Promoting conceptual change in first year students’ understanding of evaporation

Abstract

We constructed the PDEODE (Predict-Discuss-Explain-Observe-Discuss-Explain) teaching strategy, a variant of the classical POE (Predict-Observe-Explain) activity, to promote conceptual change, and investigated its effectiveness on student understanding of the evaporation concept. The sample consisted of 52 first year students in a primary science education department. The students' ideas were revealed by a test consisting of eight questions. The PDEODE teaching strategy was designed on the basis of the students' preconceptions. Conceptual change in students' understanding of evaporation was evaluated by administering the same test as pre-, post and delayed post-test. The test scores were analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative methods. Statistical analysis using general linear model repeated measures of student test scores point to statistically significant differences in pre-, post-, delayed post tests and total scores (p<0.05), suggesting that the strategy helped students to achieve a better conceptual understanding. Further, no statistically significant differences were observed between post-test and delayed post-test scores, suggesting that teaching strategy enabled students to retain their new conceptions in their long-term memory.

Öğretmenlerin Fen Kavram Öğretimleri, Kavram Yanılgılarını Saptama ve Giderme Çalışmalarının Değerlendirilmesi

“…Sınıf öğretmenlerimden S1, S2, S3 ve S5 ise, öğrencilerinin anlamlı öğrenmeleri için deney, bilgisayar destekli ve buluş yoluyla öğretim yaptıklarını belirtmişlerdir. Alanyazın incelendiğinde; son zamanlarda kavramsal değişim metinleri, tahmin-gözlem-açıklama (TGA) stratejisi, kavram analizi, kavram ağları, kavram haritaları, tanılayıcı dallanmış ağaç, çalışma yaprakları, analoji, drama, birleştirici benzetme, 5E ve 7E öğrenme döngüsü gibi yöntemlerin kavram öğretiminde kullanılması etkili ve verimli bulunduğu çocuklarda anlamlı öğrenmeleri sağlayabildiği yapılan araştırmalar sonucunda belirtilmiş (Balcı, Çakıroğlu & Tekkaya, 2005;Coştu, Ayas & Niaz, 2010;Eryılmaz, 2002;Sungur, Tekkaya & Geban, 2001;Hewson & Hewson, 1983;Horton vd., 1993;Yenilmez & Tekkaya, 2006) olmasına rağmen öğretmenlerin bu yöntemlerin bir çoğundan haberdar olmadıkları ve dolayısıyla derslerinde kullanmadıkları görüşme ve gözlemler sonucunda tespit edilmiştir.…”

Investigating the Effectiveness of Teaching Methods Based on a Four-Step Constructivist Strategy

“…Student's difficulties with item 13 may result from alternative conception about vaporization (e.g. S9) (37). On the other hand, it may mean they cannot distinguish between a mixture and a compound (38).…”

Preparedness for tertiary chemistry: multiple applications of the Chemistry Competence Test for diagnostic and prediction purposes

“…It is well known that misconceptions can interfere with learning (e.g. Coştu et al, 2010) thus, while it is useful to know which misconceptions students hold and which concepts students find difficult, the challenge for tertiary educators will be to find ways in which they can promote the development of scientifically accurate conceptions on which to build students' knowledge structures. One option is for lectures to adopt a spiral approach in which material is first presented at basic level and later at a more advanced level.…”