THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GEO-LITERACY-BASED GEOGRAPHY LEARNING ACTIVITY PACKAGE TO ENHANCE SYSTEMS THINKING SKILLS AMONG UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CHACHOENGSAO PROVINCE

Abstract

This study aimed to: 1) Develop a geography learning activity package to enhance systems thinking skills through Geo-literacy among upper primary school students in Chachoengsao Province; and 2) Examine the effectiveness of the developed learning activity package. The study employed a research and development (R&D) approach consisting of four phases: needs assessment, design and development, implementation, and evaluation and revision. The informants comprised three social studies teachers and two learning activity package experts, totaling five participants. The sample consisted of 59 upper primary school students from two schools, selected through purposive sampling. A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed. The research instruments included an interview form, four geography learning activity packages implemented over eight hours, a learning activity package quality assessment form, a systems thinking skills test, and a satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, and content analysis. The findings revealed that: 1) The developed learning activity package was rated at the highest level of quality ( = 4.79,
S.D. = 0.41); and 2) Within the study group, students’ posttest systems thinking scores ( = 35.19, S.D. = 3.75) were significantly higher than their pretest scores ( = 23.37, S.D. = 4.69), p < .001. Overall student satisfaction with the learning activity package was at the highest level ( = 4.54, S.D. = 0.56). These findings indicate that, within the study group, the developed learning activity package was effective in enhancing systems thinking skills through geography learning connected to disaster contexts in Chachoengsao Province.