Browsing by Subject "Misconception"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Open Access
A descriptive investigation of Turkish students’ misconceptions on common science concepts
(2018-05) Topal, Emrah
The purpose of the study was to investigate Turkish students’ misconceptions about general science subjects. Variables such as gender, school type, grade, age, and school level were employed in the present study. Descriptive research method was used and the sample consisted of 749 students (male=364, female=385) from two state middle schools, two state high schools, one private middle school, and one private high school located in the Çankaya district of Ankara. The instrument used was the Turkish translated version of the questionnaire “A Survey of Some Science- Related Ideas – SSSRI.” SSSRI was developed by Osborne, Freyberg, & Bell (1985) for the purpose of determining students’ misconceptions on general science subjects. The SSSRI contains 19 multiple-choice type and one open-ended question. The questionnaire was administered to students in the fall term of 2017-18 academic year. The analyses of data were conducted by taking into consideration students’ grades of science, biology, physics, and chemistry courses, total scores of students, and their responses to each item. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to determine students’ levels of misconceptions based on variables: gender, school type, grade, age, and school level. Independent samples t-test was used to find out if there were significant differences between mean scores within gender and school type. One-way ANOVA was conducted to determine if there was significant difference between mean scores of grades. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficients were computed between total scores of students and their grades of science, biology, physics and chemistry courses. Analyses demonstrated that students’ misconceptions about general science subjects were independent from their gender and school type. Moreover, students still had misconceptions, especially in topics “electric current” and “change of state of water.”
Open Access
Misconceptions in biology education: a review of relevant research
(2015-05) Kumandaş, Bahar
Misconceptions are an obstacle to comprehend scientific phenomena. Since misconceptions are a significant problem at all levels of education, studies have been increasing in the field of biology education. The aim of the study was to explore the patterns of the articles about biology misconceptions in Turkey and to reveal general tendencies. To meet this aim, 67 articles were selected through ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, EBSCOhost, ULAKBİM and ASOS Index databases published from 2000 to 2014. Meta-synthesis (thematic content analysis) method was used to explore characteristics, purposes, themes and patterns, data collection tool types, research methods, sample and sample sizes, and data analysis methods of these articles. Selected articles were subjected to the adapted version of the Paper Classification Form developed by Sözbilir, Kutu & Yaşar (2012). The results show that articles about misconception in biology are mostly published in international journals and written in Turkish. These articles mainly focus on identifying misconceptions. Most of the studies’ samples were pre-service teachers. The sample iv size of the studies varied between 31-100. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were equally dominate over mixed method, which was less preferred. The findings also indicate that more studies have been undertaken in environment and ecology, and genetics and cell division. Achievement and diagnostic tests were the most common data collection tools and used multiple choice and open-ended question types. This review is expected to inform educators, teachers, pre-service teachers and curriculum developers about themes and patterns in misconception research.