The Effectiveness of a Discovery-Learning Strategy in the Acquisition of Scientific Concepts Among Kindergarten Students in Jordan

The present study aimed to detect the effectiveness of using a discovery-learning strategy in the acquisition of scientific concepts among kindergarten students whose ages are between 5-6 years. The study used the experimental method through semi-experimental design with pre and post-test for the experimental and control groups. To achieve the goal of the study, a visual test for the scientific concepts was developed. After verifying the validity and reliability of the scale, it was applied to the study sample, which included 49 boys and girls randomly assigned to two groups,- An experimental group consisting of 24 boys and girls who were taught by using a discovery-learning strategy, and a control group consisting of 25 boys and girls were taught by using the traditional methods. The results of variance analysis showed a statistically significant difference at the level α = 0.05 between the mean scores of the responses of the control and experimental groups’ participants in the post-test of scientific concepts, attributed to the use of the discovery-learning strategy, and for the benefit of the experimental group. The study found no statistically significant differences at the level of α = 0.05 between the mean scores of the experimental group's participants in the post-test of scientific concepts attributed to gender variable, nor there was any statistical effect of interaction between gender and teaching strategy. In the light of these results, the study concluded the effectiveness of using a discovery-learning strategy in the acquisition of scientific concepts among kindergarten children.