Development of the university students’ mental models on direct current*

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effects of the teaching sequence based on adidactical situations and learning styles on the development and change of the university students’ understanding levels and mental models about direct current. The study was carried out within the framework of didactical engineering. The sample of this study consisted of 27 students of the Science Teacher Training Program. The students’ learning styles were assessed and identified through Gregorc style delineator. The data gathered through the achievement test and clinical interviews were analyzed in a two-stage process: (1) The understanding levels and (2) The mental model characteristics and matrices. The review of data on understanding levels revealed that a significant number of students respond to the questions at the level of [1] and [2] in the pre-implementation; at the level of [2] and [3] in the post-implementation; and at the level of [2] in the deferred test. The students’ mental models generally exhibited the characteristics of the synthesis and initial model types. The findings reached through the study revealed that the designed teaching sequence based on adidactical situations and learning style had a positive effect on the advances registered in the students’ understanding levels and mental model development regarding direct current.