Effectiveness of the "Find the Other Half" Strategy on Science Achievement and of second-year intermediate female students in biology and their selective thinking

Abstract

        The present study aimed to identify the effect of the Find the Other Half strategy on the achievement of second-grade intermediate female students in biology and on their selective thinking. To achieve the objectives of the study, the following two null hypotheses were formulated:

 1. There is no statistically significant difference at the significance level (0.05) between the mean scores of the experimental group female students who studied biology according to the Find the Other Half strategy and the mean scores of the control group female students who studied the same subject using the traditional method in achievement.

 2. There is no statistically significant difference at the significance level (0.05) between the mean scores of the experimental group female students who studied biology according to the Find the Other Half strategy and the mean scores of the control group female students who studied the same subject using the traditional method in selective thinking.

The researcher adopted a partially controlled experimental design (an experimental group and a control group). The population of the current study consisted of second-grade intermediate female students in governmental intermediate and secondary schools for girls affiliated with the General Directorate of Education in Diyala Governorate / Baqubah District for the academic year (2025–2026). Al-Nayrat Secondary School for Girls was intentionally selected as the study sample because it included two classes. One class was assigned as the experimental group and the other as the control group. The study sample consisted of (48) second-grade intermediate female students.

Section (B) was randomly selected to represent the experimental group with (24) students, while Section (A), with (24) students, represented the control group. The two groups were equated in the variables of chronological age (calculated in months), Raven’s intelligence test, and students’ previous achievement in biology. The instructional content was selected from the biology textbook. The researcher then formulated a number of behavioral objectives for the four units, totaling (112) objectives representing the levels of (knowledge, comprehension, and application). The researcher prepared (12) teaching plans for the experimental group and (12) teaching plans for the control group, at a rate of three lessons per week. The researcher taught both groups herself during the experimental period, which began on Sunday, 16/11/2025, and ended on Wednesday, 7/1/2026.

The researcher prepared two research instruments. The first was an achievement test consisting of (30) multiple-choice items, each item comprising a stem and four alternatives, one correct and three incorrect. Its validity, reliability, and psychometric properties were verified. The second instrument was a selective thinking scale consisting of (35) items. Its face validity and item discrimination were confirmed, and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha, which reached (0.92). Its validity, reliability, and psychometric properties were also verified. The two research instruments were administered to both groups after the completion of the experimental period. The achievement test was applied on, Sunday 4/1/2026, while the selective thinking scale was administered to both groups on, Tuesday 6/1/2026.

After statistically analyzing the results, the findings revealed the superiority of the experimental group female students who studied biology using the Find the Other Half strategy over the control group female students who studied the same subject using the traditional method in both the achievement test and the selective thinking scale.

Based on the results of the study, the researcher reached a number of conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions.