Investigation of elementary school students’ conceptual change on the phases of the moon in A collobarative learning environment

İlköğretim öğrencilerinin Ay’ın evreleri konusunda kavram değişimlerinin işbirliğine dayalı ortamda incelenmesi

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Studies show that people from elementary school students to adults hold alternative conceptions or have limited understanding of astronomical events. Trundle and Troland (1996) reported that moon’s phases were the least understood among the astronomy concepts even though they can be seen from the earth. Lindell (2001) and Barnett (2002) indicated that students usually come to school with some existing knowledge, but most of this existing knowledge is wrong or incomplete. Teaching new information to students is easier than changing their existing knowledge. Therefore, students’ existing ideas should be investigated carefully at all grade levels, and the best teaching methods should be determined. Different strategies have been used to teach the causes of the moon phases. The new science curriculum suggests that collaborative learning should be promoted in science classes (MEB, 2011). Therefore, collaborative learning strategy to teach the causes of the moon phases needs to be investigated carefully. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of the study is to determine the alternative conceptions that the 8th grade students possibly have and to compare traditional instruction and collaborative learning method in teaching the causes of moon phases. Specifically, following research questions were investigated. 1. What are the alternative conceptions that students hold about the causes of moon phases? 2. How does 8th grade students’ conceptual understanding of moon phases change with different teaching methods?

Özet

Araştırmanın amacı 8. Sınıf öğrencilerinin Ay’ın evreleri konusunda sahip oldukları alternatif kavramları ortaya çıkarmak ve Ay’ın evrelerinin işbirliğine dayalı ve yaygın olarak ayın evrelerinin anlatıldığı yöntemle öğretiminin karşılaştırılmasıdır. İlköğretim 8. sınıf seviyesinde toplam 33 öğrenci bu çalışmaya katılmıştır. Yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme yoluyla uygulama öncesi ve sonrasında Ay’ın evreleri konusunda kavramsal anlamaları tespit edilmiştir. İşbirliğine dayalı grupta öğrencilerin kavramsal anlama düzeyleri uygulama sonrasında anlamlı olarak artmıştır, fakat kontrol grubunda anlamlı bir artış olmamıştır. Daha önce literatürde yer almayan alternatif öğrenci kavramları da çalışmada sunulmuştur.