Primary school students’ experiences in developing digital stories on environmental issues: An action research

This study explores the experiences of fourth-grade primary school students during the process of developing digital stories about environmental issues. Curriculum-based learning outcomes related to environmental topics were identified, and students were asked to create digital stories aligned with these outcomes. A distinctive feature of the study is that both the story-writing process and the transformation of written narratives into digital formats were carried out entirely by the students. The research was designed as qualitative action research. The study group consisted of 26 students selected through criterion sampling from a primary school. The implementation lasted seven weeks during the 2022–2023 academic year. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and researcher observation notes, and were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The findings indicate that the digital storytelling process improved students’ imagination and writing skills and fostered positive attitudes toward integrating technology into education. Students reported that they learned to use a new web-based application and that collaborative group work and the presentation phase contributed positively to their learning experience. They also stated that digital storytelling could be applied in different subjects. The results suggest that digital storytelling can serve as an effective instructional tool in primary education, particularly in environmental education. However, due to the qualitative design and limited number of participants, the findings are context-specific and should not be generalized. The study is grounded in constructivist learning theory and frames digital storytelling as a pedagogical approach supporting experiential and differentiated learning.