The purpose of
this study is to reveal the changes in the perceptions of prospective science
teachers on the concept of atom in terms of their levels of education. In the
scope of the study, a two-part word association test was developed as the data
collection tool, and it was applied on a total of 194 prospective teachers who
were studying in the degree program for science teaching. The data obtained
from the first part of the test were analyzed and the concepts that the
prospective teachers associated with the concept of atom were determined, and
the way these varied based on class levels was analyzed. Using the data
obtained by the second part of the test, the meanings of the sentences the
participants formed in relation to the atom and related concepts and the way
this nature changed based on class levels were analyzed. The finding that
prospective teachers on different levels associated similar concepts with the
atom and formed sentences that contained alternative concepts in a similar way,
showed that the atom, which is a subject of teaching on different levels since
the secondary schools, was not internalized in agreement with scientific
knowledge by a significant proportion of the prospective science teachers.
Additionally, the analyses showed that no significant change occurred in
learning the atom and related concepts based on levels of education.
Primary Language | English |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | October 17, 2018 |
Submission Date | March 2, 2018 |
Published in Issue | Year 2018 |