The Importance of Practical Training Activities in Raising Environmental Awareness

Zeynep Öztoprak

Zeynep Öztoprak, Sebahat Doğan

Year : 2025
Vol : 2
Issue : 2
Page : 191-207

This study is based on the “Environmental Detectives” eTwinning project, conducted with 8 teachers and 138 primary school students from Turkey, Romania, Poland, Spain, Georgia, and Greece. The project aims to enhance students’ awareness of environmental issues and foster environmentally conscious, responsible, inquisitive, and sustainability-minded individuals. To this end, hands-on, experience- based, and collaborative activities were conducted, focusing on energy and water conservation, forest protection, recycling, conscious use of natural resources, waste management, and environmental cleanliness. Students identified environmental problems in their daily lives, discussed cause-and-effect relationships, created concept maps, and developed creative solutions. They also participated in online meetings with peers from partner countries, collaboratively producing e-books, videos, posters, digital presentations, virtual exhibitions, and shared digital products to raise environmental awareness. These activities significantly enhanced students’ creativity, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, and digital literacy skills. Ten activities were designed in alignment with Turkish curriculum outcomes, adopting an interdisciplinary, constructivist approach integrated into classroom learning. Three activities were implemented through international collaboration, producing shared outputs, intercultural learning opportunities, and collective experiences. The research was structured as a qualitative case study. Data were collected from student products, activity reports, observations, feedback, teacher interviews, and online meeting records, and analyzed through content analysis. Findings revealed notable improvements in students’ observation, research, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills. Moreover, students demonstrated increased environmental awareness, empathy, and a stronger sense of responsibility toward nature. At the conclusion, all participants received National and European Quality Labels in recognition of the project’s innovative approach, pedagogical value, cultural contribution, and sustainable impact

Cite this Article As : Öztoprak, Z, & Doğan, S. (2025). Çevre bilinci kazandırmada uygulamalı eğitim etkinliklerinin önemi. UPUES Journal, 2(2), 191-207.

Description : Yazarların hiçbiri, bu makalede bahsedilen herhangi bir ürün, aygıt veya ilaç ile ilgili maddi çıkar ilişkisine sahip değildir. Araştırma, herhangi bir dış organizasyon tarafından desteklenmedi.Yazarlar çalışmanın birincil verilerine tam erişim izni vermek ve derginin talep ettiği takdirde verileri incelemesine izin vermeyi kabul etmektedirler. None of the authors, any product mentioned in this article, does not have a material interest in the device or drug. Research, not supported by any external organization. grant full access to the primary data and, if requested by the magazine they agree to allow the examination of data.

The Importance of Practical Training Activities in Raising Environmental Awareness, Research Article,
2025, Vol. 2 (2)

Received : 27.10.2025, Accepted : 23.12.2025 , Published Online : 29.12.2025