The level of knowledge of prospective biology teachers on gene technology and their source of information

Abstract

Gen teknolojisi, bilgi sahibi olarak eylemlerimize yön vermemizi gerektiren çeşitli uygulama alanları (sağlık, tarım vb.) içermektedir. Bu durum öncelikle toplumu bu konularda eğitme görevini yerine getiren eğiticiler açısından incelendiğinde ayrı bir önem taşımaktadır. Gen teknolojisi hakkında bilgilenme ve okuryazarlık eğitim kurumları ve çeşitli bilgi kaynakları yolu ile olur. Bu çalışmanın amacı, biyoloji öğretmen adaylarının gen teknolojisine ilişkin sahip oldukları bilgi düzeylerinin incelenmesi ve gen teknolojisine ilişkin bilgilendikleri kaynakların belirlenmesidir. Çalışma 135 biyoloji öğretmen adayı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmada kullanılan likert tipi anket maddeleri için betimleyici analizler yapılmış, frekans ve yüzde değerleri çıkartılarak yorumlanmış ve çapraz tablo analizlerinden faydalanılmıştır. Çalışmada biyoloji öğretmen adaylarının gen teknolojisi konularında düşük bilgi seviyesinde oldukları (%69.6) ve gen teknolojisi ile ilgili ders almış olsun ya da olmasın kendilerini az bilgili olarak hissettikleri tespit edilmiştir. Öğretmen adayları, gen teknolojisi hakkında en çok (%60 ve üzeri) televizyon belgeselleri, alana yönelik dergiler, biyoloji/kimya öğretmenleri, üniversitelerden uzmanlar, televizyon ve gazetelerden bilgi almaktadırlar. The Level of Knowledge of Prospective Biology Teachers on Gene Technology and Their Source of InformationArticle Info Abstract DOI: 10.14527/pegegog.2014.022 The Gene Technology includes an area of various implementations (health, agriculture etc.) on which we shall have knowledge and which will be our guide in our actions. This is of particular importance notably when it is evaluated in terms of the instructors providing education on these issues to the public. Knowledge and literacy on gene technology is acquired through educational institutions and various sources of information. The aim of this study is to assess the level of knowledge of prospective biology teachers on gene technology, and to investigate the sources of knowledge on the related subject. 135 prospective biology teachers participated in this study. Descriptive analyses were carried out for the items, the frequencies were interpreted and cross tabulation analyses were used. The results of this study demonstrate that the prospective biology teachers possess predominantly a low-level knowledge on gene technology (69.6%) and mostly feel that their knowledge on gene technology is scanty, regardless of whether they have taken courses on the subject or not. The top sources of the prospective teachers (over 60% as frequency) are television documentaries on gene technology, and journals, biology/chemistry teachers and experts from universities on the related area. Giriş"Modern biyoteknoloji" olarak adlandırılan gen teknolojisi (GT) günlük hayatımızda gün geçtikçe daha fazla karşılaştığımız ve üzerinde bilgi ve yargı sahibi olmamız gereken bir alandır. Bu teknoloji dünyamızın sağlık, çevre, tarım, endüstriyel üretim ve farklı alanlarındaki sorunlarının çözümü ve geliştirilmesi için oldukça...

The Impact of Innovative Teaching Approaches on Biotechnology Knowledge and Laboratory Experiences of Science Teachers

“…In addition, it has been noted that while pre-service teachers were aware of biotechnological applications, they could not answer the questions about genetic information and biotechnological processes correctly [15]. A study has reported that pre-service biology teachers had low levels of knowledge of gene technologies [16]. Similar results have been reported in other studies, indicating that pre-service teachers have various misconceptions about biotechnology and gene engineering [17,18].…”

“…They stated that this may be due to inadequate education, lack of interest or lack of continuing education for teachers working in state institutions. Similarly, Yılmaz and Ögretmen [16], reported that the pre-service biology teachers have low levels of knowledge about gene technologies, which may be because they have not taken enough courses about gene technologies.…”

“…It is thought that teachers with limited knowledge and skills cannot contribute to the spread of science culture in society. Moreover, when the literature is reviewed, it is seen that studies focusing on attitudes [14,15,43], knowledge [16,30,44], opinions [45] about biotechnology applications in science education are available but studies related to biotechnology laboratory activities with innovative approaches are limited. The teaching of the multi-disciplinary subject of biotechnology with a single approach restricts its teaching ability.…”

How sensitive teachers are in elementary and secondary science classes in terms of technology and environmental ethics

“…According to Ozpinar, Kazeskeroglu and Oz (2010), depending on the department the students attend their ethical conceptions differ; particularly the participants having taken some training about ethics provide much more effective and conscious responses, indicating the importance of education. Yilmaz and Ogretmen (2016) did a study to discover the pre-service biology teachers' level of information about gene technology and sources of information and concluded that regardless of whether they have taken some training about gene technology, high majority of the participants have low levels of information about gene technology; that is, they feel inadequate on this issue. Therefore, the awareness of both teachers and pre-service teachers should be raised about these issues and then some activities should be organised to enhance their sensitivity.…”