quantitatively, was employed in the study. In terms of using the mixed-method approach, each event and fact has a qualitative and quantitative dimension that should be investigated. By investigating these dimensions together, it is seen whether the collected data support each other or not. There is not only a single approach to using mixed methods. While quantitative methods come to the forefront in research designs, sometimes qualitative methods can be dominant. In some cases, both methods can be used equally (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013). In the present study, the quantitative data were collected, then supported with the qualitative data. In this context, the descriptive pattern was selected from mixedmethod research designs. In descriptive research, data are first collected by quantitative methods, and then qualitative data are gathered considering the analysis of these data (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2015). The contribution of the data collected by this method to the research is equal (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013). The quasi-experimental model, one of the quantitative research methods, was applied. The fact that a study is quasi-experimental shows that the research can reveal the cause and effect relationship and that this result can be generalized with similar results (Can, 2013).
For the research, ethical compliance was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University on 01.02.2018 and with protocol number 01/18. Taking into consideration the ethical committee decision, necessary research permit was obtained from the provincial directorate of national education, where the schools where the research was conducted, through correspondence between institutions.

Study Group
The research was carried out with 71 students in 8th class in 2 secondary schools of a district with approximately 20.000 population in the Eastern Anatolia Region. The sampling method, in which equal probability of selection is given to each sampling unit, is called the simple random sampling method (Büyüköztürk, 2013). The study group was selected with the simple random sampling method consisting of 2 secondary schools out of 3 located in the district, and 2 classrooms out of 4 in these schools. The experimental group consisted of totally 35 students including 16 girls and 19 boys while the control group consisted of 36 students including 17 girls and 19 boys.

Data Collection Tools
The Socio-scientific Issues Achievement Test (SIAT) developed to measure the effectiveness of training and the Science Learning Motivation Scale (SLMS) to measure students' motivations related to learning (Dede & Yaman, 2008) were administered to the control end experimental groups as pre-test and post-test and analyzed.

SIAT Test:
According to the determined gains in science education, a qualified and well-prepared measurement scale is needed to determine student achievements. Although there are several measurement tools applied to find out students' learning, multiple-choice tests are of particular importance in terms of time, preparation, objectivity, usability and ease of application in classroom environment (Ayvacı & Durmuş, 2016). In this scope, the multiple-choice questions including the " Global Warming, Sustainable Development, Biotechnology" in the unit of "Living Organisms and Energy Relations" of 8th class within the context of SSIs were developed as SIAT. Validity is one of the most significant features that should be in a measurement tool. The validity, in the most general and classic definition, what the measuring tool wants to measure is the degree to which it can measure without mixing other variables. The method to determine the validity of a test consists of analyzing the scope of the test, comparing the scores obtained from the test with the appropriate criteria, investigating the structure to be measured in the test (Atılgan, Kan & Doğan, 2009). To provide the content validity of the achievement test in the research, the table of specifications was prepared and expert opinions were received.
To prepare the SIAT question pool, various resources related to the unit were reviewed. Questions with different difficulty levels from the trial exams by the MoNE, from the science course books approved by the MoNE, from the tests of different publishers were selected considering the number of gains in the unit and hours of the course. 43 questions selected were presented to the opinions of 2 academicians and 2 science teachers. Considering the opinions and evaluations of the experts, some questions were omitted and a pilot achievement test consisting of 38 questions was prepared. The pilot achievement test was applied to 85 9th grade students in two different high schools located in the mentioned district in which the research was carried out. As a result of the pilot application, each item in the test was analysed in terms of providing construct validity. The construct validity is related to the concept that the scores obtained from the test assume that the test is measured, that is, to what extent the structure measures (Büyüköztürk, 2013). Item discrimination index (-1.00 to +1.00) varies, but the items with low discrimination rates below .20 should be removed from the test because the discrimination rates are low (Güler, 2011). For this reason, 11 units with a distinctive index below .20 in the test (5,11,16,20,23,28,30,31,35,37,38) were excluded from the test. 2 items (10, 18) with item discrimination index between .20 -.30 were used in the test by correcting the distractors as a result of the evaluations of a science education expert and a researcher. In an ideal achievement test, the average difficulty index of the questions should be around .50 (Güler, 2011). The average difficulty of the test is .50 and 8 easy items (1,2,3,6,8,14,15,22) were also excluded from the test. During the item analysis process, after determining the difficulty and discrimination values of some items, some questions were removed from the test and a final achievement test consisting of 19 items was created.
In the present study, the single-application method , also called internal consistency, was used. Kuder and Richardson (1937) developed the KR-20 formula based on the assumption that each substance has the same medium and variance (Atılgan et al. 2009). In the present research, the internal consistency analysis was performed to determine the reliability of the achievement test, and the KR-20 value of the pilot test was found to be reliable as .70. According to this result, it can be claimed that the test is good discriminating and moderately difficult and reliable (Kan, 2008;Küçükahmet, 2002;Tekin, 2004).

SLMS Test:
To determine the motivation levels of students related to science learning, the SLMS test developed by Dede and Yaman (2008) was used. The researchers applied the preliminary applications of the motivation scale on 421 students. To determine the validity of the scale consisting of 23 items, the exploratory factor analysis was used, and it was found to be divided into five factors, explaining 47% the total variance of the scale, as, "Research for motivation", "Performance for motivation", "Communication for motivation", "Motivation for cooperative learning", "Motivation for participation". The variance values explained related to the factors of the scale were found to be 21.37 % for the first factor, 7.88 % for the second, 7.27 % for the third, 5.88 for the fourth, and 4.76 for the fifth. Also, Cronbach's alpha value of this scale, which was in Likert type, was found to be .80 (Dede & Yaman, 2008).

Qualitative interviews:
To support the study with student opinions and interpretations, the unstructured interview, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred. Unstructured interviews provide the researcher with a great deal of freedom to ask related items. The questions and their order are not fixed, they can be changed during the interview. In this method, it is aimed to collect rich and sufficient information (Büyüköztürk, 2013). The unstructured interview consists of open-ended and flexible questions, and it is commonly in a chat-style (Merriam, 2013). Also, these chat-style interviews help the researcher to adapt to the situation and individual differences being interviewed (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013). The unstructured interview was preferred because it was thought to contribute to the research within the framework of the mentioned characteristics. Totally 11 students, with low science achievement (n=3), with moderate science achievement (n=5) and with high science achievement (n=3), were selected based on volunteering for interview purposes. Necessary approvals were obtained from the parents of the students determined following the decision of the ethics committee of human studies. Firstly, the purpose of the study was explained to the students and it was stated to the students that grading was not applied for evaluation and their names would be kept secret. Also, before the interview, the students were reminded of basic concepts related to the research and asked to write their thoughts. In this way, it was tried to prevent the students from being forced, excited and getting out of the subject while expressing their thoughts during the interview. The interviews were applied to the experimental group. In one lesson (40 minutes), students' answers were recorded directly by the researcher with a paper and a pen. Each student was individually interviewed and being affected by each other was prevented. Interviews were repeated several times and statements that were regarded as significant during the interview were identified. Also, behaviors that can be directed to students were avoided and their opinions were recorded without changing. The students were coded and numbered without giving their names.

Data Collection
The SIAT and SLMS tests were administered to the experimental and control groups as pre-test at the beginning of the research process. Then, for 3 weeks, the experimental groups were taught with case-oriented station technique and the control groups were taught within the framework of the program prepared by the MoNE. The SIAT and MS SLMS SL tests were applied to the students as posttest at the end of the lessons. For the case-oriented station technique, 4 stations were created for 2hour courses, taking into account the gains, physical characteristics and availability of the classes. Students were distributed heterogeneously to the stations and elected a group president for each station. The students were informed about the case study and station technique. For the case study, internet news related to the gain was found, the questions related to the news were created, and different station activities (posters, experiments, pictures, etc.) were prepared with 12 sample cases to present at each station, which also facilitated understanding of the sample event. At the same time, as the cases contained the necessary information for the subjects to be reinforced at the stations, the relevant information did not have to be included in the stations. Case studies and worksheets were completed with instructions and names were given to each station. The necessary material list was prepared and provided for the activities to be held at the stations. Under the guidance of the researcher, the groups worked at each station for 15 minutes and then moved to the other stations after the duration. After reading the cases (newspaper news) to the stations, the groups answered questions about the cases and carried out activities on the same topic. At the end of the events, the resulting products were exhibited and interpreted.

Data Analysis
The results of the SIAT and SLMS tests, administered to the experimental and control groups as te pre-test and post-test at the beginning of the research process, were analyzed with the statistical programs. Before the analysis process, the normality of distribution of pre-test and post-test scores of SIAT and SLMS was determined. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test is recommended for the samples larger than 50 (Büyüköztürk, 2013). As the sample of the research was larger than 50, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied. The analysis results are presented in Table 1. As the analysis results in Table 1 are taken into consideration, it is seen that the pre-test and posttest scores distribute normally (p>.05). For this reason, the t-test, which is among the parametric tests, was applied in the analysis of the data.

Sub-dimensions
In the analysis of qualitative data, content analysis technique was used, and the data were analyzed by creating codes and categories. 4 categories with 15 codes were created for student views on socioscientific issues, 4 categories with 22 codes for opinions on station technique, and 2 categories with 11 codes for opinions on case study method. Besides, the data were coded under the themes determined by another expert and according to the results, the items with "Consensus" and "Dissidence" were determined. The codes gathered were analyzed with the Reliability= (Consensus/ Consensus+ Dissidence) formula suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994). The percentage of consensus was found to be reliable, with a percentage of 81%, as it is above 70% (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Also, the validity was tried to be provided by a detailed description of the method and process, giving the findings with direct quotations and expert examination in the research.

Findings
The findings related to the SIAT and SLMS tests, prepared for this research, and interviews held are presented in this section.

Findings Obtained from the SIAT Test
The SIAT was applied to the experimental and control groups before the issues stated in the research, the findings of the independent samples t-test are presented in Table 2. As a result of the independent samples t test, there was no significant difference (p> .05) between the control group pretest mean score ( ̅ = 8.69) and the experimental group pretest mean score ( ̅ =9.50). The dependent samples t-test was applied to compare the SIAT averages of the pre-test and post-test of the students in the experimental and control groups. The results are presented in Table 3. A significant difference (t=-8.28 p<.05) was found between the SIAT average ( ̅ pre-test =8.51) before beginning the issues and the post-test SIAT average after finishing the issues ( ̅ post-test ==10.11) in the control group. Similarly, in the experimental group, significant difference (t=-20.69 p<0.05) was found between the pre-test SIAT average ( ̅ pre-test =9.50) and post-test SIAT average ( ̅ post-test =14.72). The independent samples t-test was performed between the post-test averages of the groups to determine which methods are more effective in the control and experimental groups. The results are presented in Table 4. In the independent samples t-test, a significant difference (t=-6.61 p<.05) was found between the control group post-test average (X=10.11) and experimental group post-test average (X=14.72), in favor of the experimental group.

Findings Obtained from the SLMS
In the research, before starting the issues stated in the research, the SLMS was applied to the experimental and control groups. The independent-samples t-test findings gathered with the SLMS are presented in Table 5. No statistically meaningful difference was observed although the pre-test SLMS average of the independent samples t-test of the control group ( ̅ =95.36) was higher than the pre-test SLMS average of the independent samples t-test of the experimental group ( ̅ =93.38). The dependent samples t-test was applied to compare the pre-test and post-test of SLMS averages of students in the experimental and control groups. The results are presented in Table 6. In the dependent samples t-test results, no statistical difference was found between the pre-test average ( ̅ =95.31) and post-test average ( ̅ =95.14) of the students in the control group. In the dependent samples t-test results, a significant difference (t=2.34 p<.05) was seen in favor of the posttest average between the pre-test average ( ̅ =93.38) and the post-test average ( ̅ =98.08) of the students in the experimental group.
To compare the effect of the methods used in the control and experimental groups on the motivation for learning science, independent samples t-test was performed between the post-test averages of the groups. The results are presented in Table 7. In the independent samples t-test, no significant difference (t=-1.10 p>.05) was encountered although the post-test average of the experimental group ( ̅ =98.08) was higher than that of the control group ( ̅ =95.61).

Findings Gathered from the Qualitative Data
4 categories and 15 coded were created related to student opinions about the socio-scientific issues.
In issue category, there are topics that the students mentioned during the interview. In this category, there are 3 codes including global warming, sustainable development and biotechnology. 7 students (63.00%) expressed their opinions related to global warming, 3 (27.00%) to sustainable development and 9 (81.00%) to biotechnology. The student coded as S 4 stated: "…glaciers melt as a result of global warming and endanger the lives of the animals living there. To prevent this is in our hands". The student coded as S 9 claimed: "…we learned about the benefits, harms, and uses of biotechnology. For example, the prolonged shelf life of foods is useful, can be given as the treatment of diseases." In the cognitive category, 5 codes were created as information, researching, different opinions, beneficial and important. 3 students (27.00%) expressed their opinions about information, 1 (9.00%) researching, 2 (18.00%) different opinions, 4 (36.00%) beneficial, 2 (18.00%) important. The student coded as S 1 stated: "…we talked about socio-scientific issues, exchanged ideas, I think it was very useful".
In affective category, there are 2 codes as engaging and fun. 2 students (18.00%) expressed their opinions about engaging and 2 students (18.00%) about fun. The student coded as S 11 claimed,"… The topics were interesting to me. I'm not bored because it's different".
In the suggestion category, there are 5 codes as social work, environmental protection, awareness raising, recycling and energy saving. 1 (9.00%) student expressed an opinion about social work, 4 (36.00%) environmental protection, 1 student (9.00%) awareness rising, 3 (27.00%) recycling and 3 students (27.00%) energy saving. 9.00 36.00 9.00 27.00 27.00 S 9 S 2 , S 4 , S 8 , S 10 S 9 S 3 , S 4 , S 6 S 4 , S 8 , S 11  2  3  3  1  5  1  1  3  3  1  2 18.00 27.00 27.00 9.00 45.00 9.00 9.00 27.00 27.00 9.00 18.00 S 1 , S 5 S 1 , S 3 , S 5 S 1 , S 8 , S 11 S 2 S 2 , S 4 , S 5 , S 7 , S 9 S 2 S 2 S 3 , S 7 , S 10 S 4 , S 7 , S 9 S 6 S 3 , S 9 Negative Interruption Joint decision Relocation 2 1 2 18.00 9.00 18.00 S 7 , S 10 S 3 S 3 , S 10 The student coded as S 6 stated: "…tree cutting can be reduced by recycling paper. If people throw one or a few used pieces of useless paper into recycling bins every day, half of the trees in our world will be saved.". S 9 claimed: "…I think socio-scientific issues should be explained in social areas outside the school. For example, the harms of global warming should be explained in conferences. Thus, people can work to save the lives of living things by applying what they have learned" 3 categories and 22 codes were created related to the opinions about the station technique.
Station category consists of the stations which the students admired most. In this category, there are 4 codes; experiment, design, poster and painting. 6 students (54.00%) claimed that they admired the experiment station, 3 students (27.00%) design, 1 student (9.00%) poster and 1 student (9.00%) painting. The student coded as S 8 stated: "…my favorite was an experiment. Because I like to learn by observing and researching things".
Positive category consists of positive expressions related to the station technique. In this category, there are 11 codes including permanent learning, information, useful, effective, group work, responsibility, group contribution, fun, sharing, different events, enjoyed. 2 students expressed opinion (18%) that it provided permanent learning, 3 students (27.00%) that it was informative technique, 3 students (27.00%) that the stations were useful in learning the issue, 1 (9.00%) that it provided effective learning, 5 students (45.00%) liked the group work in this technique most, 1 student (9.00%) that the station techniques provided responsibility, 1 student (9%) that everyone contributed to the group, 3 students (27.00%) that the station technique was fun, 3 students (27.00%) that it increased sharing in group, 1 student (9.00%) that different event performed in stations, 2 students (18.00%) enjoyed the station technique. The student coded as S 2 said: "…I like group work because it requires responsibility for me. If my friends contribute to the group, I would like to contribute. Also maybe I would not understand if the teacher taught me, but now, I do not forget the issues that came to mind for our work". S 2 also stated: "…Thanks to the stations, the subjects were better in my mind, the lesson was quicker, meaningful and fun." In negative category, there are negative expressions of the student that they do not like about the station technique. In this category, there are 3 codes; interruption, joint decision and relocation. 2 students (18%) expressed that they were disturbed by the transition from one station to another before the end, 1 student (9%) the s/he does not enjoy joint decisions because s/he wants to make individual decisions, 2 students (18%) that they found the continuous relocation struggling. The student coded as S 7 claimed: "…When I started a station, I would love to end up. But we've always moved." The student coded as S 3 stated: "…we made a group decision, but I love working one time, so my decisions don't need to be approved by others." Two categories of 11 codes were created for the opinions about the case study method. S 2 , S 3 , S 9 S 1 , S 3 S 2 , S 7 , S 9 , S 10 S 3 , S 10 S 2 , S 4 , S 7 , S 10 S 5 , S 6 Method category consists of student opinions related to the case study method. There are 5 codes; different opinions, group work, information, useful, decision making. 3 students (27.00%) claimed that different opinions were expressed thanks to this method, 5 students (45%) that it was fun to examine case studies with group work, 3 students (27.00%) that the method provided information, 2 students (18.00%) that useful works were conducted, 2 students (18.00%) that it was significant to make decision with this method. The student coded as S 4 stated: "…our friends in the group said different ideas. I like to hear everyone's thoughts." Case-study category consists of student opinions about the cases selected for the method. 3 students (27.00%) found the cases from newspaper news to be effective, 2 students (18.00%) stressed that they gained the information they had never heard before thanks to the case study. 4 students (36%) found it effective that the case studies consisted of daily events. 2 students (18.00%) expressed that the case study was guiding to answer to given questions, 4 students (36.00%) that the cases were interesting, 2 students (18.00%) that case studies provided awareness about the society. The student coded as S 3 stated: "…I've had information with the news I've never seen in newspaper news". Ö 7 claimed: "…There was interesting news seen in our daily lives. I wasn't distracted by the news as I found them interesting."

Conclusion Related to the Findings Gathered from the SIAT Test
Any significant difference was not observed in the SIAT pre-test results administered to the experimental and control groups for the sub-problem "Does teaching the socio-scientific issues, (GW-SD-BT) in 8th class with the case-oriented station technique have any effect on the academic achievement of the students?" This shows that the readiness and knowledge levels of the students are close to each other. Similarly, in the studies by Albayrak (2016) and Aydemir (2010), it was noticed that there was no significant difference between the pre-test achievement score averages of the groups.
Meaningful difference encountered in favor of the post-test in the experimental and control groups according to the dependent samples t-test results between the pre-test and post-test SIAT averages shows that both the program approved by the MoNE and case-oriented station technique were effective in teaching the socio-scientific issues (GW-SD and BT) in 8th class. In studies in which the case study method (İbrahimoğlu, 2010;Sancar, 2010) and the station technique (Albayrak, 2016;Çakmak, 2018;Koca, 2018;Yüksel, 2017) were used, it is seen that similar results with the present study were reached.
Independent samples t-test results between the post-test averages of the groups to determine which methods are more effective in the control and experimental groups demonstrated that the caseoriented station technique used in the study increased the academic achievement in the 8th class socioscientific issues (GW-SD and BT) compared with the current program of the MoNE, and was more effective in teaching. The present study and other studies supported that the case study method has a positive effect on the academic achievement of the students (Adalı, 2005;Çakır, 2002;Herreid, 1994;İbrahimoğlu, 2010;Pehlivanlar, 2005;Stepien & Gallager, 1993;Uğur, 2007;Yalçınkaya, 2010). The results gathered from the relevant researches demonstrate similarity with this study. In the study by İbrahimoğlu (2010), it was found that using the case study method in social studies lesson increased academic achievement. Yalçınkaya (2010) found that the case-oriented learning model is an effective method to eliminate students' misconceptions compared to the traditional method. As the literature was reviewed, it was seen that the activities with the station technique has a positive effect on academic achievement and teaching (Albayrak, 2016;Arslan, 2017;Aydemir, 2010;Avcı, 2015;Benek, 2012;Çakmak, 2018;Demir, 2008;Demirörs, 2007;Erdağı, 2014;Farkas, 2002;Frailing, 1982;Güneş, 2009;Kara Ekemen, 2017;Koca, 2018;Mergen, 2011;Robert, 1999;Yüksel, 2017).

Conclusion Related to the Findings Obtained from the SLMS Scale
Any significant difference was not seen (p>.05) between the groups according to the SLMS pre-test results applied to the experimental and control groups in the t-test, in which the pre-test averages of the groups were compared, in terms of the sub-problem "Does teaching the socio-scientific issues, (GW-SD-BT) in 8th class with the case-oriented station technique have any effect on the motivations of the students?" According to the dependent samples t-test results in which the SLMS pre-test and post-test scores of the students in the control and experimental groups a meaningful difference was found in the experimental group (p<.05) while no significant difference was observed among the scores of the students in the control group (p>.05). This shows that the activities and collaboration with the methods and techniques used in the course increase the motivation of the experimental group students to learn science lesson. As the literature was reviewed, similar results were encountered (Akıllı et al., 2017;Aytekin, 2018;Eilks, 2002;İnel, 2012;Oksal, 2014;Özaydın Özkara, 2016;Yakar, 2017;Yıldıran Sönmez, 2015). Eilks (2002) concluded that the station technique applied in chemistry class increased the motivation of the students. He stated that this situation affected learning through cooperation. Yakar (2017) found that the experimental group students had higher motivation in his thesis in which he used the Socratic questioning technique for socio-scientific issues. Yıldıran Sönmez (2015) stated in the thesis where a case-oriented learning method was applied, that the method had a positive effect on motivation in favor of the experimental group for learning chemistry lesson.
The post-test averages of the independent samples t-test between groups applied in order to compare the effect of the methods in the control and experimental groups on the motivation toward science learning demonstrated that no statistically meaningful difference occurred (p>.05) even if the post-test average of the experimental group ( ̅ =98.08) was more than that of the control group (X=95.61). Although the method applied positively affected the motivation of students to learn science, it can be claimed that this difference was not meaningful. This is thought to be due to the short duration of the study. Besides, some researchers attributed the lack of a significant difference between motivation scores for learning to the high or low student and school achievement, crowded classes, and poor socioeconomic status (Aydoğdu, 2017;Karcı, 2018;Konu 2017;Yalçınkaya, 2010).

Conclusion Related to the Findings Gathered from the Qualitative Data
Student opinions on the interviews held to find the answer to the sub-problem "What are the students' opinions after the application of teaching the socio-scientific issues, (GW-SD-BT) in 8th class with the case-oriented station technique?" were analyzed by grouping into codes and categories as socio-scientific issues, case study method and station technique. As the findings gathered from the student opinions related to the SSIs, it is seen that the students expressed opinions related to the issues of global warming, sustainable development, and biotechnology, made suggestions, interpreted about their uses and harms by giving examples. So, the SSIs take the attention of the students and develop critical thinking and decision-making skills. In parallel to this result, similar results were encountered in the relevant literature. Zeidler and Nichols (2009) pointed out in their study that the SSIs teaching motivates students for scientific issues, but also contributed to inter-disciplinary connections such as critical thinking, reading skills, and being democratic, tolerant and caring about human values. Similarly, Dolan et. al. (2009) stressed in their research that the SSIs offer a multidimensional approach, such as understanding and discussing the importance of science for society, social conscience, and not only scientific content on a subject, but also in daily life. Talens (2016) stated in his study that the SSIs teaching is important for students to connect with the real-life, examine the positive and negative aspects of the chosen subject and gain experience for the students. Related to this topic, taking attention to social concerns and their effects, access to information through scientific ideas and practices, criticism, sharing information, use of information and communication technology, students' use of experiences and social interaction were important factors in the SSI model developed by Friedrichsen, Sadler, Graham and Brown (2016). Babacan (2017) stated in his study that activities carried out with socio-scientific issues improved students' critical thinking skills and students produced answers that are more qualified after activities.
During the interviews, the students made suggestions about energy saving, recycling and environmental protection based on the subjects they saw in the activities and stated that social studies should be done on these issues. Taşpınar (2011), in his socio-scientific discussion supported by health, observed that students were more participant in events they encountered in their daily lives. Yakar (2017) states in his thesis on socio-scientific issues that SSIs are considered significant by students in terms of being a tool for learning situations and events related to people, society, world, environment. Also, it was concluded that the students enjoyed, loved and wondered while discussing and researching these subjects. Therefore, the researcher stated that SSIs are important issues to be learned from within life. Similarly, Pelch and McConnel (2017) emphasized that the continuous use of SSIs in the course has a positive effect on students' interest and attitude towards science.
In the interviews, the students found that the news given as a case was open to discussion, which helped to create different ideas, and that they were important, useful, interesting and fun. Sadler (2011) stressed that it is important to use the media in SSI teaching to enable students to relate what they have learned to everyday life and to use technology to enrich learning experiences in the classroom. As it is supported in the literature, in the present study, it is seen that the case study method chosen for teaching socio-scientific issues is appropriate, effective and useful for teaching these issues.
When the findings obtained from the students' opinions about the case study method with socioscientific issue content are examined, the students mentioned the case studies in their activities as an interesting and useful method in-group news, which are frequently encountered in daily life, interesting, help to produce different ideas and make decisions. It is seen that studies in the literature are in parallel with the present study. İbrahimoğlu (2010) revealed in his thesis that students stated that the course was enjoyable with the case study method, as the effective participation was ensured and examples from daily life were carried to the classroom. Özkan (2010), in the interview with teachers about the purpose of using the case study in the classroom, found the results of reconciling the course with the students' lives, providing persistent learning by understanding and participating in the course, providing the students to try to solve and confront the problems and concretize the event. In other studies, similar results are encountered (Ada, Baysal & Kadıoğlu, 2009;Aydemir, 2010;Herreid, 1994;Pehlivanlar, 2005;Uğur, 2007;Ütkür, 2016).
During the interviews about station technique consisting of socio-scientific issues, the students found the activities to be permanent, useful and fun. Also, most of the students stated that they enjoyed group work, sharing, taking responsibility and contributing. Frutani (2007) found in the research that students love learning stations and develop responsibility and cooperation. Porter (2004) pointed out that students admired the station technique in mathematics lesson, they enjoyed during learning in the lesson.
During the research process, in the interviews related to the socio-scientific case-oriented station technique, some students emphasized the unfinished station activities and the continuous relocation as a negative situation. Besides, in the long-term applications, students were observed to move away from their goals. In parallel to this result, Eilks (2002) stated that the station technique may be difficult for students in the first application and that students may move away from their original goals in the longterm practice. Avcı (2015) stated in his research that some students found activities about station technique too boring and could not train time.
According to the results reached considering the research findings, case-oriented station technique seems to be appropriate, effective and useful for teaching socio-scientific issues. Also, the present study differs from many studies on socio-scientific issues in terms of the existence of two different methods and techniques and the use of qualitative and quantitative studies together.

Recommendations
In this section, according to the results of the study, recommendations for the effective use of caseoriented station technique are given to researchers and practitioners.
 As the literature is reviewed, it is seen that there are few studies on teaching socio-scientific issues in the classroom. The case-oriented station technique is an effective and useful study in the teaching of socio-scientific issues and is one of the few studies conducted. So, further research on the teaching of socio-scientific issues in the classroom is recommended.
 Case-oriented station technique can be applied to other issues rather than those in this research; Global Warming, Sustainable Development and Biotechnology.
 In the research, it was observed that the students discussed and produced different ideas about socio-scientific issues and made suggestions for social problems. In this context, more attention should be paid to socio-scientific issues in terms of raising individuals who think, criticize and produce ideas in the future.
 In the study, it was seen that the socio-scientific issues mentioned in the newspaper news attracted the attention of the students. Therefore, students should be encouraged to read newspapers, articles and journals containing socio-scientific issues.
 This research was limited to 8th class students. The case-oriented station technique can be repeated with students at different class levels.
 The research was carried out in the science course. It is thought to be beneficial to apply it in different courses.
 This study is limited to a specific sample and is recommended to be applied in larger samples.
 The number of stations that will appeal to each student in the classroom can be increased by investigating the interests and abilities of the students in different studies related to the station technique.
 To implement these and similar activities in crowded classrooms, teachers should make a detailed plan in advance and take precautions against negative situations in cooperation with the students.