IN-PERSON Prague Research & Teaching Conference

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of teaching aid design on improving elementary school students’ understanding of water resources. As water resource issues become increasingly critical globally, fostering effective environmental education from an early age is essential. A teaching aid was developed to visually illustrate the water cycle processes, including evaporation, condensation, and rainfall. A questionnaire survey was administered to evaluate changes in students’ understanding before and after using the teaching aid. A total of 120 students from grades 1 to 4 participated in the study, completing the questionnaire following the instructional activity. The survey assessed the usability of the teaching aid, perceived learning effectiveness, and the role of illustrations in facilitating comprehension. Results indicated that students’ knowledge regarding water resources significantly improved after using the teaching aid (P < 0.001), with an average pretest score of 10.04 and a posttest score of 11.32. The effect size (Cohen’s d) was 0.645, signifying that the teaching intervention substantially enhanced students’ overall understanding of water resource concepts. Furthermore, students rated the usability of the teaching aid positively and acknowledged the illustrations as particularly helpful in enhancing comprehension. The findings suggest that future teaching aids could incorporate additional innovative features to further boost learning effectiveness and enrich the overall user experience.