CHANGE! PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL? PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL 7 TH GRADE STUDENTS’ STRUCTURE OF KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO THE CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE

Özet

The purpose of this study is to determine knowledge structure, justification skills and misconceptions of participating students related to the concepts of physical and chemical change. Being a qualitative study, phenomenological approach was used. The study was conducted in 2015, in a middle-scale province located at Black Sea Region. Participants consisted of a total of 21 (11 males, 10 females) 7 th grade students from different schools. Data was collected using semi-structured interview technique accompanied by experimental activity samples prepared by the researchers. Obtained raw data was decoded by the researchers. Following the transcription, data analysis stage was initiated and the data was analyzed according to descriptive data analysis. The frequency of the data under pre-established concepts were given. The focus of the data analysis process was the consistency of the answers given throughout the question set. After determining the consistency type of the answers, justification skill was assessed. According to the findings of the research, participants exhibited both consistent and inconsistent cognitive structures. It was found that the justification of the participants varied according to questions, and they had misconceptions related to physical and chemical change.